Are you in charge of cooking the Holiday turkey this year? If you really want to impress the family and friends around the table, this turkey recipe is a sure hit! The unique approach of butterflying your bird presents more surface area for the cranberry molasses glaze to stick to. Roasted at a low temperature until fully cooked results in a beautiful, moist interior. A blast of heat towards the end sets the glaze and crisps the skin. So if you're ready to depart from the ordinary turkey and serve an extraordinary bird , read on!
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| Can you see the shine in the white meat? This turkey is moist! |
In order to create this recipe, you'll need a good sharp pair of kitchen scissors, a wooden skewer, and a roasting pan. You'll use the scissors to cut out the backbone of the bird. Then, flipping it over you'll press down hard on the breast bone to flatten the turkey, like this:
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| Cut right along the side of the backbone, through the ribs. |
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| Cut up the other side in the same fashion. |
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| This is what your turkey should look like with the spine removed. |
I usually have my husband do this part because it helps him feel strong and manly. :0)
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| Now flip it over and push hard! |
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| The end result; a butterflied turkey :0) |
Now that your bird is successfully butterflied, poking holes in the breast and thigh meat speeds up fat rendering, leading to crispier skin. Rubbing Kosher salt under the skin seasons the meat and helps the meat cook up moist. It's really important that the skin is as dry as possible to encourage browning, so you'll blot as much moisture off as you can with paper towels. Applying a dry rub on the outside skin of the turkey consisting of Kosher salt, pepper and baking powder adds more flavor and helps dry out the skin further so it will turn out crispy brown instead of soggy and limp.
If your roasting pan doesn't have a rack that can be inverted and still fit in the pan, (see picture at left) no problem! Take the rack out and place onion halves under each breast and thigh to elevate the bird from the bottom of the pan. (You'll need two onions each cut in half. ) Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wing tips under the breast, as shown. Now you're ready to roast your turkey!
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| Fully cooked AND glazed turkey. Isn't it a beauty? |
When the turkey is done, it's important to let it rest. As the meat cools, the juices 'settle' or collect back into the muscle tissue, creating great moist meat. While it's resting, you can move on to creating your glaze. Waiting to apply the glaze after you've fully cooked the turkey allows the skin to crisp up first. Blasting it with high heat will concentrate and thicken the three coats of glaze.
Cranberries cooked in molasses, thinned with apple cider, apple cider vinegar, fresh ginger, and Dijon mustard are reduced on the stove top to create a beautiful and flavorful glaze. Plus, you can use what's left to create a lovely drizzling sauce to pass around the table.
If you are feeding a crowd, and are cooking a larger bird, you'll want to adjust the recipe for the size of the bird. This recipe is written for a medium-smallish turkey. Either 1 and 1/2 the ingredients or double them to ensure that you have enough glaze for your larger turkey and that it is properly seasoned.
Butterflied Turkey with Cranberry Molasses Glaze
by
Prep Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours total
Keywords: roast entree turkey Thanksgiving Christmas American
Ingredients (10 to 12)
- 1 (12 - 14 pound) turkey, giblets and neck removed
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- optional: 2 large onions, peeled and halved (see blog post)
- 3 cups of apple cider
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1/2 cup light or mild molasses
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
1. Following the instructions in the blog post, butterfly the turkey by cutting adjacent to each side of the backbone with sharp kitchen scissors and removing it completely. Flip the turkey over and using the heel of both hands, push down until the turkey is laying flat. (You will hear bones cracking.)
2. With a wooden skewer, poke 15 to 20 holes in the breast halves and thighs. Flip the bird over and rub the bone side of the turkey with 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Flip turkey skin side up and separate the skin from the meet using the handle of a wooden spoon or your fingers. Rub 1 tablespoon of salt evenly under the skin. Tuck the wing tips under the breast. Push the legs up to rest on the lower portion of the breast and tie the bones together with kitchen twine. Combine the remaining tablespoon of salt, remaining tablespoon of pepper and baking powder in a small bowl. With a wad of paper towels, blot the skin dry. Rub the entire surface of the skin evenly with the baking powder mixture. Place the turkey in your roasting pan, either on the inverted rack or onions and allow the bird to stand at room temperature for about an hour. About 10 minutes before the end, preheat your oven to 275 and move an oven rack to the lower-middle position.
3. Roast the turkey until an instant read thermometer registers 160 degrees inserted in the thickest part of the breast, and 175 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh, 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove the bird from the oven, strain any liquid in the bottom of the pan into a fat separator, and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
4. While the turkey rests, move on to cooking the glaze by combining all ingredients *except butter* in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 1 and 1/2 cups, about thirty minutes. You'll know it's done when it leaves a thin film coating on your spoon. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a 2 cup measuring cup. Press on the solids in the strainer to extract as much glaze as you can, and toss the solids that are left. Transfer 2/3 cup of glaze to a small sauce pan and set aside. Now, set your oven temperature to 450 degrees.
5. Brush the turkey with approximately one-third of the glaze in the measuring cup. If it's quickly dripping off the turkey, it's to thin. (If this happens, pour it into a small pot and boil it until it thickens slightly.) It should stick to the skin fairly well without much dripping off. Place in the hot oven for about 6-7 minutes. Pull it out and put another coat of glaze on. Roast again for 6 to 7 minutes. Pull the turkey out and place a final third coat of glaze over it and roast for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the skin is evenly browned and crispy. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let it rest for 20 minutes. (Now discard the onions if you used them.)
6. While it's resting, pour the drippings into the sauce pan with the reserved glaze, discarding any remaining fat. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat and cook until it thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan and *finally* whisk in the butter. Carve the turkey and serve, passing the sauce with it.
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