Orange-Maple Roast Turkey

This orange-maple roast turkey is a sweet, savory take on the classic Thanksgiving turkey. It is my new go-to for the holidays.

My Favorite Sweet and Savory Thanksgiving Turkey

I’ve made many turkeys, and this orange-maple roast turkey has quickly become my favorite. Given how much I love my orange-maple roast duck recipe, this should be no surprise.

How to make orange-maple roast turkey

If you’re new to dry-brining, I recommend reading my post How to Dry Brine Turkey first. The gist is quite simple, so if you’re ready to dig in, you can skip it too. But a little extra knowledge never hurts!

This orange-maple roast turkey starts with a dry brining. The premise is that you coat the bird in spices and plenty of kosher salt and let it hang out in the refrigerator for up to a few days. The salt sucks the moisture out of the bird, which is then reabsorbed back in. It seems counter-intuitive, but this process results in tender, juicy meat and crisp skin.

Dry brine ingredients

You only need three ingredients for the dry brine:

• Maple sugar: I love the flavor of maple sugar, but you can use brown sugar instead.
• Black pepper: You can use freshly cracked or regular old ground pepper if you don’t feel like destroying your wrists with a pepper grinder!
• Kosher salt: Do NOT use fine table salt for dry brining. It will produce a very salty turkey, so grab kosher salt for this recipe. That said, table salt weighs more than kosher salt, so I’ve read that some folks have successfully used table salt by halving the amount of salt used. I have never tried it and strongly recommend using kosher salt.

How to dry brine the turkey

• Step 1: Start with the raw turkey. Remove the giblets and neck from the cavity and reserve them for gravy.
• Step 2: Season the bird. Combine your dry brine ingredients in a bowl. I use a ratio of 1 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound of turkey, ½ teaspoon of maple sugar per pound of turkey, and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper per pound of turkey.

• Step 3: Transfer the turkey to the refrigerator. It should be uncovered during this time. However, if you’re worried about the raw meat coming into contact with other items in your fridge, you can cover it very loosely with plastic wrap. You need to ensure that there are some gaps for the dry air to do its job.
• Step 4: Dry brine the bird. You’ll dry brine the turkey for at least 12 hours and up to 72 hours. I like a sweet spot of 36 hours. This results in crisp skin and juicy meat, and I’m not losing a big chunk of my refrigerator for 3 whole days.

• Step 4: Prepare for roasting. Remove the turkey from the refrigerator. I recommend draining off any excess moisture that has pooled at the bottom of the roasting pan. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. While you wait for the oven to heat up, truss the turkey, tuck its wings, and stuff it with fresh herbs. I add a few sprigs of thyme, rosemary, and sage.
• Step 5: It’s time to roast! I coat the bird with a little olive oil. I prefer that over butter, especially because the glaze adds more decadence to the turkey. Transfer it to the preheated oven.

How long does it take to roast a turkey?

Conventional turkey wisdom usually estimates cooking time for turkey to be about 20 minutes per pound at 350ºF. I prefer a lower heat at 325ºF with a negligible cooking time increase. For a 12-pound turkey, you’re looking at about 4 hours.

That said, every oven is different, and the location of the turkey in the oven may have an impact. I use the 20 minutes per pound as my guide for what I set my timer to, but it usually ends up being about 15 minutes per pound in my oven. I’ll usually start checking the turkey about 45 to 60 minutes before it’s supposed to finish roasting. Also, I have no shame in using the pop-up thermometer that comes with the bird! They’ve never led me astray, so I use that as a backup in addition to setting a timer and checking the temperature myself.

My tip? Start with 20 minutes per pound as a loose guide–not gospel–while understanding that it could take longer or finish quicker than expected. Check the temperature about 1 hour before the expected roast finish time just to be safe and ensure you don’t overcook it.

My favorite poultry glaze

The glaze is just a few ingredients.

• Clementines: You can use any orange here, or you can use store-bought orange juice. You need about 1/2 cup of juice in total.
• Star anise: These can be contentious, so use them sparingly, especially if you have guests who prefer traditional flavors. I use four star anise pods because I love the flavor, but you can use 1 or 2 or skip them entirely if you’re worried they might cause a stir!
• Maple syrup: If you don’t have maple syrup, you can use honey instead.
• Mustard: I use a mix of Dijon and whole-grain mustard. You can use one or the other if you don’t have both in your refrigerator.

