Next to a deep-fried turkey (that someone else cooks) Bourbon Maple Roasted Turkey has to be one of my favorite ways to cook a bird – in cheesecloth (!) no less. A recipe I shared in 2021 when I first tried it.
Turkey basics – try to stay with a 12 to 14 lb bird – two if you’re expecting a houseful. This size will cook quicker, stay moister, and generally taste better than a huge bird.
Second – spatchcock that baby. You’ll be able to use the back for stock and avoid dried-out white meat. This method roasts quicker, avoids the need to brine or inject the bird and lets the white and dark meats finish cooking at the same time.
Here is a great video on how easy it is to spatchcock a turkey, along with a very simple roasting recipe.
On to the Bourbon and Maple Syrup turkey recipe:
This recipe is from Chef Michael Symon. He has recipes and videos for a complete dinner (Link here – you don’t need a FB account to read or watch). This method was a success first time out.
Looks odd, but really kept the bird moist.
Michael Symons’ Roasted Spatchcock Turkey With Bourbon and Maple Syrup
- 12-14 lb turkey
- salt & pepper
- 2 navel oranges, quartered (I had cuties on hand, so I used 4 of those, halved)
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- thyme sprigs
- cinnamon stick (opt)
- 8 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup Bourbon
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 whole cloves (opt)
cheesecloth, roasting pan
Notes: I skipped the cinnamon and clove – I’m not that adventurous, those are some very strong flavors. I substituted sage and rosemary for a fine flavor. Just as a reminder to make a recipe your own, no need to stick to it to the letter.
After the turkey is spatchcocked, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (218 C).
Add the oranges, onion, and herbs to the bottom of the roasting pan. Place the turkey on top with the breast side up, thighs, and legs spread flat. Remove or tuck the wing tips under the bird. This step can be done a few hours ahead or the night before. Leave uncovered and refrigerated to allow the bird to dry.
In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add bourbon, syrup, cinnamon and cloves, simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Here’s the fun part, add cheesecloth and soak. Drape a double layer over the bird.
Pour the remaining contents of the pan over the bird and into the roasting pan.
Roast for 45 minutes at 425 degrees F, turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F (190 C), and roast an additional 30 minutes, remove cheesecloth and continue to roast until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F (72 C). Remove and cover to let the temperature come up to 165 degrees F (73 C) and rest – approximately 20 minutes.
If bourbon maple turkey isn’t to your taste, all the turkey recipes from years past can be found here.
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While that turkey is roasting, how about getting those guests some appetizers to nosh on:
Stuffed Mushrooms (recipe here) and crucrudités tray with dips are faves here. I’m not opposed to chips and dips but have found over the years that folks are less likely to fill up on appetizers if they tend toward fresh veggies.
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And don’t forget the sides:
Cranberry Sauce (recipe here) pictured top. If you have some folks who aren’t big cranberry fans, this recipe adds diced apples, which balances out the tartness of the cranberries.
Seasoned Green Beans with Bacon (recipe here)
Garlic Mashed Potatoes (recipe here)
Winter Squash Soup (recipe here)
If you’re in the mood for some non-traditional sides, got you covered with quite a few here.
And finally, to add to our dessert tray from the previous post:
Blueberry Pie and Apple Crisp. I leave the Pumpkin Pie to Mrs. Smith or others. And my Dad loves a good mincemeat pie – I buy the jarred filling and refrigerator pie crusts (like these) to make sure he gets his fave without too much effort from me.
All the other various Thanksgiving recipes and tips can be found here.
What’s on your menu this week? How do you cook your turkey? Favorite sidedishes you must have for it to be Thanksgiving? If you don’t do traditional turkey or Thanksgiving, what fun meal do you have?
TaMara
I know I do a snark tag, but in the last recipe post, there were some seriously good recipes in the comments if you missed them. HERE
New Deal democrat
I am thinking of doing an “all New World ingredients” holiday this year, so in lieu of adding onions and bread crumbs with mushrooms to green beans, I am going to try adding cashews with spicy maple syrup, made with paprika and chili pepper flavoring.
