Orange Turkey

If ever you’re looking for a new way to prepare your Thanksgiving dinner, you’ve got to try this orange turkey recipe. Even if it’s a roast you make just once a year, you’ll have fond memories for months.

Stuffing the turkey with orange gives the meat a bright, zesty flavor and moistens the bird. That’s always a challenge with such lean meat. But the signature flourish is the addition of Champagne to make the broth. It’s not just for show, and you’ll really taste the difference.

Ingredients for Orange Turkey

• Oranges: Choose oranges with a thick skin and juicy, pulpy interior. You’ll be using the zest and the juice
• Butter: Softened butter lets you get the orange zest under the skin, which turns crispy during roasting. Melted butter over the skin will facilitate that process
• Turkey: This recipe starts with a fresh or fully thawed bird that’s been cleaned and the gizzards removed
• Garlic powder: Use powder rather than fresh garlic for the aromatic rub
• Salt: Helps draw moisture out of the skin and make it crispy
• Pepper: Adds a pleasant layer of spice to the skin
• Onion: Cut a small onion into wedges for stuffing into the bird to release the aromas from within
• Rosemary: Bind the fresh sprigs so that they’re easier to retrieve after stuffing the bird
• Thyme: Bind as above and stuff into the turkey cavity for the wonderful fragrance
• Flour: Just a little all-purpose flour thickens the juices in the bag and prevents it from bursting
• Oven roasting bag: This needs to be turkey-sized and seals everything in during cooking
• Champagne: It doesn’t have to be a rare vintage, but it’s the star of the sauce
• Orange juice: Completing the mimosa cocktail in the oven bag, orange juice gives the sauce that bright, citrusy aroma

Directions

Step 1: Season beneath the skin of the turkey

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Finely grate the zest from the oranges and cut the fruit into chunky wedges. Combine the zest with softened butter.

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Using your fingers, carefully loosen the skin from the turkey and rub the butter mixture under the skin.

Editor’s Tip: Start on the breast above the main cavity, gently lifting the skin with one hand and working your fingertips of the other beneath the skin. Push gently and take care not to tear the skin. Once you’ve created pockets over the breast section, move to the legs.

Step 2: Finish seasoning the bird inside and out

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Pat the turkey dry. Combine the garlic powder, salt and pepper and rub over the outside and inside of the turkey. Drizzle the skin with melted butter.

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Place the sliced oranges, onion, rosemary and thyme inside the cavity. Skewer the turkey openings to stop the skin from exposing the meat as it shrinks and pull the drumsticks together and tie them with cook’s twine.

Step 3: Insert the seasoned turkey into the oven bag

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Place some flour in the oven bag and shake to coat the inside surface. Place the oven bag in a roasting pan then place the turkey, breast side up, in the bag. Pour champagne and orange juice over the turkey. Cut slits in the top of the bag for steam to escape and seal it with the tie provided.

Step 4: Roast the turkey

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Bake the turkey at 325°F for 3-3/4 to 4-1/4 hours or until the juices run clear when you insert a skewer. Remove the turkey to a serving platter and keep warm. Let it stand for 20 minutes before carving.

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Recipe Variations

• Make gravy: Use those delectable drippings and scraps in the bottom of the oven bag to make a gravy, thickening with a little flour or cornstarch and butter
• Cover with bacon: Lay a few rashers of bacon on top of the bird for an extra boost of flavor
• Brown the bird: Some cooks will give the turkey an additional 30 minutes in the oven uncovered to really crisp up the skin but be careful not to dry out the meat. You’ll still get browning skin with an oven bag, however.

How to Store Orange Turkey

You can store turkey leftovers in airtight containers in the refrigerator for three to four days. Make sure you’re keeping the meat moist with sauce. Reheat the turkey in the oven on a gentler heat, basting with butter beforehand.

Can you make orange turkey ahead of time?

The USDA advises against refrigerating a stuffed bird ahead of time but you can certainly prepare the stuffing mixture the night before and store that separate from the bird. The under-skin and cavity seasoning can also be done ahead of time, so long as the turkey is refrigerated afterwards until roasting.

Orange Turkey Tips

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Do I have to use an oven bag to cook the orange turkey?

If you already know how to cook turkey in an oven bag you’ll understand why it’s the technique we’re using for this recipe. It’s self-basting, makes clean up a breeze, and retains all the moisture. You can also lay any vegetables in the base of the bag to act as a rack. But if you don’t use an oven bag (and it must be an oven bag, not any plastic bag), you could just cover the bird with aluminum foil and create a seal around the baking pan.

What can I use instead of Champagne?

You won’t miss a glass or two of champagne if a Thanksgiving bottle is already open. But if you find it a little too extravagant or inconvenient to pop the cork just for cooking, you can substitute champagne with white wine, apple cider or even ginger ale.

How do I tell if my turkey is cooked?

Typically, you should budget for 13-15 minutes’ cooking time per pound for cooking a turkey. However, this orange turkey is stuffed, and will take a little longer to finish. Remember, using an oven bag accelerates cooking time by an hour or so. You can eliminate any uncertainty by testing the temperature at the thickest part of the thigh with an instant-read thermometer. If it’s between 170° and 175° you’ve got a cooked turkey.