Whole baked turkey is a festive table decoration. The bird turns out to be juicy, beautiful, with an appetizing crust. It can be stuffed, covered with glaze, and various flavors can be added to the meat. Spicy spices, aromatic herbs, citrus fruits, fruits and vegetables are suitable for turkey.
Turkey in apricot glaze
If you bake a turkey in apricot glaze, the bird will have a beautiful crust, the color of a noble mahogany. For this dish you will need:
- 1 turkey with a total weight of 5-7 kilograms;
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil;
- 1 lemon;
- 6 carnation buds;
- 6 sprigs of thyme;
- 4 sprigs of rosemary;
- 4 sprigs of sage;
- 1 bay leaf;
- salt and pepper;
- 1 glass of apricot jam;
- 1 ½ tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice;
- 2 teaspoons of lemon zest;
- 1 ½ tablespoons of chopped sage.
Preheat oven to 170C. Rinse the turkey and pat dry with paper kitchen towels. Rub the poultry carcass inside and out, first with vegetable oil, and then with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in half and place with the chopped garlic, bay leaf and sprigs of herbs inside the turkey. Roast the poultry for about 2 ½ hours, breast-side down on a foil-lined baking sheet.
The turkey should be removed from the refrigerator in advance, at least half an hour before cooking.
2 hours after you put the bird in the oven, start the frosting. In a small bowl, combine the apricot jam, lemon juice and zest, sage, season with salt and pepper, and heat the mixture in a water bath or microwave. It should become liquid. Remove the turkey from the oven and cover it with the liquid icing using a silicone brush. Bake for another 15 minutes, then repeat the operation and remove again for another 10-15 minutes. Take out the bird, put it on a dish, cover with foil and leave to “rest” for 40-45 minutes.
If you start cutting the poultry immediately after baking, the juices will not have time to evenly be distributed over the carcass and will flow out, leaving the meat dry.
Turkey sauce
A flavorful sauce should be prepared for the delicious glazed turkey. For him you will need:
- 3 glasses of chicken broth;
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter;
- ¼ cups of wheat flour;
- 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley;
- 1 tablespoon of chopped sage greens;
- 1 tablespoon of chopped thyme greens;
- salt and pepper.
Drain from the baking sheet in which the poultry was baked, the melted fat into the saucepan. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Melt the softened butter in a deep frying pan, add sifted wheat flour and fry it until it has a characteristic nutty flavor. Scoop a little broth from a saucepan, pour into a skillet and whisk into a homogeneous mixture. Then pour the resulting mass back into the saucepan, cook for about 5 minutes, until thickened, add herbs, season with salt and pepper, heat and pour into the gravy boat. Serve with the chopped turkey.