Needless to say, I’ll be trying that on myself first!
Betty Cracker
That cranberry sauce looks great! I’m having Thanksgiving with the deplorati this year, which means all I have to bring is cranberry sauce. But they expect the same sauce we always contribute, which is super simple but really good:
INGREDIENTS:
INSTRUCTIONS: (Make a day ahead or at least a few hours in advance to give sauce time to chill.)
Place water in medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add berries and cook until the skins pop. (At this point I usually mash some of the berries but leave plenty of them whole.) Stir in zest. Turn off heat and let cool. Pour into serving container and chill
PS: I’ll try adding apples to the cranberry sauce on a non-deplorati Thanksgiving year. It sounds great!
p.a.
My fave is dressing. A little scared of stuffing but I’ll eat it with fingers crossed, to be polite. Never had any ill effects but I guess it has been an issue if the FDA warnings are accurate. Best to me is Ital-Am style; what I grew up eating, Italian bread, turkey drippings/broth, sausage, wild mushrooms, pignoli, (pistachio is better but adjust for the salt), celery or fennel, parsley.
Oyster stuffing, cornbread stuffing both thumbs up.
Had a TGiving with a maximally WASP family once, and everything was top rate, but the stuffing was, as far as I could tell, and I’m not making this up, Wonder Bread and turkey jus. Everything looked like a Rockwell painting, then the patriarch spooned this stuff from inside the bird and… wow. Again, to be fair, the rest of the meal was A+, but my favorite thing… 😳
ETA: And I love the canned cranberry “sauce”.
Juju
How did I miss the recipe part but not the Leslie Jones part?
I have a stuffed mushroom recipe similar to yours, in that it calls for a sharp cheese, in this case Swiss, and some brandy. The difference is the rice, my recipe calls for breadcrumbs. I think the rice would be interesting but more work. I will probably try it someday. I’ve put it in my reading list as well as the Leslie Jones post with recipes in the comments.
MagdaInBlack
I was thinking of making myself a small lasagna for Thanksgiving, but I got over that silliness. Now I think its gonna be a couple pints of ice cream, jammies and movies. I’ll live vicariously thu all the good food mentioned here 🙂❤️
WV Blonde
I notice frequent mentions of bourbon in the recipes posted here at Balloon Juice … Fine with me, my favorite adult beverage!
TaMara
@p.a.: OMG, just no! I don’t think anyone in my family has “stuffed” a bird with stuffing since the 80s and nothing that is stuffed in a bird (i.e. onions, oranges, garlic cloves) are ever eaten. More reason to spatchcock a bird. Nothing to stuff.
Kay
We’re having a sad Thanksgiving because my husband’s favorite cousin died yesterday. Cancer. She was a lovely person and we will miss her. So we’re driving to Connecticut Thursday for the Friday funeral and skipping T-Day dinner.
Scout211
Thank you TaMara! That cranberry sauce recipe is just what I was looking for. I had several recipes printed out as possibilities but the addition of apples in yours sounds extra yummy. Printing it out now.
TaMara
@Betty Cracker: That’s my favorite, though I use 1/4 cup of OJ instead of any water. The apple/cran stuff is yummy, but I LOVE cranberries and turkey together as a rule, kind of a purist in that respect.
Mai Naem mobile
I love the word spatchcock. I don’t do turkey and have never paid attention to what it means but it’s just a great word.
p.a.
@TaMara: Heh. This was ’87 or ’88, so yeah. Stuck in my memory because I had never seen anything like it, especially since the family obviously took such care in preparing everything else. Also, the 2 teenage sons were really stoned.
prostratedragon
I’m having cap steak, something green like asparagus, and either sweet or gold potatoes. I like cranberries, and since there’s nowhere for them on that menu will have some over plain yogurt or vanilla ice cream. Cornbread dressing might materialize for the berries at some point also.
