Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes

This roast turkey recipe is flavored with sage and served with gravy made extra-tasty with the lemony pan drippings from the turkey and bay leaves in the giblet stock. The salt rub in this recipe acts as a “dry brine,” plumping and seasoning the meat for moist, juicy, flavorful turkey.

The New Mexico state question is "Red or Green?"—that is, which color chile do you like? Chef Jonathan Perno, considered a key interpreter of New Mexican cuisine, tempers the red chile sauce with orange juice to glaze the bird. He calls for a spatchcocked or butterflied turkey, which cooks more quickly and evenly. Ask your butcher to do it for you to save time.

This gorgeous herb-rubbed turkey--complete with luscious gravy--is the quintessential holiday centerpiece. It is particularly fitting for Thanksgiving because Madeira, a fortified wine from the Portuguese island of the same name, flowed like water through the Colonies, having arrived here as ballast in ships. Sweet and mellow, reminiscent of sherry, Madeira beautifully enhances a turkey gravy.

During the autumn season in Italy, turkey is often deliciously paired with a stuffing of chestnuts and sausage. The wild turkey was brought to Europe from the New World, and once domesticated, returned there to breed as the classic festive bird. It also became one of the large courtyard fowl animals in Lombardy. With Italy being one of the largest producers of chestnuts, it was expedient to put the two together in another happy marriage of New and Old World.

In this herb-roasted turkey recipe, apples and shallots cook inside the bird to keep the meat moist and add rich flavor. The extra shallots in the roasting pan also give the gravy recipe a rich, caramelized-onion depth and, with apple cider, the gravy is out-of-this-world delicious. The easy turkey stock adds extra flavor to the gravy, but you can use chicken broth instead with good results.

Mellow white miso paste is the secret ingredient in this amazing roast turkey rubbed with Meyer lemon and roasted garlic. The miso gives the turkey a mildly salted taste without the hassle of brining.

Plan ahead to make this succulent turkey recipe--brining the turkey for 12 to 18 hours before roasting makes the meat super-juicy and flavorful. The gravy, made silky-smooth in a blender (no lumps!), is thickened with potatoes instead of cornstarch or flour.