Global Holiday Recipe: Roast Turkey with Maple Glaze, Pears & Bourbon

Holiday Feature

Roast Turkey with Maple Glaze,
Pears & Bourbon

Makes 8 servings

1 16-pound turkey
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup Makers Mark bourbon, divided
2 cups poultry stock
2 tablespoons butter
8 medium pears, preferably Comice, peeled, cored, sliced into wedges
1 cup Maple-Ginger Butter

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F with rack in the lower third of the oven. Rinse turkey and dry with paper towels. Sprinkle cavity with salt pepper and rosemary. Truss turkey, then rub the entire skin with butter.

Place turkey in a roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes, breast side up. Reduce temperature to 375 degrees. Combine syrup and 1/4 cup of bourbon, and baste turkey with it frequently. Cook until an instant meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 160 degrees, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. (Start cooking your favorite stuffing about a half hour before the turkey is finished.) Transfer turkey to a heated serving platter.

In a medium saucepan, bring poultry stock to a simmer, cooking until reduced by three-quarters, about 10 minutes.

In a large skillet over high heat, melt butter for the sauce, add pears and sauté for 3 minutes. Add stock and the remaining 1/2 cup of bourbon, cooking until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the Maple-Ginger Butter. Remove to a metal bowl, and continue whisking for 1 minute to stabilize before serving. Transfer to a sauce boat. Serve the sauce and turkey immediately.

Nutrition details per serving: Roast Turkey with Maple Glaze
Calories—2,162
Percent of calories from fat—39%
Fat—90 gm
Protein—255 gm
Carbohydrate—56 gm
Cholestorol—876 mg
Sodium—1,508 mg
Diabetic exchange—2 fruit, 3/4 fat.

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About the Book: "Jimmy Schmidt's Cooking Class"

About Chef Jimmy Schmidt

from:

Jimmy Schmidt's Cooking Class:
Seasonal Recipes from A Chef's Kitchen
By Jimmy Schmidt
$19.95 / Paper
Ten Speed Press
Publication Date: May 20, 1996
ISBN: 0-89815-804-4
Reprinted with permission

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