Juju
@p.a.: That dressing sounds so good. I love anything with pine nuts.
I used to prefer a white bread dressing, but then I moved to the south and discovered cornbread dressing. I make one with apples and celery. I haven’t had any complaints. I do cheat and use the Pepperidge farm mix after I felt overwhelmed one year and decided to use the mix instead of starting from scratch and there was no discernible difference. I just follow the directions but add a couple of peeled, diced apples to the last part of the sauté.
My brother makes turkey with stuffing and oyster stuffing at that. I have a serious seafood allergy, especially shellfish, so I can’t eat the turkey or the stuffing that he makes. He brines his turkey and it’s supposed to be very moist, but I don’t know. I’ve never had it.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: Sorry to hear that. Safe travels.
mrmoshpotato
Let’s take Senator Fetterman’s lead, and call it a veggie tray.
mrmoshpotato
@Kay: Sorry for your loss.
prostratedragon
@Kay: My condolences. Travel safely.
Honus
@TaMara: Au contaire. The only proper thanksgiving turkey is stuffed. And any competent cook can prepare it safely. It does however, take time, and a good meat thermometer. Dressing in a pan is fine, but the stuffing from inside a turkey is a wonderful thing.
And don’t even talk to me about deep frying a thanksgiving turkey. Thanksgiving is a formal holiday meal, not a damn fishing show.
CarolPW
@Honus:
I stuff mine, and because I love stuffing/dressing there is more than the turkey will hold so about half of it gets baked. Then they are mixed back together because the stuffing is a bit too wet and the dressing is a bit too dry.
Mine has paprika in it. When my niece was studying Arabic in Tunisia she gave me a set of spices. The labels were in Arabic, but from the colors and shapes you could pretty much tell what they were. So I added what I thought was paprika and it turned out to be cayenne. It was really good though, so I continue to use it. The heat is a nice contrast to the richness of the rest of the meal.
eclare
I have made your garlic mashed potatoes and love them!
I am having a solo Thanksgiving, I may buy some mashed potatoes and add garlic.
Cowgirl in the Sandi
We are going to our daughter’s in St Louis. She is gluten free and none of us is especially fond of turkey so we are having short ribs provençal with mashed potato and parsnips. MMMMM!
When we did do turkey I made a cranberry sauce from my old (really old) Betty Crocker cookbook. I adapted the recipe because it called for 2 cups of sugar!!
Combine a bag of cranberries, 2/3 cup sugar and a cut up organic orange (the whole thing) in a food processor and process until chunky.
It’s tart – you can add more sugar if it’s too tart – but it’s great for cutting through all the richness of the turkey and gravy.
Albatrossity
We spatchcock and then grill the turkey on a large Weber gas grill, with some rehydrated wood chips packed into a small aluminum foil pouch also on the grill. That keeps the oven free for anything else that needs the oven. And a grilled smoked turkey like this is just about the best way to cook the bird; once I had a turkey cooked this way, I’ve never done one in the oven again!
Cranberry-orange relish is simple if you have a sausage grinder, and I have one that my grandmother and mother passed down to me (much to the chagrin of my siblings). One whole navel orange, 12 oz rinsed cranberries, ground together in the sausage grinder (with a bowl under the thing to catch all the juice). Mix in one cup of sugar (or honey), let sit in the refrigerator for a few hours to allow the flavors to meld. Variations on this include adding apples, walnuts or pecans, but I like the simplest recipe above. It is a taste of childhood and home.
Kirk
I was asked to bring along a couple of jars of cowboy candy aka sweet pickled jalapenos. I’ve only made about 50 batches so don’t have a finalized recipe, and besides those who’ve read my recipes know I’m more of a “go by sense” than “measure” sort of cook. Also, these are pickles so I’ll footnote the jar and lid preparation and such. No food poisoning, ok?
