Maple glazed roast turkey
- Preparation 10 min
- Refrigeration 12 h
- Cooking 3 h
- Servings 6 to 8
- Freezing Absolutely
Ads
🍁 Maple, twice
This maple glazed roast turkey gets maple twice. First in the brine, where it spends 12 hours in the fridge with celery, a red apple and garlic. Then in the glaze, with Dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar, which you brush on every 15 minutes during the second half of the roasting.
🦃 One of my most popular turkeys
This one is very, very popular, and seriously delicious. People love it for its different flavors. I make all my turkeys at Christmas or Thanksgiving, and it depends on which one you feel like eating, but whichever you pick, you’ll be happy. If you can’t decide, take a look at my perfectly juicy Christmas roast turkey.
🥪 The deluxe hot turkey the next day
The leftovers are where it gets fun. Toasted bread, turkey, cheese, piping hot hot chicken sauce and peas: that’s my deluxe hot turkey, in step 8. And there’s always my grilled turkey breast salad with strawberries and haloumi.
Ads
Ads
🧂 Twelve hours in the brine, no more.
Any longer and the turkey turns out too salty, which is what can go wrong. Twelve hours in the fridge, then take it out.
🏷️ Already seasoned turkey? It’s written on the package.
If it’s seasoned, use less salt in the brine: the recipe goes from 1 cup down to ½ cup (125 ml). Read the package before you reach for the salt.
🍁 Glaze only after 1 hour 30 minutes.
Maple syrup burns. That’s why the turkey roasts on its own for 1 hour 30 minutes, long enough to form a nice crispy skin. Then you turn it 180 degrees and brush it every 15 minutes. If the top browns too fast, cover it with aluminum foil.
🌡️ Thermometer at 180°F (82°C) in the thigh.
In the thigh, not touching the bone. It’s the same temperature as my perfectly juicy Christmas roast turkey and my clementine and cranberry turkey. You’ll find the other temperatures in my guide to meat and fish cooking temperatures.
⏱️ Rest it for 10 to 15 minutes.
Don’t carve it the second it comes out of the oven: let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
📅 Make ahead.
The brine is your make-ahead step: the turkey spends 12 hours in the fridge, so most of the work is done before you even turn the oven on. Leftovers keep 4 to 5 days in the fridge, or 3 months in the freezer.
✅ What to serve with my maple glazed roast turkey, and what to do with the leftovers?
A salad and potatoes, like with all my other turkeys: try my perfectly crispy baby potatoes and my white balsamic arugula salad. For the leftovers, there’s the hot turkey in step 8, my grilled turkey breast salad with strawberries and haloumi, my turkey pie with leek, bacon and white beer and my creamy turkey and leek soup.
Ads
Ingredients
- 1 young fresh turkey, about 4 kg (9 lb), thawed, neck and giblets removed
- Olive oil
Ingredients for the brine
- About 20 cups (5 L) water
- 1 cup (250 ml) salt (½ cup / 125 ml if your turkey is already seasoned)
- ½ cup (125 ml) maple syrup
- 3 celery stalks, cut into large pieces
- 1 red apple, cut into large pieces
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) peppercorns
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
Ingredients for the glaze
- 1½ cups (375 ml) maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) Italian seasoning
- 3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
Ads
Preparation
- In a very large pot or a brining bag, combine everything except the turkey and stir. Add the turkey, seal the bag pressing out as much air as you can, and refrigerate for 12 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line the bottom of a large roasting pan with aluminum foil and set the rack inside.
- Take the turkey out of the brine and drain it well. Set it on the rack and pat it dry with paper towels. Drizzle with a thin stream of olive oil, then season generously with salt and pepper. Rub to spread it all over.
- Place in the oven on the lower rack and roast for 1 hour 30 minutes to form a nice crispy skin.
- In a bowl, combine the glaze ingredients, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Set aside.
- Rotate the turkey 180 degrees and brush with the maple glaze. Keep roasting for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, or until the internal temperature of a thigh (not touching the bone) reaches 180°F (82°C). Brush with the glaze every 15 minutes and cover with aluminum foil if the turkey gets too dark.
- Take it out of the oven and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving and serving!
- To make my deluxe hot turkey, toast a few slices of bread lightly brushed with olive oil and set them on a plate. Top with about ½ cup (125 ml) of turkey meat and pile on a firm shredded cheese of your choice. Personally, I LOVE Le Moine cheese from the Saint-Benoît-du-Lac fromagerie. Pour piping hot store-bought hot chicken sauce over it and garnish with peas to taste!!! Enjoy :).
For this one, it’s maple syrup with Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, dried thyme, Italian seasoning and garlic. The trick is to wait: the turkey roasts alone for 1 hour 30 minutes, and only then do you start brushing the glaze on, every 15 minutes, so the syrup doesn’t burn.
For my turkey of about 9 lb (4 kg), it’s 1 hour 30 minutes at 350°F (180°C) for the skin, then 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours more with the glaze, until the thigh reaches 180°F (82°C). Trust the thermometer, not the clock.
Brine it for 12 hours, no more, or it turns out too salty. Hold off on the glaze until after the first 1 hour 30 minutes so the sugar doesn’t burn, pull it out when the thigh hits 180°F (82°C), and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.
4 to 5 days in the fridge, or 3 months in the freezer. And one great use is a deluxe hot turkey sandwich: toasted bread, turkey, a firm shredded cheese, piping hot hot chicken sauce and peas. That’s step 8 of the recipe.
A salad and potatoes. Try my perfectly crispy baby potatoes and my white balsamic arugula salad.
Ads
Ads
Ads
Ads
Ads