| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 3 hr 40 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Inactive: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 3 hr |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 3 hr 40 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Inactive: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 3 hr |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (14-pound) fresh turkey, giblets and neck removed
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 (1 1/2-ounce) packet honey BBQ chicken glaze seasoning
- 1 pear
- 1 bunch mixed fresh herbs such as parsley, sage, thyme, and rosemary
- 1 (12-ounce) can pear nectar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Remove the turkey from the refrigerator 45 minutes before you are ready to cook it so that it can come to room temperature.
- Mix the butter with the seasoning packet. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the seasoned butter for the glaze and rub the remaining 6 tablespoons all over the turkey, inside and out, as well as under the skin. Cut the pear into quarters and put them into the cavity along with the herbs. Tie up the legs and put the turkey, breast side up, onto the rack in a roasting pan. Pour 1/2 cup water into the pan and roast for 2 1/2 hours, basting with the pan juices every 15 minutes, while you prepare the glaze.
- In a small pot over medium-high heat, add the pear nectar. Cook, stirring frequently, until the nectar is reduced by 1/3, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the reserved 2 tablespoons seasoned butter. When the turkey has cooked for 2 1/2 hours, start basting the turkey with the glaze every 15 minutes until the internal temperature is 165 degrees F in the thickest part of the thigh. If the turkey starts to brown too quickly, cover with a piece of aluminum foil. Remove the turkey from the oven, give it one last basting, and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 964 |
| Total Fat | 44 g |
| Saturated Fat | 16 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 9 g |
| Protein | 123 g |
| Cholesterol | 436 mg |
| Sodium | 636 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 964 |
| Total Fat | 44 g |
| Saturated Fat | 16 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 9 g |
| Protein | 123 g |
| Cholesterol | 436 mg |
| Sodium | 636 mg |
Reviews
The best turkey I’ve ever had! The turkey is moist and delicious and flavorful. The pear puts it over the top. I’ve never had a better turkey. I can’t find a bbq seasoning packet, so I mix our favorite bbq sauce with butter and that works just fine.
I have used this recipe for the past 2 years and my family LOVES it! The turkey is so moist. Not dry areas anywhere. This is the best turkey I have ever tasted (even better than Mom’s growing up…shhh. The seasoning packet is hard to find so when you find it earlier in the year I find it best to get it and have it ready for T-day. The brand I have found it in is McCormicks. The pear nectar usually in the Kern’s brand. Also not the easiest to find but easier than the seasoning packet. I agree that any Honey BBQ seasoning should work fine. I have always used as recipe states. This is the best turkey recipe and it is so easy!
This was a very good recipe. I didn’t try to find the spice packet I just used another bbq rub and it was fabulous. I love the hint of sweetness that it gave. The store I went to didn’t have pear nectar so I used pear juice and honey and seasoning and it worked great. I used the drippings to make gravy and it had a hint of sweetness and it was very good. I have made a lot of turkey’s and this was a very fun recipe to try.
I am a vegetarian and did not sample this recipe but I did cook it for company. I could not find the exact packet of spice the recipe called for but substituted it with another bbq spice packet and added some honey. My company loved it and rated it five stars.
Oh My Gosh!! I cook pretty good turkeys but this was by far the best!!! The seasoning packet could not be found, so I googled it & found the list of ingredients and created my own. I also added pears, apples, onions, garlic, rosemary, thyme, pear nectar and chicken broth to the pan to create a juice for gravy (Ann Burrell’s recipe). It browned fast so I tented it earlier than usual. The turkey was sooo moist and finished cooking one hour sooner than I expected! I basted it evey 20 minutes and let it rest 35 minutes. Perfection!!
I could not find the honey barbeque packet, so I mixed a couple tablespoons of honey with a couple tablespoons of McCormick barbeque seasoning. I also brined my turkey overnight, adding about a tablespoon of the barbeque seasoning to the brine. The flavor of the pear glaze was fantastic, I was worried the barbeque flavor would be too strong but it was quite subtle. I used foil to cover because the butter browned very quickly. It was moist, flavorful, and pretty turkey. I’m not sure if it would have been as moist if I hadn’t brined, but I’m too much of an Alton Brown disciple to try a turkey without brining. I would make it again this way, might be a new Thanksgiving tradition.
Misty Lady, I just bought BBQ seasoning and will add liquid smoke and honey! Hope it works for you!
I think this is a very poor recipe. I cooked it in a cooking bag as turkey tends to be dry and the butter and seasoning burned onto the bag. I am not a newbie cook and this was the worst turkey ever. The herbs stuck into the cavity with a pear was not a great idea either. Looked like a bunch of soggy, wet seaweed and tasted about the same.
I could not find the seasoning packet for this recipe. I tried 3 different supermarkets. What could I use to replace this ingredient? This happens a lot with Sandra’s recipes. Thanks