1 part sugar to 2 parts cider vinegar per pound of jalapenos is my baseline. Don’t run the sugar below this, but you can run it up to 1 part vinegar to 2 parts sugar if you want. That’s about the range for effective acid/sugar pickling. Also while I use white sugar I’ve tried mixing proportions of brown and even used brown wholly. I’m not as fond of the taste but the option works. Each pound is going to fill a bit more than 1 half-pint canning jar with three pounds giving you about 4 jars. Sorry but here I don’t know metric canning jar sizes so can’t help.
Wear kitchen gloves – nitrile or latex or whatever. Trust me.
Remove the stems from the jalapenos then slice into rings of ~1/4 in (5 mm) thickness and set aside. A little thicker or thinner is fine.
In a large kettle (size: your sliced peppers need to be at least 2 inches (5 cm) below the top when dumped in here before using so you don’t get boil-over.)
Add sugar, vinegar, and spices (discussed below). Bring to hard boil, reduce and simmer for 5 minutes. Add all the jalapenos. Return to hard boil then reduce to simmer. Nominally these need to go for four minutes BUT what you want is for all the rings to look shriveled as though they are badly dehydrated. (Narrator: because they are dehydrated).
Use a slotted spoon to move to the prepared jars (second note below) filling to about 1/4 inch / 5mm from the top with light pressing.
Return liquid to the stovetop and bring to a boil. Reduce to low boil/heavy simmer and cook down to about 3/4 of original to make a medium syrup. Use a ladle to carefully fill the jars so the jalapenos are just covered.
Finish the canning (see notes below). Minimum recommended setting time is 2 weeks, as with all pickled veggies a month or more is better. Shelf life is notionally a year. Open, use the resulting sweet-hot-sour pickles to finish tacos or sandwiches, to add contrast to savory dishes, or for some to snack on out of the jar.
Note: Spices.
Spices are completely optional and pretty much everything works. I have used combinations of – celery seeds, mustard seeds, star anise, cinnamon sticks, cloves, red pepper (and gochagaru) flakes, garlic (cloves, flakes, and powder), onion (fresh, flake, and powder), peppercorns, salt, ginger (candied and fresh), thyme, lavender, and rosemary. All have worked and various willing taste victims had diverging preferences. My GENERAL guide is no more than 1/2 teaspoon of any spice per blend and the blend is no more than 1 tablespoon per pound of jalapenos. My most recent is a stick of cinnamon, 5 whole cloves, 4 crushed cloves of garlic, 1/2 teaspoon gochagaru, 1/2 teaspoon of celery seed, all for 3 pounds of jalapenos.
Note: Canning – other canners feel free to add (or laugh)
First aside is that this is not the only way to can food. It’s the way I use for these pickles.
Canning is hot and clean to be safe. In addition to jars and lids you will need something large enough to put the jars in so they are surrounded by boiling water just short of the jar tops and something to get very hot and full jars out of the same boiling water. For this last I use top-grip tongs but I’ve also used side grip tongs (not recommended) and a few different baskets (test first before using to know they’ll hold the jars without them tipping over AND that you know how you’re getting it out of the hot water. A metal basket that has a rim half an inch under the boiling water with a loose chain that’s also fallen under the surface is only amusing as a “there I was” story. Trust me.)
Sterilize the jars, the lids, the rings, and whatever you’re using to get the bottles in and out. My method is to put them all in the top shelf of my dishwasher, run it hot rinse/hot dry, and leave it closed till I’m ready for the jars. Oh, and I like to wash my glove-wearing hands in alcohol for 30 seconds or so. I’ve had bad canning, you see.
When moving the jars make sure you never ever touch the inside with anything but the food you’re adding. Which reminds me, always sterilize at least 1 more of everything just in case. Unless you’re a pro.
Fill the jars as in the recipe above.
