Apple-Sage Roasted Turkey Recipe

Apple-Sage Roasted Turkey Recipe photo by Taste of Home

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Apple flavor gives this classic recipe a new spin that will appeal to even your pickiest eaters. The lovely aroma as this moist and beautiful turkey cooked in the kitchen had everyone talking. —Suzy Horvath, Milwaukie, Oregon

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Apple-Sage Roasted Turkey Recipe

Prep: 20 min. Bake: 3-1/2 hours + standing

Yield: 14 Servings

20 210 230

Ingredients

1/2 cup apple cider or juice
1/2 cup apple jelly
1/3 cup butter, cubed
TURKEY:
1/3 cup minced fresh sage
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 turkey (14 to 16 pounds)
2 tablespoons apple cider or juice
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons pepper
2 large apples, cut into wedges
1 large onion, cut into wedges
8 fresh sage leaves

Directions

In a small saucepan, combine the apple cider, jelly and butter. Cook and stir until butter is melted. Remove from the heat and set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons for finishing.
In a small bowl, combine minced sage and butter. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from the turkey breast; rub butter mixture under the skin. Brush turkey with apple cider. Sprinkle salt and pepper over turkey and inside cavity.
Place the apples, onion and sage leaves inside the cavity. Tuck wings under turkey; tie drumsticks together. Place breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan.
Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 3-1/2 to 4 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 180°, basting occasionally with cider mixture. Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly. Brush with reserved cider mixture. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes before slicing. Yield: 14 servings.

Nutritional Facts 8 ounces cooked turkey equals 506 calories, 19 g fat (9 g saturated fat), 191 mg cholesterol, 466 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 66 g protein.

Originally published as Apple-Sage Roasted Turkey in Simple & Delicious October/November 2011, p49