Cranberry Pomegranate Glazed Turkey is a fun and delicious twist on a classic roasted turkey! Cranberry puree and pomegranate juice simmer together with brown sugar and fresh herbs to create a decadent glaze to baste your turkey with while it is roasting in your oven. The result is a juicy turkey that is not only loaded with flavor, but beautiful to look at! The perfect centerpiece for your holiday table.
What You Need to Roast a Turkey
I know that roasting a turkey can seem like an overwhelming task, but I’ll walk you through what you need to be able to pull off roasting your own holiday turkey!
Here are a few essential items to have on hand when roasting a turkey:
- A large roasting pan – a turkey is big! Having a good, sturdy roasting pan will save you so much hassle down the road. Plus, you don’t have to worry about it caving into the weight of the turkey. PS: you can still use these roasting pans for every day cooking! Try it out with a chicken or pot roast!
- A meat thermometer – the easiest and best way to tell if your turkey is done: the temperature! You want an internal temperature of 165 degrees at the deepest part of the meat. I typically insert my thermometer into the deepest part of the leg/thigh and breast to see where I’m at.
- A sharp knife – nothing is worse than trying to carve a turkey without a good knife, trust me! Need to learn how to carve a turkey? Check out this video here!
- Time – give yourself plenty of breathing room and time! I’d rather have my turkey get done before my guests arrive and it just keep it warm than having my guests sitting around waiting for my turkey to get to 165 degrees. Plus, if you give yourself plenty of time, then it helps you not feel stressed or overwhelmed!
How to Make the Cranberry Pomegranate Glaze
This scrumptious glaze comes together in under 20 minutes on the stovetop. All you have to do is combine all the glaze ingredients together, bring to a simmer and let it naturally reduce and thicken.
What’s nice about the glazing process is, you don’t have to have the glaze ready to go right away when you are putting the turkey in the oven! Because we don’t start glazing our turkey until halfway through the cooking process. Let’s take a look:
How to Glaze a Turkey
The process of roasting this turkey is quite simple: you cover it with foil and let it roast for the first half un-touched, then you uncover it and glaze it every 20 minutes or so until it’s done. Easy peasy!
Glazing a turkey doesn’t need to be a complicated task. Just make sure you have good, sturdy oven mitts and a basting brush. It will make it a lot easier to glaze your bird!
The result is a beautiful, deep maroon roasted turkey. You won’t be able to take your eyes off of it!
Pulling this Cranberry Pomegranate Glazed Turkey out of the oven and placing it as the centerpiece of your holiday table is a sure way to wow a crowd. With simple, step-by-step instructions, you can have a delicious, flavorful and moist turkey ready to go!
Not only is this turkey delicious and beautiful to look at, but it uses the classic holiday flavors in a new way. Have a little fun with your Thanksgiving or Christmas this year!
Looking for another turkey recipe? Check out this Pumpkin Beer Brined Smoked Turkey!
If you need to know how much turkey you need for your crowd, this chart is very helpful.
Remember to defrost your turkey in advance! Look here for the best recommendations.
Cranberry Pomegranate Glazed Turkey
(7 votes, average: 4.71 out of 5)
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- Total Time: 6 hours
- Yield: 1 turkey 1x
Description
Cranberry Pomegranate Glazed Turkey is a fun and delicious twist on a classic roasted turkey! Cranberry puree and pomegranate juice simmer together with brown sugar and fresh herbs to create a decadent glaze to baste your turkey with while it is roasting in your oven. The result is a juicy turkey that is not only loaded with flavor, but beautiful to look at! The perfect centerpiece for your holiday table.
Ingredients
- 15–20 pound turkey, properly defrosted with neck and giblets removed
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons seasoned salt
- 14 oz can jellied cranberry sauce
- 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the softened butter and the seasoned salt. Use a paper towel to completely pat dry your turkey.
- Rub the butter mixture evenly over the whole turkey. Loosely tent with foil or cover the turkey and roast in the oven for 2-3 hours or roughly half of the cooking time depending on your size of turkey.
- While the turkey is roasting, make the glaze. Whisk together the cranberry sauce, pomegranate juice, brown sugar, fresh rosemary and thyme together in a medium-size sauce pan.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low and allow to simmer and thicken, about 10-15 minutes. Whisking occasionally.
- Halfway through the roasting process, remove your turkey from the oven and remove the foil/lid. Baste with half of the glaze and place back in the oven.
- Baste the turkey with the glaze every 30 minutes until the glaze is gone and your turkey is cooked through. It should read 165 degrees when a thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the meat – I like to take a reading from both the breast and the leg/thigh area.
- If your turkey is not done and your glaze is gone, that is ok. Keep roasting the turkey until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Let the turkey rest for 5-10 minutes before carving and serving.
Notes
- This recipe is adaptable for a 15-20 pound turkey. The main thing that will be different is the amount of time. The general rule for cooking a turkey is 20 minutes per pound.
- Patting the turkey skin dry is an important step to get a beautifully browned turkey.
- Make an extra batch of glaze if you want a “gravy” to serve alongside your turkey.
- This recipe can also be adapted if you want to use a smaller turkey or even a chicken – the cooking time will be much less.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours, 30 minutes
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Thanks for following and cooking along with me!
Hi, I’m KJ!
Here you’ll find simple, delicious recipes for the home cook. I strive to make wholesome meals with easy-to-find ingredients that you feel comfortable making in your own kitchen—but I won’t shy away from a few indulgences! (I see you: butter, bacon, cookies!)