The last step of the process is sealing the jars by creating a vacuum. You’d going to put the filled jars in a pot of water, and use a pitcher or large glass add enough water that the level is about half an inch/1 cm below the tops of the jars. You’re going to put the flat lids on the jars. I put the rings on with just enough twist that the threads connect – there are pros and cons to this but it’s my preference. Bring the water to a boil and let it continue boiling for 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat, and remove the jars from the water. Snug the rings down so they’re barely finger-tight. They’re going to self-tighten more as they cool and subsequently shrink.
After the jars have cooled, dry them and add a label. Even if it’s the first batch and you believe only batch, label them. What are they and when were they made. There is not need to experience the emotional turmoil of finding a jar of green something in your shelves, throwing it away because you aren’t sure, then a day later remembering that was the last jar of that treasure you made last winter.
Set your labeled pickled/canned product in a cool to room-temperature area away from sunlight. Pickled and canned vegetables are shelf-stable for 12-18 months, and if you enjoy doing this low acid foods can go up to five years.
EarthWindFire
@Kay: I’m so sorry. Cancer is insidious.
We’re driving the turkey down to my stepson’s on Wednesday, then cooking it Thanksgiving day. So while the spatchcocked turkey looks great, think I’d best stick with my tried & true roasting pan recipe: smear 12-14 pound turkey with a stick of salted butter, softened and mixed with thyme, rosemary, and black pepper. Stuff the cavity with half an orange, half an onion, and a package of the poultry herbs from the grocery store. Add half an apple if it fits. Place on roasting rack or substitute carrots and celery for rack for extra gravy flavor. Put 2 cups chicken stock, 1 cup white wine, and the giblets in bottom of the roasting pan. Roast at 325 and tent with foil two-thirds of the way through cooking time. Remove aromatics from cavity and carrot/celery rack from pan. Tent and let rest an hour while sides go in the oven and you make a boatload of gravy with the juices mixed with broth and wine. I usually save the giblets for the dog. Which makes me queen of the castle for the next few days. But you could cut them up and add to the gravy.
I use Betty Cracker’s cranberry sauce recipe and I’m the only one who eats it. I don’t know how the rest of the family eats all the other rich stuff without it.
narya
The FYNYT has a recipe for splayed (rather than spatchcocked) turkey that I have used several times to great effect. It has about the same effect, but you don’t have to cut through bone, etc. My biggest problem is not having a pan that’s big enough, but I manage.
Today was spent doing prep for the things I’m bringing on Thursday: poached the pears, made a pumpkin butter, made gougeres, made the syrup I’m going to use on the jocund, made the sablee dough. I tried to make an Italian meringue with cider and some brown sugar and maple syrup, and it was a a fail–it never whipped properly; I hate wasting things, so I folded in enough almond flour to make a batter, and baked it up, and DAMN did that work out!
One of the friends coming over Friday (for leftover dessert plus some focaccia and nibbles) doesn’t drink alcohol, so I also made some ginger ale base.
EarthWindFire
@narya: Ginger ale base? I’m intrigued.
Miki
We did T Day early at my sister’s yesterday because I’m going to spend the actual day getting ready for my total knee replacement surgery early on the 24th. I’m meal and life prepping this week in anticipation of not wanting to do much other than rest and PT for the next couple of weeks at least.
Dinner was ham smoked on the Trager, roasted rosemary spuds, green bean casserole, Japanese purple yam mash (?), no-knead rolls, and cherry hand pies. The yams were very purple and kind of odd tasting. The ham was fabulous.
The turkey recipe looks really good. Thank you! That cranberry upside down cake on the other thread also looks fab. Both have been added to my Paprika app, speaking of which – does anyone else use Paprika or another recipe manager? I’m overly fond of mine ….
satby
@Kay: Condolences to your family and all who loved her Kay.
