Plum-Glazed Roast Turkey With Spinach, Bacon, And Cashew Stuffing And Plum Gravy

We think all turkeys are improved by brining (soaking in salt water), but it’s a cumbersome task that few holiday schedules can accommodate. We find kosher turkeys, which are salted during the koshering process, to be just as flavorful and succulent as brined ones, without all the fuss.However, if you’d like to try brining, stir together 8 quarts water with 2 cups kosher salt in a 5-gallon bucket lined with a large heavy-duty plastic garbage bag and soak your raw turkey, covered and chilled, 10 hours.

Yield:

Serves 8 To 10

Ingredients

1. FOR GLAZED TURKEY
2. =========================
3. 1/2 cup plum jam (preferably damson plum) or red currant jelly (6 oz)
4. 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
5. 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
6. 2 tablespoons water
7. 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
8. 1 (12- to 14-lb) turkey (preferably kosher), any feathers and quills removed with tweezers or needlenose pliers, and neck and giblets (excluding liver) reserved for making stock
9. 5 to 7 cups spinach, bacon, and cashew stuffing (see recipe for Roasted Stuffed Onions)
10. 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
11. .
12. FOR PLUM GRAVY
13. ======================
14. Pan juices from roast turkey
15. About 3 1/2 cups turkey giblet stock
16. 1/2 cup dry red wine
17. 1/4 cup plum jam (preferably damson plum) or red currant jelly (3 oz)
18. 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

1. MAKE GLAZE AND ROAST TURKEY:
2. Preheat oven to 425°F.
3. Simmer jam, five-spice powder, peppercorns, water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small saucepan, stirring, until jam is melted, about 3 minutes. Pour glaze through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on and discarding solids, then cool.
4. Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Season inside and out with remaining teaspoon salt. Loosely fill large body cavity (and neck cavity if desired) with stuffing and tie drumsticks together with string. Fold neck skin under body and secure with skewers, then tuck wings under.
5. Put turkey on a rack set in a large flameproof roasting pan and roast in middle of oven 30 minutes.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
7. Brush melted butter over turkey and roast, basting every 30 minutes (add a little water to pan if juices get too dark), 1 1/2 hours.
8. Brush turkey with plum glaze and continue to roast until thermometer inserted in center of body cavity (stuffing) registers 165°F (fleshy part of thigh will be about 180°F; do not touch bone), 1 to 1 3/4 hours more. If glaze starts browning too much, tent turkey with foil. (Total roasting time: 3 to 3 3/4 hours.) Transfer turkey to a platter (do not clean roasting pan), then remove skewers and discard string. Transfer stuffing from cavity to a serving dish and keep warm, covered. Let turkey stand 30 minutes.
9. MAKE GRAVY WHILE TURKEY STANDS:
10. Transfer pan juices to a 2-quart glass measure, then skim fat, reserving 3 tablespoons of it. Add enough turkey stock to pan juices to total 4 1/2 cups. Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add wine and deglaze pan by boiling over moderately high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until wine is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add stock mixture and jam and boil, stirring, until jam is melted. Pour through fine-mesh sieve into glass measure.
11. Whisk together reserved fat and flour in a large heavy saucepan (it will be about the thickness of peanut butter) and cook roux over moderately low heat, stirring, 3 minutes. Add hot stock mixture in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in turkey juices accumulated on platter and simmer 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
12. Serve turkey with gravy.

Notes

COOKS’ NOTE: If you choose not to cook your stuffing inside the bird, your turkey will take less time to roast (thigh should register at least 170°F).

Spiced Roasted Turkey

Pushing a buttery spice paste underneath the turkey’s skin allows the flavor to perfume the meat—and gives it extra juiciness. Here, we use the favorite Indian combination of garlic and ginger paste, along with the technique of toasting spices and then grinding them, for the freshest, most powerful result. Though the paste may smell pungent, its flavor, once the turkey has been cooked, is quite gentle.

Yield:

Serves 8

Ingredients

1. 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2. 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
3. 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
4. 2 whole cloves
5. 1/2 teaspoon star anise pieces
6. 4 teaspoons coarse sea salt
7. 2 tablespoons finely grated (with a Microplane) peeled ginger (a 5-inch piece)
8. 2 tablespoons finely grated (with a Microplane) garlic (8 cloves)
9. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
10. 1 (14-pound) turkey at room temperature 1 hour, any feathers and quills removed with tweezers or needlenose pliers, reserving neck and giblets (discard liver)
11. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
12. 2 bunches scallions, coarsely chopped
13. 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
14. 2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
15. 6 (1/4-inch-thick) slices fresh ginger
16. 1 cup Chinese rice wine, such as Shaoxing, or medium-dry Sherry
17. 4 to 5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
18. 1 tablespoon soy sauce
19. 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF with rack in lowest position.
2. Toast spices with sea salt in a dry small heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and coriander is a shade darker, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to grinder and pulse until finely ground. Reserve 1 teaspoon spice mixture, then stir together remaining spice mixture with grated ginger, garlic, and butter to form a paste.
3. Rinse turkey inside and out, then pat dry. Fold neck skin under body. Starting at large cavity end of turkey, gently slide your fingers between skin and flesh of breast and legs to loosen skin, being careful not to tear skin. Using a spoon, slide spice paste under skin of turkey breast and legs, pushing butter out of spoon with a finger on outside of skin (do not put spice paste under turkey skin in advance). Tie drumsticks together with kitchen string and tuck wings under body.
4. Pat giblets and neck pieces dry and cut into 1-inch pieces. Heat vegetable oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté giblets and neck pieces, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add scallions, carrots, celery, and sliced ginger and sauté, stirring, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.
5. Add rice wine and boil, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, 1 minute. Stir in 4 cups broth, soy sauce, and reserved teaspoon spice mixture and bring to a boil. Pour mixture into roasting pan, then set rack in roasting pan, arranging neck pieces and vegetables around rack as necessary (liquid should be just below bottom of rack).
6. Roast turkey on rack, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through roasting, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into fleshy part of thighs (test both, close to but not touching bone) registers 170ºF, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
7. Carefully tilt turkey so juices from inside large cavity run into roasting pan, then transfer turkey to a platter, reserving juices in roasting pan. Let turkey stand, uncovered, 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 175ºF).
8. MAKE GRAVY WHILE TURKEY STANDS:
9. Strain pan juices through a large fine-mesh sieve into 1-quart measure, pressing hard on and then discarding solids, and let stand until fat rises to top. Skim off and discard fat. (If using a fat separator, pour pan juices through sieve into separator and let stand until fat rises to top, 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully pour pan juices from separator into measuring cup, discarding fat.) You should have 4 cups stock. If there is less, add more broth. If there's more, boil to reduce. Transfer all but 1/2 cup stock to a heavy medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
10. Whisk together cornstarch and 1/2 cup reserved stock in a small bowl until smooth, then whisk into boiling stock and boil, whisking occasionally, 2 minutes. Serve turkey with gravy.

Notes

Spice mixture can be toasted and ground 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.