Maple Roasted Turkey
A New England style turkey with maple syrup. It makes for
   a  lovely Thanksgiving  or Christmas dinner. Try stuffing it with
   Cranberry, Sausage and Apple Stuffing or your family favorite .
  
   12 servings.
  2 cups apple cider
1/3 cup real maple syrup
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons Fresh Majoram or dried
2-1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
3/4 cup butter
14 pounds whole turkey, neck
   and giblets reserved
    2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup coarsely chopped carrots
2 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons apple brandy
   

Directions
1 Boil apple cider and maple syrup in a heavy saucepan
   over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 20
   minutes). Remove from heat and mix in 1/2 of the thyme and
   marjoram and all of the lemon zest. Add the butter or margarine
   and whisk until melted. Add salt and ground pepper to
   taste. Cover and refrigerate until cold (syrup can be made up
   to 2 days ahead).
2 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place
   oven rack in the lowest third of oven.
3 Wash and dry turkey. Place turkey in a large roasting
   pan. Slide hand under skin of the breast to loosen breast
   skin. Rub 1/2 cup of the maple butter mix under the skin of
   the breast. If planning on stuffing turkey do so now. Rub
   1/4 cup of the maple butter mixture over the outside of
   the turkey. With kitchen string tie legs of turkey
   together loosely.
4 Arrange the chopped onion, chopped celery and chopped
   carrot around the turkey in the roasting pan. If desired the
   neck and giblets may be added to the vegetables. Sprinkle he remaining thyme and marjoram over the vegetables and pour the chicken stock into the pan.

5 Roast turkey at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30
   minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees
   C), and cover turkey loosely with foil (shiny side towards
   turkey). Continue to roast until very tender, basting
   occasionally with pan juices. About 3 to 4 hours unstuffed, 4 to 5
   hours stuffed. Pierce the leg joint with a fork, if the
   juices run clear or faintly pink then the turkey is done.
   Transfer turkey to a platter and cove with foil. Reserve pan
   mixture for gravy.
6 To Make Gravy: Strain pan juices into a measuring cup.
   Spoon fat from juices. Add enough chicken stock to make 3
   cups. Transfer liquid to a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil.
7 Mix 3 tablespoons of the reserved maple butter mixture
   with the flour in a small bowl to form a paste. Whisk baste
   into broth mixture. Add the chopped fresh thyme and bay
   leaf. Boil until reduced and thickened slightly, whisking
   occasionally. Add apple brandy if desired and season with salt and
   ground pepper to taste.

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