Miki
@Kay: So sorry for your loss.
satby
And TaMara, thanks for the video on how to spatchcock a turkey. I didn’t think it was that easy. I’ll remember that for if I ever cook a whole bird again.
narya
@EarthWindFire: I adapted it from a Moosewood cookbook! A cup of grated ginger (I use a mini food processor), 2 cinnamon sticks, 4 cloves, some honey, and I threw in some extra lemon peel. Pour 6-8 cups of boiling water over it and let it steep–I like to leave it overnight. Strain through several layers of cheesecloth. To serve, mix it with club soda–you can also add citrus juice of some kind. I went easy on the honey, because I have some candied orange peel in simple syrup, and I’ll add that if it’s not sweet enough. The base lasts in the fridge for a long time. It will be/get somewhat cloudy (like ginger juice gets, in those little bottles); ignore that. the cloudy bits settle to the bottom if you really don’t like them.
NotMax
Repeating from previous Turkey Day food threads.
1) Mom’s Cranberry Awesome Sauce (no stovetop prep involved).
2) Hoodathunkit? Sweet Potato Mash with Feta.
3) A lighter dessert alternative. Pumpkin Parfait.
As previously linked here:
A selection of different takes on holiday side dishes.
Lastly, straight outta the 1950s (and mostly for grins), Crandles!
Citizen Alan
Symon’s turkey recipe looks disturbingly sweet to me. I’m eating alone this year (too new in Fresno to have someone to do a Friendsgiving with). So I’m doing a 2-lb boneless turkey breast which I am injecting with garlic Cajun butter. I will attempt to scale down my mother’s chicken & dressing recipe for a single person, plus loaded mashed potatoes, green beans and bacon, a large baked sweet potato, and (even though NYE is 5 weeks away) a crockpot of slow-cooked black-eyed peas.
narya
@Citizen Alan: the dressing would freeze, I bet, if scaling it down is a challenge. Imagine having little packets of goodness in your freezer . . .
CarolPW
@narya: Dressing freezes beautifully. I always make extra to put fried eggs on.
NotMax
@CarolPW
Left over, makes yummy waffles too.
NotMax
Thanksgiving dinner plans this year will be thick cut loin lamb chops.
Honus
@CarolPW: I approve
laura
This one’s my weapon of choice:
Deviled eggs
Hard boil and peel 1 dozen eggs. Slice in half long ways. Stash the whites in the fridge. To the yolks (I do this in a food processor, but a fork can get the job done) add a splash of red wine vinegar, 1 full tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp paprika, 1 heaping tsp dry mustard powder, minced parsley, minced chives, enough mayo to bind and make creamy but not gloppy. Blitz to a slurry. Taste and adjust- esp the mustard and salt. Spoon into a ziploc type bag fitted over a cup so you’re filling a corner like a pastry bag- which is what you are doing. Twist the end and add a rubber band or twist tie so no back flow. Chilled. When ready to serve, put the whites on your serve ware. Cut the tip off the slurry bag and pipe into the whites and hit the tops with some paprika followed by more parsley and chives. Enjoy them twice😉
Pink Tie
@Kirk: That sounds amazing!
My husband has banned a couple of my favorite casseroles but I’ve decided to bring them back this year. Artichoke & tomato (which i think might have originally come from the Newport News Junior League Cookbook; IIRC it just has those ingredients from cans, plus sugar, butter, and green onions) and my father’s favorite, creamed celery with pecans. I’ll probably end up eating all of it by myself over several days.
Yesterday harvested a ton of Meyer lemons off our tree and made about 6 jars of lemon curd to give away. My daughter’s favorite Thanksgiving dessert is cranberry curd tarts with vanilla whipped cream… may have to make that too!
Anonymous At Work
Spatchcocking a turkey, 17 pounder, five spice with orange and lemon peel mixed in for a dry brine. I won’t do a cheesecloth but do plan on a rosemary and garlic compound butter and some light basting. Drippings for the stuffing. Bones, spine and wingtips for broth-making, neck and giblets too.
Curious whether the five spice is too strong and whether the broth will be helped or hurt by the five spice as well.
Also, going to try a stock method where you add just the turkey stuff, cook it very low to get the scum and fat to float up, skim the top, then up the heat to a stronger simmer and add herbs/spices/root veggies at the very very end.