Bake the flavors of Thanksgiving right into the bird with this cranberry-orange glaze with garlic and chipotle.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 4 hr 30 min |
| Active: | 50 min |
| Yield: | 8 |
Ingredients
- One 12- to 14-pound turkey
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 8 sprigs fresh thyme
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 pounds cranberries
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1 heaping tablespoon chipotles in adobo
- Finely grated zest and juice of 2 oranges
- 1 to 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Pat the turkey dry and tuck in the wings. Rub the turkey inside and out with 2 tablespoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stuff the cavity with 5 sprigs each of the rosemary and thyme. Tie the legs together and place the turkey breast-up in a roasting pan with a rack. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Heat a saucepan over medium heat and add 4 tablespoons of the butter. Stir in the onion, garlic and the remaining 3 sprigs each rosemary and thyme. Cook until the onions are softened, 6 minutes. Add the cranberries, sugar, vinegar, chipotles, orange zest and juice and 1 teaspoon salt. Simmer until the cranberries start to burst, 8 minutes. Strain. Reserve half for serving.
- Heat the remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave in 30-second increments until melted. Brush the melted butter all over the turkey. Pour 1 cup of the broth into the roasting pan. Roast for 2 hours, basting with the drippings every 30 minutes after the first hour. Add more broth if the pan looks dry.
- After 2 hours of roasting, brush the turkey with the cranberry-orange glaze every 20 minutes until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165 degrees F, about 1 hour more, tenting with foil when the turkey reaches the desired darkness.
- Transfer the turkey to a carving board and let rest 30 minutes before carving. Serve with the reserved glaze.
Reviews
This recipe was exactly what I needed and it turned out SO. GOOD. I do not hesitate to say that the resulting turkey is the best roast I’ve ever made. I made a few substitutions — reduced a bottle of cranberry juice and a small bottle of orange juice instead of the cranberries and one of the oranges, and I added some maple syrup to the glaze and some maple & apple cider vinegar seasoning to the turkey rub. The drippings made crazy-sweet and tangy gravy that I brought down to a reasonable sweet-spiciness with a dash of fish sauce and some mustard powder. The gravy was incredible with some sour cream mashed potatoes and made an amazing dip for sprouts, too.
This is my go-to EVERY year! The glaze is fantastic, my family gushes when I make this. Pair it with apple sausage crockpot stuffing – forget about it!