Maple-Cider Thanksgiving Turkey
The Canadian Thanksgiving centrepiece — a heritage bird glazed with maple and cider, roasted slowly until golden, with pan gravy worthy of the table.
Thanksgiving is the one meal a year I will not rush. The turkey is the centrepiece, and it deserves the whole morning — a slow roast, a careful baste, a long rest. This is the version I make every October, glazed with Canadian maple and reduced apple cider so the skin lacquers a deep, burnished gold.
I like to think of the sides as supporting cast: roasted squash, buttered roots, a pot of cider gravy kept warm on the back of the stove. But the bird itself is simple. Dry skin, a hot oven to begin, a patient finish, and the willingness to let it rest for a full half hour before anyone touches it.
Ingredients
- 1 free-range turkey, approx. 5–6kg
- 100ml pure maple syrup
- 150ml fresh apple cider (unfiltered is best)
- 80g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 head garlic, halved horizontally
- A generous bunch of thyme and rosemary
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 300ml dry white wine
- 400ml good chicken stock
- 1 tbsp cold butter, cubed
Method
- 1
Take the turkey out of the fridge an hour before roasting and pat it thoroughly dry, inside and out. Dry skin is crisp skin — this is the step that matters most. Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan).
- 2
Season the cavity generously, then stuff with the lemon, garlic and half the herbs. Rub the skin all over with olive oil and season heavily with salt and pepper. Place the bird in a large roasting tin and roast for 30 minutes to colour the skin.
- 3
Reduce the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Whisk the maple syrup with half the cider and brush the turkey all over. Return to the oven and roast for about 2 hours, basting every 30 minutes with the maple-cider glaze and the pan juices, until a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh reads 74°C and the juices run clear.
- 4
Lift the turkey onto a board, tent loosely with foil and rest for at least 30 minutes. Set the roasting tin over a medium flame, pour in the wine and remaining cider and scrape up the sticky bits. Simmer until reduced by half, add the stock and reduce again until glossy. Whisk in the cold butter for a silky gravy and season to taste. Carve and serve with the gravy spooned generously over.
The rest is not negotiable. A turkey carved straight from the oven floods the board with juice and dries the meat; rested for half an hour it stays succulent and carves cleanly. Use the time to finish your sides and pour yourself something — you have earned it.
Mains
Sunday Lemon & Herb Roast Chicken
The roast chicken that never goes out of fashion — crisp skin, fragrant herbs, and a pan sauce worthy of good bread.
Wild Mushroom & Parmesan Risotto
A bowl of quiet luxury — arborio rice slowly coaxed to creaminess with wild mushrooms, butter and aged parmesan.
Maple-Roasted Squash & Sage Risotto
Autumn on a plate — roasted squash folded through slow-stirred arborio, finished with butter, parmesan and crisp sage.
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