Peking Style Roasted Turkey Recipes

PEKING-STYLE ROAST TURKEY WITH MOLASSES-SOY GLAZE AND ORANGE-GINGER GRAVY

Steps:

• Steam the turkey:
• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Season the inside of the turkey with salt and pepper and tie the legs together. In the bottom of a large pot fitted with a small round rack or crumpled foil, bring 8 cups water to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and lower the turkey into the pot. Cover and steam for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in 1/2 cup orange juice, soy sauce, molasses, vinegar, and 5-spice powder. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the glaze is slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Roast the turkey:
• In a large roasting pan, toss the scallions, celery, and reserved orange peels with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Fit a roasting rack over the vegetables and place the turkey on top. Brush all over with the glaze, lower oven to 350°F, and roast the turkey, basting every 20 minutes, until a thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 165°F, about 2 hours. If the turkey is browning too quickly, tent with a piece of foil. Let the turkey rest about 20 minutes before carving.
• Make the gravy:
• While the turkey is cooking, in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the turkey neck, gizzard, and liver and cook until browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes, flipping occasionally; season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat to medium and add the shallot, garlic, ginger, cloves, star anise, and allspice, and cook until the vegetables are softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the stock is flavorful and slightly reduced, about 1 hour. Strain the broth into a large clean saucepan and set aside on the stovetop to keep warm.
• In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over the butter and whisk to combine. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until butter mixture is browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until gravy is thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Once the turkey has been removed from the roasting pan, strain the drippings into the pot with the gravy, discarding the solids. Place the roasting pan over two burners over medium-high heat. Pour in the wine and orange juice and bring to a boil. Scrape up brown bits on the bottom of the pan, and cook until reduced, about 1 minute. Pour pan juices into the gravy. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the turkey.

A SIMPLY PERFECT ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place rack in the lowest position of the oven.
• Remove the turkey neck and giblets, rinse the turkey, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Loosely fill the body cavity with stuffing. Rub the skin with the softened butter, and season with salt and pepper. Position an aluminum foil tent over the turkey.
• Place turkey in the oven, and pour 2 cups turkey stock into the bottom of the roasting pan. Baste all over every 30 minutes with the juices on the bottom of the pan. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add stock to moisten them, about 1 to 2 cups at a time. Remove aluminum foil after 2 1/2 hours. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), about 4 hours.
• Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter, and let it stand for at least 20 to 30 minutes before carving.

CANTONESE-STYLE TURKEY

Steps:

• Remove turkey from refrigerator and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a rack in a roasting pan and allow turkey to come to room temperature while you prepare the sauce.
• Swirl 3 tablespoons oil into a wok or large Dutch oven and set over medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add scallions, leeks and celery and cook, stirring often, until vegetables soften and cook down, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Add soybean sauce, orange peel, sugar, rice wine or sherry, white pepper, soy sauce and oyster sauce to the vegetable mixture, along with 2 cups water. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and allow mixture to simmer and thicken, 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool 20 minutes.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spoon 1 cup of the sauce over turkey and spoon 2 tablespoons into its cavity. Tuck the tips of the wings under the bird and truss its legs together with kitchen string. Pour remaining sauce and 2 cups water into roasting pan and transfer to oven. Roast turkey, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
• Reduce oven to 325 degrees. Baste turkey with pan juices, and tent it with foil. Continue roasting another 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, basting every 30 minutes with pan juices, until a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees. If pan starts to look dry, add hot water or turkey or chicken stock, if you have any, 1 cup at a time.
• Transfer turkey to a cutting board or platter and let rest at least 30 minutes before carving. Pour pan drippings into a small pot, adding enough warm water or stock to equal 1 cup, and keep warm on the stove.
• Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Grease a large sheet pan with 1 tablespoon oil, and arrange halved potatoes on the pan, cut side down. Season with salt and black pepper, and slide potatoes into the oven. Cook, undisturbed, until potatoes are tender and cut sides are nicely browned and crisped, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Remove pan from the oven, drizzle reserved drippings all over potatoes, toss and return to the oven to finish cooking, 5 minutes longer. Serve potatoes with turkey.