The greatest orange-glazed turkey we have ever prepared for Thanksgiving, by far. The turkey is sweet and succulent because of the glaze!
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 6 hrs 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 6 hrs 45 mins |
| Servings: | 20 |
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons rubbed sage
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 pinch dried thyme
- 1 (16 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
- ¼ cup butter
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- ⅓ cup orange marmalade
- 1 ½ teaspoons honey
- 1 orange, peeled, sectioned, and cut into bite-size pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Combine sage, salt, and thyme in a small bowl. Rub 1/2 of the sage mixture all over turkey, then place turkey in a large roasting pan.
- Bring butter, orange juice, marmalade, honey, and orange sections to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until thickened, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining sage mixture. Brush over turkey, reserving leftover glaze for basting.
- Bake turkey in the preheated oven for 5 hours and 30 minutes, basting every 30 minutes. Cover turkey lightly with foil and continue baking until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, 30 minutes to 1 hour, occasionally brushing with glaze. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove turkey from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area before slicing, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Please note differences in ingredient amounts and total time when following the magazine version of this recipe.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 582 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 221 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 74 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Sodium | 430 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 28 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I made this for Thanksgiving and my adult sons who always insist that we also have ham cause they don’t like turkey loved it.
I used a 4-lb turkey half breast from Trader Joe’s to make this glaze, cutting the recipe into 1/4 of the ingredients to do so. I only used a spoon to glaze the turkey every once in a while, and it took about 1 1/2 hour to cook. I thought it could have used pepper or even a little ginger or cayenne to “up” the seasoning a little. But it did make a great easy dinner, and I’d make it again. Thanks, keeky27!
Very taste and we will make it again next year.
Used this glaze over grilled pork tenderloin. Excellent!
I use this glaze for any bird that goes in the oven! LOve it! If I don’t have marmalade I substitute orange soda or bar b que sauce.
This recipe is fantastic. Quadrupled the recipe for a 25 lb turkey. I also added an 1/8 tsp of grated ginger to the sauce. When the turkey was finished I added 2 tsp of diluted corn starch to the left over sauce and served it. What a huge hit as a Christmas turkey. I highly recommend this recipe!
Just made this for Christmas dinner. After spending all day basting the turkey every 30 minutes, I was very disappointed. Had to put foil over turkey 3 hours into cooking as it was browning very rapidly. Turkey was dry and did not retain any of the flavor of the glaze.
I used this recipe for our Christmas Turkey yesterday. It did not disappoint! Wonderful flavors, sealed in moisture, beautiful color bird! It was a great hit. The recipe’s a keeper! Thank you.
i have done this with chicken and now turkey…the orange glaze is delicious for basting. i use brine turkey as i like my brine chicken as well…its always juicy when i brine. make sure you taste the brine water to your satisfaction.