Pomegranate-Glazed Turkey

This glaze is delicious and worked well as a gravy in addition to a glaze for the turkey. Everyone raved about how juicy the turkey was and how the glaze gave just a hint of sweetness. Enjoy!

1 12-14 pound turkey (thawed if frozen)

2 navel oranges

3 lemons

1/2 Tbsp sage

1/2 Tbsp thyme

1/2 Tbsp Rosemary

1/2 Tbsp Salt

1/2 Tbsp Pepper

1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice

2 Tbsp honey

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and move oven rack to lowest position.

2. Mix the sage, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl.

3. Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey and rinse the turkey under cold water inside and out. Drain all water from the turkey and pat dry with paper towels.

4. Place the turkey in a roasting pan. Cut one lemon in half and squeeze lemon juice all over the turkey inside and out allowing the excess lemon juice to drip into the bottom of the roasting pan. Then rub the spices all over the turkey inside and out and under the skin where you can.

5. Quarter the remaining lemons and oranges and place the quarters inside the turkey until full. Don't forget to put some in the neck cavity.

6. If the turkey doesn't come with a pop-up timer, insert meat thermometer into the breast meat and roast turkey 2 1/2 - 3 hours or until the meat thermometer reads between 165-170. To keep the skin from over browning, cover with aluminum foil the last half hour of cooking.

7. Transfer the turkey to a plate. Pour the drippings from the roasting pan into a skillet; add the pomegranate juice and honey. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly syrupy and reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Season glaze with salt and pepper to taste. Brush the turkey with some of the glaze and serve remaining glaze with the turkey.

Pomegranate glaze portion of recipe adapted from Cat Cora's Pomegranate-Glazed Turkey with Wild Rice recipe. Food Network magazine November 2010.

Happy cooking!

Yankee Doodle