Blood oranges come into season in December, sometimes as early as November, and make for a great ingredient when cooking poultry. This recipe is for a 10-15 pound turkey, so adjust ingredient amounts accordingly if you are using a smaller fowl or you have a bigger bird.
Brine
- Kosher salt
- Rubarama (We used The Original to balance the sweetness of the oranges)
- Blood orange zest from 1-2 oranges
Roasting
- 10-15 pound turkey, thawed
- 2-3 blood oranges, sliced
- 1 yellow onion, cut into quarters and separated
- 3 tablespoons, Rubarama
- 24 ounces beer, witbier, white beer or hefeweizen is best
- 4-6 tablespoons butter, unsalted
First things first, remove any giblets from the cavity. Save them as you can use them for stock or gravy.
Brining
Brining is always a great idea, but for those of you who don't have time — or the space — this recipe will produce a succulent result even without brining. So, you fine-non-brine folks can skip ahead.
Pat turkey dry with paper towels and rub all over with 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt per pound of turkey, sprinkle with Rubarama and blood orange zest, and place in resealable plastic bag, covered bin, or bucket. Refrigerate for at least 1 day and up to 3 days, turning the bird over every day. We suggest placing a rimmed baking sheet under the bag. If you are using a bucket, be sure it's covered well and placed somewhere that you can guarantee the temperature will be above freezing and below 40º F.
Time to cook! If you brined or not, pat the turkey dry with paper towels and allow it to come to room temperature for about an hour.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. In the bottom of a roasting pan, add onions, 12 ounces of the beer, and one sliced blood orange. Place turkey, breast side up, on the roasting rack, set it in the pan, and stuff the turkey cavity with the remaining blood orange. Rub turkey skin generously with butter. Place pan into the oven, pour remaining beer into the cavity, and roast for 30 minutes. Cover turkey with aluminum foil and reduce oven temperature to 350º F.
Baste every 30 minutes, roasting until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh reaches 165º degrees. Transfer turkey to a cutting board, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Carve and serve.
Total cooking time will be about 2 1/2- 3 hours.
What we used: The Original and Harlem Brewing Renaissance Wit Beer
