Red Chile and Orange Glazed Turkey

Ingredients:

  • 1 (18 pound) turkey
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Turkey Brine
    • ½ cup sugar
    • ½ cup kosher salt
    • 3 quarts water
    • 1 quart white vinegar
    • 4 bay leaves
    • ¼ cup black peppercorns
    • 4 quarts Ice
    • ½ cup whole-grain or Dijon mustard
  • Red Chile and Orange Glaze
    • 2 (2 ounce) bags dried New Mexican red chiles (stemmed, seeded, and rinsed)
    • ¼ teaspoon cocoa powder
    • ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
    • ¼ cup onion (chopped)
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 garlic clove (chopped)
    • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
    • 2 cups fresh orange juice
    • Kosher salt

Directions

Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Stir in sugar and salt until dissolved. Add vinegar, bay leaves, and peppercorns and remove from heat. Add ice to cool the mixture. Stir in mustard until dissolved.

Brine turkey for 24 hours.

Remove turkey from brine and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Discard brine.

Preheat oven to 375° F with the rack in the lowest position.

Place turkey in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Loosen the skin and rub butter underneath and on the outside of the skin, dividing evenly. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes.

Reduce oven to 325° F and roast 1½ hours. (Tent breasts with oiled aluminum foil if they become too dark.)

Glaze

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Place chiles on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until slightly dried and toasted, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cover with water; cover bowl with plastic wrap. Soak until soft, turning once, 30-35 minutes. Reserve ¾ cup soaking liquid; drain chiles.

Blend chiles and reserved liquid, in batches, until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Strain into a large saucepan, pressing to release as much liquid as possible.

Add cocoa powder, oregano, onion, bay leaf, garlic, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, 20 minutes. Cool completely. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve; discard solids.

Meanwhile, cook orange juice in a medium saucepan over medium heat until thick and syrupy, 20-30 minutes. Whisk in reserved red chile sauce, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth and thick. Remove from heat.

Continue roasting, glazing twice with red chile and orange glaze, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh registers 165° F, 25-30 minutes.

Gently tilt turkey to release juices from cavity into the pan. Transfer turkey to a cutting board; rest at least 30 minutes before carving.

Scrape browned bits from bottom of the pan and transfer, along with pan juices, to a large straight-sided skillet; reserve.

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