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

Best. Turkey. Ever.

Seriously. I am working on Thanksgiving, so Justin and I had our own little "Thanksgiving" dinner today. I tried a new recipe when I made our turkey today and it turned out amazing! It is a little time consuming, but well worth it. The meat comes out extremely moist and with just the right amount of flavor. SO GOOD!



Perfect Turkey
I used a 13 lb turkey and just adjusted the amount of ingredients a little.

1 (18 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
2 cups kosher salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry white wine

1.Rub the turkey inside and out with the kosher salt. Place the bird in a large stock pot, and cover with cold water. Place in the refrigerator, and allow the turkey to soak in the salt and water mixture 12 hours, or overnight.
2.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Thoroughly rinse the turkey, and discard the brine mixture.
3.Brush the turkey with 1/2 the melted butter. Place breast side down on a roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan. Stuff the turkey cavity with 1 onion, 1/2 the carrots, 1/2 the celery, 1 sprig of thyme, and the bay leaf. Scatter the remaining vegetables and thyme around the bottom of the roasting pan, and cover with the white wine.
4.Roast uncovered 3 1/2 to 4 hours in the preheated oven, until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Carefully turn the turkey breast side up about 2/3 through the roasting time, and brush with the remaining butter. Allow the bird to stand about 30 minutes before carving.

Original Recipe

~Kiss The Cook

Leftover Turkey Salad

Photo credit

Please excuse the random google pic. I forgot to take a picture of mine, but thought the post looked sad without a yummy picture.

About a week ago I made my very first Roast Turkey. I am not a huge soup fan, so I debated over what to do with the leftovers. Finally decided on Turkey Salad, and man, I'm glad I did. That stuff is so delicious - even better than chicken salad, in my humble opinion. The best part - it's super easy!

Leftover Turkey Salad

Ingredients:

1 cups cubed/chopped turkey meat (white or dark)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup mayonnaise (this is generous - less would work, too)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients. Serve on bread or lettuce bed. I love mine on potato rolls.

~ The Mess Maker

Turkey-Pasta Primavera

I have started to experiment with various crock pot recipes and this is one of the first I tested. It was quick to assemble as it has just five ingredients. The cook time is 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high. I'll definitely make this again as it tasted delicious. I had the leftovers for lunch the next day and they were just as good reheated. I think I could've added more vegetables, but that is probably the only thing I would have changed.

I served with tostones (fried plantains)

Recipe courtesy of 5-ingredient slow cooking.
2 lb turkey breast tenderloins or boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 16-oz. package frozen sugar snap stir-fry vegetables
2 tsp. dried basil, oregano, or Italian seasoning, crushed
1 16-oz. jar Alfredo pasta sauce
12 oz. dried spaghetti or linguine, broken (I used whole wheat pasta)
Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Cut turkey into 1-inch pieces. In a 4 1/2-6 quart slow cooker combine turkey and frozen vegetables. Sprinkle with dried herb. Stir in Alfredo pasta sauce.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

3. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Stir cooked pasta into turkey mixture in slow cooker. To serve, spoon pasta mixture onto dinner plates. If desired sprinkle with parmesan cheese.Per serving: 407 calories, 11g total fat, 103mg cholesterol, 447mg sodium, 39g carb, 2g fiber

Happy Cooking!
Yankee Doodle