Cider poached turkey with maple chilli glaze

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 140 mins

Cider poached turkey with maple chilli glaze

This idea came from Paula McIntyre’s recipe for brining turkey, which I did one year for my Irish Times column. When we went to photograph it, I was way behind schedule so I ended up boiling the heck out of the turkey to hurry it along so we could take a photograph of it! The result was so good.

1 x 3–4 kg turkey crown

100 g butter, softened

salt and freshly ground black pepper

for the poaching liquor:

50 g sea salt

50 g Demerara sugar

2 litres cider

2 litres water

2 cinnamon sticks

1 onion, chopped

zest and juice of 2 oranges

a handful of fresh sage, rosemary and thyme, chopped

for the maple chilli glaze:

1 small red chilli, deseeded

1 onion, finely chopped

a big knob of ginger, peeled

1 tbsp olive oil

200 ml cider

4 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp cider vinegar

salt

You can prep the maple glaze by sweating the chilli, onion and ginger in the olive oil for a few minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and gently simmer until reduced by half. Strain and discard the bits of ginger and onion, etc., then continue to cook gently until reduced to a syrupy consistency. Set aside.

To poach the turkey, place it in a large pot with all the poaching liquor ingredients. Bring up to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes, then turn off the heat and leave to steep in the hot liquid for 2 hours. You can allow it to cool fully in this liquid.

Serves
at least 10

Preparation Time
20 minutes

Cooking Time
140 minutes

Main ingredients
Turkey

Recipe Type
Entertaining, Family Dinners

Special Info
Nut free, Egg free

Level of Difficulty
Easy