Roast Turkey With Quince Glaze

Total Time: 3 hrs Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 2 cups coarse salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
• 4 bay leaves
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme
• 4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorn
• 4 slices fresh lemon peel
• 1 (16 lb) fresh whole turkey
• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups dry wine, such as sauvignon blanc
• coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 6 cups homemade prepared stuffing
• 3/4 cup hot quince syrup
• 2 lbs fresh quinces, quartered
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Recipe

• 1 make the brine; put ingredients into a large, wide stockpot. add 6 quarts water. bring to a boil, stirring until sugar and salt have dissolved. remove from heat; let cool completely.
• 2 submerge turkey, breast side down, in brine. cover; refrigerate 24 hours, turning turkey once. remove turkey, and pat dry with paper towels. let stand at room temperature 2 hours. discard brine.
• 3 preheat oven to 425°f with rack in lowest position.
• 4 stir 12 tablespoons melted butter and the wine in a medium bowl. fold a very large piece of cheesecloth into quarters so that it is large enough to cover breast and halfway down the sides of the turkey. immerse cloth in butter mixture.
• 5 place turkey breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. fold wing tips under. season inside turkey with salt and pepper. loosely fill body and neck cavities with stuffing (about 5 cups in the body and about 1 cup in the neck). tie legs together with kitchen twine. fold neck flap under; secure with toothpicks. rub turkey all over with 1/4 cup softened butter; season with salt and pepper.
• 6 remove cheesecloth from butter mixture, squeezing gently into bowl; reserve butter mixture for brushing. lay cheesecloth over turkey. place turkey, legs first, into oven. roast 30 minutes. brush cheesecloth and exposed turkey with butter mixture.
• 7 reduce temperature to 350°f
• 8 roast, brushing with butter mixture every 30 minutes and rotating once, 2 1/2 hours; tent with foil if browning too quickly. pour 1/2 cup water into pan if juices are very dark brown.
• 9 discard cheesecloth; rotate pan. baste turkey with pan juices. roast, rotating pan halfway through, until skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165°f (stuffing should also register 165°f), 1 1/2 to 2 hours more.
• 10 stir remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the quince syrup in a bowl; brush over turkey during last 10 minutes in oven. transfer to a platter. set pan drippings aside for gravy, if desired.
• 11 let turkey stand at room temperature 30 minutes, tented with foil, before carving. garnish with quinces and thyme.
• 12 directions for quince syrup.
• 13 bring quinces, sugar, and 4 cups water to a boil in a medium stockpot. reduce heat. place a lid from a slightly smaller saucepot over fruit to keep submerged, and simmer until the liquid is pale pink and has been reduced to a thin syrup, about 1 hour 10 minutes. strain; reserve cooked quinces for another use. stir in lemon juice. syrup can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 week.