Delicious maple roast turkey

    (142)
    3 hours 30 min

    This roast turkey sees the addition of maple syrup which gives a lovely sweet taste to the turkey meat. Serve alongside all of the traditional Christmas side dishes for a feast to remember!


    3 people made this

    Ingredients
    Serves: 10 

    • 480ml cloudy apple juice
    • 80ml maple syrup
    • 2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
    • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
    • 170g butter, softened
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • 1 (5.5kg) whole turkey, neck and giblets reserved
    • 320g chopped onion
    • 180g chopped celery
    • 190g chopped carrots
    • 700ml chicken stock
    • 2 tablespoons plain flour
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 120ml apple brandy

    Method
    Prep:30min  ›  Cook:3hr  ›  Ready in:3hr30min 

    1. Combine apple juice and maple syrup in a saucepan, and bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking until reduced to 120ml, then remove pan from heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon thyme, 1 tablespoon marjoram, and lemon zest. Stir in butter until melted, and season with salt and pepper. Cover, and place in the fridge until cold.
    2. Preheat oven to 190 C / Gas 5. Place rack in lower third of oven.
    3. Place turkey on a rack set in a roasting pan. Reserve 60ml maple butter for gravy, and rub the remaining maple butter under the skin of the breast and over the outside of turkey. Arrange onion, celery, carrots turkey neck and giblets around the turkey. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon thyme and 1 tablespoon marjoram over vegetables. Pour 470ml stock into pan.
    4. Roast turkey for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce oven temperature to 180 C / Gas 4. Cover entire turkey loosely with foil. Continue roasting for about 2 1/2 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 85 degrees C). Transfer turkey to platter, and let stand 30 minutes.
    5. Strain the pan juices into a large jug, and then remove any excess fat. Add enough chicken stock to pan juices to measure 710ml. Transfer liquid to a saucepan, and bring to the boil. In a small bowl, mix 65g maple butter and 40g flour until smooth. Whisk flour and butter mixture into broth mixture. Stir in remaining thyme and the bay leaf. Boil until reduced to sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Mix in apple brandy, if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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    Reviews & ratings
    Average global rating:
    (142)

    Reviews in English (109)

    by
    69

    I used this recipe this year for my first Thanksgiving dinner ever. As you can imagine, I was pretty nervous! The turkey turned out wonderfully. I do have a few pointers for any novices out there like me - definitely make the Maple herb butter the night before to make the next day that much easier, "marjoram" is a plant and I went to the grocery store and found it in the spices and used that (it worked great). Also, when you first place the turkey in the oven on 375 for 30 minutes, make sure to keep an eye on it. The baste cooked very quickly on top of the skin and burnt, I just wasn't paying attention. It didn't matter at all since you cut the skin off before you serve it anyway, but if you are concerned about presentation then keep an eye on it. I do HIGHLY recommend using the gravy recipe included, the flavor was incredible and tastes great on the leftover sandwiches as a spread!! The entire process was pretty simple and easy to follow, and the end result was that I may be doing Thanksgiving for everyone for the rest of my life!!! Thanks so much, Lipo!  -  04 Dec 2002  (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)

    by
    27

    We made this yesterday and received a lot of compliments. It was fairly simple to prepare and the house smelled wonderful. The butter took longer to make than I estimated; I'm glad we made it in advance as suggested. I prepared half the gravy with the brandy and half without... everyone preferred the gravy without the brandy. The brandy was the most expensive part of the meal ($29.00 for a pint) and the most difficult ingredient to locate. If we make this again, we will not use the brandy.  -  25 Nov 2005  (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)

    by
    25

    Great tasting and juicy turkey. This is the best turkey I've ever made. I will definitely make this again next year. Next time I will boil the cider vinegar and maple mixture longer. I don't think I reduced the mixture as it was intended because when it cooled, there was liquid beneath the butter. This made it too tangy to use for the gravy, but that did not affect the flavor of the turkey itself. This was such a good recipe, I couldn't even mess it up! *Actually, I did mess it up!! I mistakenly used apple cider vineger instead of apple cider and it still turned out great. I was wondering why the gravy was so tangy.  -  27 Nov 2001  (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)

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