During the last 30 minutes of the turkey roasting, simply gather your ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and whisk to incorporate. Reduce the medium and simmer rapidly until the glaze reduces by half. Turn off the heat and set it aside.

• Step 6: Glaze the turkey! Remove the turkey from the oven and brush the glaze over it. Return it to the oven until it finishes roasting and reaches 165º.

Why do you rest a turkey?

After roasting the turkey, lightly tent it with foil and rest for 30 minutes. Why? This allows all the juices to be reabsorbed back into the meat. While resting, the juices redistribute throughout the entire bird, ensuring that all the meat is moist and juicy. While it may be tempting to cut right into it, especially after waiting over 3 hours, you’ll release all the juices onto the plate instead of allowing them time to absorb back into the meat. You’ll have drier meat if you carve the turkey without resting it first.

Once the turkey has rested, you’re ready to plate it up. I serve it on a platter decorated with fresh herbs like sage and rosemary, halved clementines, and pieces of pomegranates. Pomegranate arils work well with this turkey glaze and add a nice brightness.

Orange-Maple Roast Turkey

This orange-maple roast turkey is a sweet, savory take on the classic Thanksgiving turkey. It is my new go-to for the holidays.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Inactive time: 1 day day 17 hours hours

Total Time: 1 day day 18 hours hours

Servings: 10

Calories: 660kcal

Equipment

• Roasting pan
• Kitchen twine
• Saucepan
• Whisk

Ingredients

• 12 to 13 pound whole turkey (completely thawed; neck and giblets reserved for gravy)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (per pound of meat)
• ½ teaspoon maple sugar (per pound of meat; or use light brown sugar)
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper (per pound of meat)
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 3 sprigs sage

Orange-maple glaze:

• 8 clementines (juiced, ½ cup juice; or use store-bought orange juice)
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 3 to 4 star anise pods (see Note 1)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard

Instructions

Prepare the turkey:

• Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
• Combine the salt, maple sugar, and black pepper in a bowl.
• Place a rack inside a deep roasting pan. Use your hands to cover the turkey with the spice mixture. Rub the spices inside the cavity and over the entire exterior of the bird to ensure the skin is completely coated with the spice mixture.
• Place the turkey on top of the rack and transfer to the refrigerator uncovered for at least 12 but no more than 72 hours. See Note 2.

Roast the turkey:

• Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
• Remove the turkey from the refrigerator. I recommend lifting the entire rack out of the roasting pan and wiping out any excess spices or liquid from the bottom of the rack. Line it with foil and return the turkey and the rack to the roasting pan.
• Brush the turkey with 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and place the thyme, sage, and rosemary inside the cavity.
• Transfer to the oven for 20 minutes per pound of meat. Rotate the pan once midway through cooking for even browning.

Prepare the glaze:

• During the last 45 minutes of the turkey roasting, prepare the glaze. Combine the clementine juice, maple syrup, star anise pods, Dijon mustard, and whole-grain mustard in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and whisk to incorporate. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer rapidly until it reduces by half. Turn off the heat.

Glaze the turkey:

• During the last 20 minutes of roasting, remove the turkey from the oven. See Note 3. Brush the glaze over it. Return it to the oven until it reaches 165ºF.

Rest the turkey:

• Remove the turkey from the oven and tent with foil. Rest for 30 minutes before carving.

To serve:

• Carve the turkey and serve with your favorite sides and gravy prepared from the neck if you like. Enjoy!

Notes

Note 1: If you’re unsure about star anise, start with 1 to 2 pods. Alternatively, you can omit them if you’re not a fan of the flavor.

Note 2: If you are concerned about having an uncovered raw bird in your refrigerator, you can loosely cover it with plastic wrap but leave some gaps where air can get in. The goal is to remove as much moisture from the skin as possible.

Note 3: If you want to use the drippings for gravy, I recommend draining them out of the roasting pan before adding the glaze. The glaze will create a very sweet gravy. Carefully transfer the turkey to a cutting board or platter, drain the drippings into a heat-proof bowl, and return the turkey to the pan before glazing it.

Nutrition

Calories: 660kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 123g | Fat: 11g | Sodium: 887mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin C: 4mg

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