Orange Roasted Turkey

This Orange Glazed Roast Turkey is juicy, flavorful, and perfect for Thanksgiving. Brining in a simple orange juice brine and roasting breast side down for part of the time, ensures a bird that’s evenly cooked and juicy. I have all of the pro tips to help you master this impressive recipe.

The perfect Thanksgiving turkey. Does just reading that make you quiver in your chair? Yea, I get it. The pressure is high on Thanksgiving to deliver a bird that’s not only worthy of being the centerpiece, but also tastes delicious and isn’t dry as a bone.

This recipe will rid your turkey woes and make you the Thanksgiving MVP. How? Well it all starts with how you prep the bird, I’m a true believe in a brine. Then it’s all in how you cook it and when to pull it from the oven.

Below I reveal my pro tips for each step in this recipe to ensure you achieve the perfect Thanksgiving roast turkey. Are you ready?

A turkey recipe never requires a lot of ingredients, this orange turkey has just about ten ingredients to make a delicious glaze with rosemary and citrus notes.

Ingredients for Rosemary & Orange Glazed Turkey

For the Brine:

• Kosher salt: I like to use Morton kosher salt when developing recipes. If you’re using Diamond Crystal, this article on Kosher Salt will help you make the necessary conversions.
• Frozen orange juice concentrate: one of the easiest and most impactful ways to impart a ton of flavor into a turkey is to use concentrated juice! Use two frozen cans of 100% orange juice.
• Black peppercorns: you’ll need whole black peppercorns—avoid using ground pepper.
• Dried bay leaves: just two dried bay leaves for some flavor insurance. If you don’t have them, skip ’em.
• Turkey: I recommend using a fresh 12 pound turkey. You can use a frozen one, but make sure it is not injected with any brine (aka a Butterball). Thaw the frozen turkey in the fridge, allowing 1 day for every 4 pounds.
• Low sodium chicken broth: this recipe is already full of salt so I recommend just using low-sodium chicken broth. You can also use Better Than Bouillon to make chicken broth.

For the Orange Glaze:

• Orange marmalade: In keeping with the flavor of the brine, the base of the glaze is marmalade. Just use whatever brand you like best—you’ll need ¾ cup (so buy just one standard-sized jar). If you aren’t a fan of marmalade, you can use apricot jam.
• Orange juice: fresh orange juice is best for making the glaze, though you can also use orange juice made from concentrate.
• Dijon mustard: one tablespoon of Dijon mustard adds a punchy tangy that balances out the sweetness nicely. I like Grey Poupon but Maille is also great.
• Garlic: fresh is best! You’ll need 1 tablespoon of minced fresh garlic, so about 4 medium-sized cloves.
• Rosemary: a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary infuse the glaze with winter flavor. Fresh thyme would also work.

How to Make Roasted Turkey with Orange Glaze

Step 1: Brining Your Turkey

Ok, so first we have to understand what a brine is. Simply put, a brine is a solution of salt and water that is used for pickling, preserving or tenderizing food. Other flavorings such as herbs, spices and sugar are also often added to the solution.

For this recipe we’re keeping our brine easy, yet flavorful. Our solution is made of water, salt, orange juice concentrate, black peppercorns and dried bay leaves. Fun fact, orange juice is often used in meat marinades for its acidic quality—aka tenderization quality.

Step 2: Start the Turkey Breast Side Down

For the first 30 minutes, cook your turkey breast side down. Why roast upside down? Well, it protects the breast meat from overcooking and drying out. It’s an easy solution to a classic Thanksgiving problem.

After 30 minutes, flip the bird breast side up carefully using wads of paper towel. Roast for another 65 to 75 minutes. My rule of thumb is about 13 minutes per pound for an unstuffed turkey.

Step 3: Make the Orange Glaze

While the turkey is roasting, make the glaze. Combine the orange marmalade, orange juice, Dijon mustard, garlic, and rosemary sprigs in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, then let cool and discard rosemary sprigs.

After flipping the turkey breast-side up, brush with the glaze every 20 minutes.

Step 4: Check the Temperature of Your Turkey

Arguably the most important step in cooking the perfect Thanksgiving turkey is checking the temperature. In general, when it comes to cooking any kind of meat, temperature is essential.

Yes, checking the temperature of your meat is immensely important for food safety reasons. But beyond that, checking the temperature of your meat while cooking helps to ensure that it’s cooked, but not over cooked. They key temperature to roast your turkey is 160ºF for the breast and 170ºF for the thigh, not touching the bone.

If you’re in the market for a new kitchen thermometer, opt for the Thermapen from ThermoWorks. They are extremely accurate and read a temperature within 1 to 2 seconds. I’ve worked in countless test kitchens, and this is the one kitchen tool that is universally used by them all.

Step 5: Rest the Turkey

After you have done all of the preparation and waited hours to roast the turkey, it’s essential to allow the bird to rest. Resting lets the juices within the bird even out so that the result is an evenly juicy and roasted piece of meat.

Be sure to allow the turkey to rest at least 30 minutes to 45 minutes, for best results before slicing and serving.

If you are unsure the best way to slice a turkey, I’ve got the perfect guide for you to use!

What Are the Benefits of Brining a Turkey?

There are many benefits to brining meat, but in this instance we’re using a brine to tenderize, moisturize and flavor our meat. Additionally, it also cuts down on the cooking time, which makes timing and cooking the Thanksgiving meal easier.

The only precaution is to make sure the word “pre-brined” is not printed on the packaging. Butterball turkeys, for instance, come pre-brined and would be too salty if they were brined a second time.

Other ingredients you could add to a brine include:

• Crushed garlic cloves
• Sugar
• Molasses
• Fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme and sage

Storage and Freezing

Refrigerating

Leftovers are one of the joys of Thanksgiving. You can store leftover turkey meat in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. I like to reheat the meat in the oven or microwave with a little bit of chicken broth to make sure it stays juicy.

Freezing

The best way to freeze leftover turkey is to take all of the meat off of the bones and transfer to a resealable freezer bag. Then press all of the air out of the bag, seal and place in once more resealable freezer bag. Why double bag? It will help protect your flavorful meat from getting freezer burn.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to freeze all of your leftovers in one large portion, divide them into 1–2 serving size portions and freeze in smaller bags (remember to double up on bags to avoid freezer burn). This way you can thaw and enjoy your leftovers over the course of a few months. Thaw frozen cooked turkey in refrigerator overnight.

Using Leftover Turkey

Leftover cooked turkey can be used in all kinds of delicious recipes. It’s sometimes easier to think of it as cooked chicken—try adding it to these great dinner recipes.

• Weeknight pho
• Slow cooker turkey wild rice soup
• Breakfast burritos
• Turkey and fig paninis or add some to these gruyère toasts
• Spicy chipotle tacos
• Butternut Squash risotto
• Pesto pasta
• Butternut squash carbonara

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