Maple Roast Turkey and Gravy

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"A New England style turkey with maple syrup. Try stuffing it with Cranberry, Sausage and Apple Stuffing. If you have fresh marjoram on hand, use 2 tablespoons rather than the 1/2 teaspoon dried. For an added zing of taste, two tablespoons of apple brandy can be added. If you don't have fresh thyme, substitute 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme. Originally submitted to ThanksgivingRecipe.com." — Ibby

Directions

Boil apple cider and maple syrup in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 20 minutes). Remove from heat and mix in 1/2 of the thyme and marjoram and all of the lemon zest. Add the butter or margarine and whisk until melted. Add salt and ground pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until cold (syrup can be made up to 2 days ahead).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place oven rack in the lowest third of oven.
Wash and dry turkey. Place turkey in a large roasting pan. Slide hand under skin of the breast to loosen breast skin. Rub 1/2 cup of the maple butter mix under the skin of the breast. If planning on stuffing turkey do so now. Rub 1/4 cup of the maple butter mixture over the outside of the turkey. With kitchen string tie legs of turkey together loosely.
Arrange the chopped onion, chopped celery and chopped carrot around the turkey in the roasting pan. If desired the neck and giblets may be added to the vegetables. Sprinkle the remaining thyme and marjoram over the vegetables and pour the chicken stock into the pan.
Roast turkey at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and cover turkey loosely with foil (shiny side towards turkey). Continue to roast until very tender, basting occasionally with pan juices. About 3 to 4 hours unstuffed, 4 to 5 hours stuffed. Pierce the leg joint with a fork, if the juices run clear or faintly pink then the turkey is done. Transfer turkey to a platter and cove with foil. Reserve pan mixture for gravy.
To Make Gravy: Strain pan juices into a measuring cup. Spoon fat from juices. Add enough chicken stock to make 3 cups. Transfer liquid to a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil.
Mix 3 tablespoons of the reserved maple butter mixture with the flour in a small bowl to form a paste. Whisk baste into broth mixture. Add the chopped fresh thyme and bay leaf. Boil until reduced and thickened slightly, whisking occasionally. Add apple brandy if desired and season with salt and ground pepper to taste.

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Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Feb 01, 2008

Great recipe! However I like to play around with things and found that a couple minor changes resulted in the best turkey I have ever eaten (my family agrees). The sweetness was a welcome change and especially great since my son and my husband both have a huge sweet tooth. I did add some brown sugar to the maple-butter glaze. Also, I had a large turkey injector left from thanksgiving and made my own injector butter mixture. I melted two sticks of butter, added 1/2C apple cider, 1/4C maple syrup and 1/4C brown sugar. heated over low-med heat until butter was melted and sugar was dissolved then injected all of the mixture into the turkey. Oh man, it was good! Oh, and for easy suffing, just buy the boxed stuff and chop up a sweet apple (i use gala) and thaw some frozen cranberries. Add the fruit to the stuffing when you prepare it, then stuff it all into the bird. So good, and very easy.

—WHempsey

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Nov 27, 2008

2 cups of apple cider vinegar is way too much. The odor was so pungent that we had to open all of the windows. I would make it again but with much less of it.

—Linda

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102 Ratings

Nov 10, 2002

This is by far, the absolute best turkey recipe I have ever made! Everyone loved it for Thanksgiving! I used a little more maple syrup, but it didn't throw anything off. Gravy is to die for!!! The best I've ever had! I've never known a turkey to come out so juicy and perfect! Even stuffy friends who would've rathered "went out for Thanksgiving" (hey! we live in NYC, whadda ya want?) were thoroughly delighted and impressed! I highly suggest to anyone who plans on making a turkey for the holidays to make this! Bon Appeite!

—ROMACZECH75

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Dec 28, 2005

This was a delicious turkey. A nice change from the traditional flavor. I stuffed this with the "Awesome Sausage Apple and Cranberry Stuffing" from this site and this made the best Turkey and stuffing I've ever eaten. I'll be making it again.

—BATCAVES

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Dec 18, 2007

This is an amazing recipe. I brined my turkey first then used the apple/maple/butter from this recipe to smother it in before putting in the oven. BTW, for those not living in USA apple cider is apple juice NOT apple cider vinegar! I didn't put veges in tray with turkey but did use the liquid at the end of cooking to make gravy - so delicious. Thanks.

—starbase

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Jun 13, 2006

This recipe was tremendous. The turkey turned out juicy and succulent. The only thing I did differently was to stuff a bulb of garlic and some sprigs of rosemary in the turkey cavity before roasting. The gravy was some of the best I've ever tasted.

—CELTIC CHEF

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Nov 24, 2006

This was my first year making the bird. It came out great. Add more vegetables & cut them into larger chunks. I think I might add potatos next time. Using the amount of vegetables called for in the recipe, the 2 cups of stock were too much. At the end I had at least a gallon of drippings even after making the gravy! I'm going to use that to make a turkey soup. This bird will now be my flagship bird for years to come & next time I'll add the sausage, cranberry apple stuffing I've heard so much about. Oh the gravy only had a hint of sweetness to it, perfect for mashed potatos.

—mj

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Nov 30, 2010

Amazing gravy comes from this. Followed directions exactly except used apple juice instead of apple cider. I added a cinnamon stick and some cloves to the apple juice/maple syrup and it turned out excellent.

—lvmyschilling

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Nutrition

Calories
579 kcal
29%

Carbohydrates
9.9 g
3%

Cholesterol
206 mg
69%

Fat
29.3 g
45%

Fiber
0.7 g
3%

Protein
65 g
130%

Sodium
313 mg
13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Maple Roast Turkey and Gravy

Serving Size: 1/20 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 20
Amount Per Serving
** Calories: 579
** Calories from Fat: 264

% Daily Value *
** Total Fat 29.3g 45 %
** Saturated Fat 10.9g 55 %
** Cholesterol 206mg 69 %
** Sodium 313mg 13 %
** Potassium 739mg 21 %
** Total Carbohydrates 9.9g 3 %
** Dietary Fiber 0.7g 3 %
** Protein 65g 130 %
** Sugars 6.9g
** Vitamin A 27 %
** Vitamin C 9 %
** Calcium 10 %
** Iron 44 %
** Thiamin 16 %
** Niacin 182 %
** Vitamin B6 61 %
** Magnesium 22 %
** Folate 14 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.