Fennel And Citrus Roast Turkey Recipes

ROAST TURKEY WITH GARLIC, SAGE AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Bring the turkey to room temperature 1 hour before roasting. Place a rack in the lowest position of the oven and remove the other racks; preheat to 350. Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey; discard the liver and reserve the neck and the rest of the giblets. Dry the turkey inside and out with paper towels and season the cavity with salt and pepper. Halve 1 head garlic crosswise and stuff into the cavity along with 3 onion wedges, the apples and 1/2 bunch sage.
• Place the remaining 3 onion wedges, the fennel and carrot in the center of a large roasting pan with 1 cup water. Set a rack above the vegetables and place the turkey breast-side up on the rack. Season all over with salt and pepper. Chop 3 tablespoons sage, then melt 3 sticks butter with the sage and salt and pepper to taste in a saucepan over medium heat. Fill a meat syringe with the sage butter and inject it into the breasts, legs and thighs; continue until you have used about half of the sage butter. Brush the bird with the rest of the butter and tie the legs together with twine.
• Roast the turkey, uncovered, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Rotate the pan and continue roasting until a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165, 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes. Turn off the oven but leave the turkey inside until the thermometer registers 170, 15 to 20 more minutes.
• While the turkey roasts, make the gravy: Melt the remaining 1 stick butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the reserved neck and giblets, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown, about 10 minutes. Peel and smash the remaining head of garlic, add it to the pan and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and bay leaves, cover and simmer over medium-low heat, about 2 hours. Discard the bay leaves, neck and giblets.
• Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest 20 to 30 minutes before carving. Transfer the vegetables to a blender. Pour the drippings into a liquid measuring cup and skim off the fat. Add 1 cup drippings and the flour to the blender and puree until smooth. Whisk the remaining drippings and pureed vegetables into the broth mixture. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the gravy is smooth, about 10 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar; season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer the turkey to a platter and garnish with any remaining sage. Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.

FENNEL AND CITRUS ROASTED TURKEY WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• Pat the turkey dry and let it stand at room temperature at least 1 hour and up to 2.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
• Grate the zest from the lemons and orange, then cut the citrus fruit in half and reserve. Chop enough fennel fronds to measure 1 tablespoon. Put the butter in a bowl and add the citrus zest, chopped fennel fronds, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and mix to combine thoroughly.
• Slide your hands between the breast and skin of the turkey to carefully loosen the skin. Use your fingers to loosen the skin over the drumsticks and thighs as well. Rub all but about 1 or 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture all over the turkey under the skin. Rub the remaining butter mixture over the surface of the turkey. Season the turkey all over with salt and pepper.
• Squeeze the juice from 1 of the reserved orange halves and 2 of the lemon halves into the bottom of a large roasting pan and then insert all of the citrus halves (including the juiced ones), the fennel quarters and half of the thyme into the cavity of the turkey. Tie the turkey legs together with twine. Add the stock and remaining thyme to the bottom of the pan with the citrus juices. Position a roasting rack in the roasting pan and put the turkey on the rack.
• Roast, rotating the pan halfway through, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 160ºF, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. (If the turkey and wing tips are browning too quickly, lightly cover with foil and remove in the final 30 minutes of cooking.) Let the turkey rest for 30 minutes before carving.
• Using a ladle, carefully remove the pan juices from the bottom of the pan and pour into a fat-separating liquid measuring cup for the gravy. Allow to sit for 5 minutes so the fat rises to the top.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the thyme and shallots and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Gradually add the flour and cook, whisking, until golden and nutty smelling, about 3 minutes. Add the Marsala wine and continue to whisk. Slowly pour in the stock and separated pan juices while mixing, making sure to incorporate the flour mixture as you go. Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar if needed to balance any bitterness from the citrus. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm until ready to eat, then strain into a gravy boat.
• Carve the turkey and place on a large serving platter. Garnish with fennel fronds. Serve with hot gravy.

FENNEL AND CITRUS ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• 1. Remove the turkey from the fridge about 1 hour before roasting, to let it come to room temperature. Calculate the cooking time at 35 minutes per kg (so 2 hours 55 minutes for a 5kg turkey). Put the bird in a large roasting tin and set aside. In a pestle and mortar or spice grinder, finely grind the salt, fennel seeds and peppercorns; set aside. In a bowl, mash together the butter, citrus zests and garlic; set aside. Preheat the oven to 180˚C, gas mark 4. 2. Carefully push your fingers between the skin and breast meat of the turkey to create 2 pockets, then push in the flavoured butter; smooth it down with your fingers. Sprinkle the fennel salt over the skin of the bird. Put the citrus halves and herbs into the cavity. Put the carrot, celery and onion in the tray; pour in the wine. Cover the tin in a double layer of thick foil, making sure it is well sealed. Roast for the calculated cooking time, minus 20 minutes. After this time, turn the oven up to 200˚C, gas mark 6, remove the foil from the turkey, drizzle the skin with a little olive oil and finish cooking, uncovered. 3. To test if the turkey is cooked, push a skewer or small knife into the thickest part of the thigh; the juices should run clear. If not, return to the oven for 10 minutes before checking again. Repeat until cooked through and no pink meat remains. Transfer the turkey to a warm serving platter, cover with a layer of foil and a few clean tea towels. Rest for 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes before carving. To decorate, surround the turkey with fresh herbs such as rosemary and bay leaves, charred orange halves and jewelled chunks of pomegranate, if liked.