Roasted Turkey with Maple Bourbon Glaze
This Roasted Turkey with Maple Bourbon Glaze is so simple yet so beautiful! It’s perfect for all home chefs, from Thanksgiving novices to seasoned pros.
A Perfect Roasted Turkey Recipe
The turkey is somehow both the headliner of Thanksgiving, and the easiest thing to kind of overlook.
While at its most basic, a turkey requires little more than just putting it in the oven and cooking it until it’s done, to make a GREAT turkey, you need to do just a little bit more. Nothing crazy or complicated. But a little bit more.
Today, I’m sharing the method I recommend for the best roasted turkey of your life, including the maple bourbon glaze I brush it with for extra flavor, and tips to make the most visually stunning turkey platter.
I’ve been doing it this way for over a decade, and my turkey is ALWAYS the true star of the dinner table.
Why You’ll Love This Bourbon Turkey Recipe
- The Alton Brown-inspired method of starting the bird at a very high oven tempreature and then reducing the heat gives you both the crispiest golden brown skin and the tenderest meat.
- The combination of bourbon and maple syrup makes a rich glaze that adds a touch of sweetness and depth of flavor to your roasted turkey.
- The glaze can hide a multitude of sins when roasting a turkey. Leave the bird in the oven a bit too long? The glaze will cover it up. Nobody will know.
What You’ll Need For This Roast Turkey Recipe
- turkey – you’ll want a whole turkey that is 14 to 16 pounds, completely thawed if it has been frozen.
- thyme and sage – herbs that will add a savory, earthy flavor to the bird as it roasts.
- apple – goes inside the turkey as it roasts to add moisture and flavor.
- onion – goes inside the turkey to add depth of flavor.
- oil – for rubbing the turkey skin so it crisps up and gets nice and golden brown. You can use vegetable or canola oil here. Olive oil will not work because the smoke point is too low.
Bourbon Maple Glaze Ingredients
- butter – a stick of unsalted butter makes everything better, including adding a glossy texture to the glaze.
- apple juice – adds sweetness and a bit of acidity. You can also use apple cider!
- bourbon – this is going to add the rich caramel and vanilla notes that bourbon is known for. The alcohol will evaporate during cooking.
- maple syrup – enhances the glaze’s sweetness and balances the flavor of the bourbon.
- black pepper – adds a mild heat and hint of spice.
How to Roast a Turkey in the Oven
- DRY. Pat the turkey completely dry with paper towel, and then place the turkey on a rack inside a roasting pan.
- PREP. Place the thyme, sage, apple and onion inside the turkey’s cavity. Tuck the wings underneath the bird, and liberally brush the turkey all over with oil.
- ROAST. Transfer the turkey to a 500 degree oven and cook for 30 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to 350 and continue roasting until a probe thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast reaches 161 degrees F.
How to Make Glaze for Turkey
- BOIL. Add the butter, juice, bourbon, maple syrup and pepper to a saucepot and heat to boiling. Reduce the heat just a little bit and cook until the mixture is reduced by half. The mixture should have a thin glaze consistency, but it will continue to thicken as it cools, too. Set aside at room temperature.
- BRUSH. When the turkey is finished cooking, brush it with the glaze when it comes out of the oven. Let the turkey rest, then carve it and brush the pieces with additional glaze.
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How to Make a Glazed Turkey Platter
My food stylist tendencies never let up, even on a holiday where I’m just hosting family. I love a beautiful turkey platter, but to be honest, I never have too detailed of a plan for it.
When I’m at the store shopping for my bourbon glaze recipe and other Thanksgiving ingredients, I simply grab whatever looks prettiest.
- When in doubt, you can’t go wrong with lots of fresh herbs and fruit (especially citrus).
- Grapes are great platter fillers (and do double duty in Thanksgiving fruit salad and Christmas fruit salad)
- Watercress will give you a nice pop of green to go with all of that brown. You can also use extra fresh herbs you have around that didn’t go inside the bird.
- Orange slices always add a pretty touch.
- I love figs because they’re seasonal and delicious to nibble on along with your turkey.
- If you have extra fresh cranberries on hand after making a baked goat cheese appetizer, throw those on the turkey platter too!
You really can’t make a mistake here. Look around at the store when you’re shopping for ingredients for Thanksgiving salad or salad for Christmas, and whatever looks beautiful – take it home and use it to garnish your maple glazed turkey masterpiece!
Home Chef Tips for Making Maple Glazed Turkey
- One thing to be aware of is that this method is FAST! While 2 to 2-1/2 hours total is a good estimate, there have been some years where my turkey has been done even before the full 2 hours. So, you’ll want to have your side dishes like stuffing in a good place, being aware of this.
- You can make the glaze as soon as the bird goes into the oven, and simply let the pot sit on the stove with no heat under it until the turkey comes out.
- Just because this is a maple glazed turkey, doesn’t mean you can forget the gravy (because you’ll need that for mashed potatoes, too!). You can make my gravy from scratch in advance of the big day, and simply reheat before you’re ready to serve.
Roasted Turkey Recipe FAQs
The roasting time for a turkey depends on its weight and the cooking temperature you use. If you roast at 325 degrees F, a 12 to 14 pound turkey generally takes about 2-1/2 to 3 hours, but our method of starting with high heat and then reducing the temperature cooks the bird quite a bit faster.
No, you don’t need to put water in the bottom of the roasting pan when roasting a turkey. In fact, adding water will create steam, which will prevent the turkey skin from getting crispy.
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Maple Glazed Turkey
Ingredients
For the Roasted Turkey:
- 1 turkey, thawed if frozen 14 to 16 pounds
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 3 sprigs sage
- 1 apple sliced
- ½ white onion sliced
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
For the Maple Bourbon Glaze:
- 1 stick unsalted butter 8 tablespoons
- ½ cup apple juice
- ¼ cup bourbon
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
Make the Roasted Turkey:
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees F with a rack set at the lowest level. Pat turkey completely dry with paper towels, and place turkey on rack inside roasting pan.
- Place thyme, sage, apple and onion in turkey’s cavity. Tuck turkey wings underneath the turkey. Liberally brush oil all over turkey.
- Transfer turkey to oven and cook 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue roasting about 2 to 2-1/2 hours (although it could be a little less!), until a probe thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast reaches 161 degrees F.
Make the Maple Bourbon Glaze:
- Add butter, juice, bourbon, maple syrup and pepper to medium saucepot. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium. Cook 24 to 28 minutes or until mixture is reduced by half, watching carefully to make sure mixture doesn’t boil over. Mixture should have a thin glaze consistency, and will continue to thicken as it cools. Remove from heat; set aside at room temperature.
- When turkey is finished cooking, remove from oven and brush with some Maple Bourbon Glaze. Transfer turkey to cutting board and loosely tent with foil. Let rest 30 minutes before carving and serving brushed with additional glaze.
Notes
- Turkey recipe adapted from Alton Brown.
The glaze was such a hit last year that I’m currently cooking it for the turkey as we speak.
I hope your turkey was amazing, Bryce! I used this glaze this year, too.