Maple Roast Turkey and Gravy

I agree with an earlier review... I've made this the past 4 years to rave reviews. It was the first turkey recipe I tried as a newlywed, and now my mother and grandmother request little old me to make the turkey at the holidays. What an honor, and all thanks to this amazing recipe! I, too, serve with the Sausage, Apple & Cranberry stuffing and it's a perfect match. I also serve with smashed yams with orange juice, Cranberry Sauce Extrordinaire (also from this site) and creamy mashed potatoes... it's a perfect meal! We love Roasted Butternut Squash soup with rolls and salad the night before. It's filling, but leaves plenty of room for the Big Day's Menu! Thanks Ibby!! (if you're a new cook I highly recommend trying this, it's simple to follow and always turns out)

I've made this recipe the past two Thanksgivings and plan to use it again this year. The turkey always comes out moist, and the gravy has amazing flavor! The only thing I do differently is add a lot more chicken stock at the bottom of the roasting pan (a lot of it evaporates during cooking).

I'm updating my review after several years because I could not have Thanksgiving without this recipe. The turkey comes out wonderfully every time and the gravy it makes has become the stuff of legend in my family. The flavor of the turkey is such a hit with friends and family, that I have been asked to bring the turkey to a Thanksgiving celebration at someone else's house! ------------ This didn't make for the juciest turkey, but the bird came out looking like it was right out of a magazine and smelling fabulous. The gravy I made from the pan juices was literally the best I have ever had EVER! And everyone else said so too. Next time I would brine my bird before hand to make it juicy, because that's all it's lacking.

The turkey did come out wonderful. Very moist.I am changing this review to give it 4 stars for the turkey ONLY. The gravy was not a favorite for us. The gravy was very, very, sweet. I had 2 pkgs of McCormick turkey gravy on hand that I made and added to it, and still very sweet. So I added some white wine to it. That did take some of the sweetness away, but still left it very sweet. If I do make this turkey recipe again, which I probably will. I would not use the drippings for the gravy. I would use store bought or make some ahead of time.

This recipe is going to be standard from now on for Turkey with me. I cooked a Turkey last week (August -- I know but it was good practice and I had an extra bird in my freezer). Had to substitute cider with Simply Apple juice and added a fresh sliced Granny smith for the fruit essence and fished it out of reduction later; lime zest for lemon. It is truly the Maple Syrup that makes this. My butter was a bit wet as I increased the ingredients but no matter. I did not incorporate the veggies but melded the drippings with some stock and the gravy was out of this world. I separated the butter from the drippings and used it to crisp up potatoes. Dried marjoram worked fine. I had fresh Thyme from garden. I cooked bird in dome-covered roasting pan (Oneida)-- basted ONCE! and it came out perfectly tender. Great recipe. Only took 2.5 - 3 hours with 20 pounder.

OMG!!!!!!!!! Deeeeeeeee...Licious! This was my first Thankgiving making my own turkey and with this recipe I couldn't fail! It came out so moist an tasty. My family hurt themselves so bad on this turkey!LOL There were absolutley no leftovers! This recipe made the day so very enjoyable! The gravy came out awesome too! I am not a turkey eater either but this recipe was so good that I might not wait till next thanksgiving to give it another go around!

I have made this recipe on two occassions. Both times I got rave reviews. I never did get the gravy to thicken, but it is incredible just the same. For the second time, I put the Turkey in a roasting bag and it came out even better. I will definately make again.

I would give this 5 stars but the gravy was too sweet for my taste and my guest. It sucked because we were all looking forward to mashed potatoes with savory gravy but it was more thickened maple syrup. I will make the turkey like this again but will opt out the gravy.

This is my third time making a turkey with this recipe and it turns out juicy and flavorful every time. The gravy is especially nice on mashed potato. Definitely a keeper.

This came out awesome it was my first thanksgiving dinner and everyone loved it I took another viewers advice and used a baking bag the turkey was a great golden brown I cooked it with out stuffing to cut back on the baking time but added a lemon cut in half inside to keep it moist this it also added to the flavor I would defiantly make this again I was great for my first turkey

Juice!

The turkey tasted good, though the maple flavor didn't really come through, except for in the gravy made later. That was quite sweet, so my mom added salt and spices to make the gravy more traditional. I made the maple/butter mixture the night before as well, and the next day it was all separated. The butter floated to the top and became hard again in the refridgerator, while the maple, apple juice and spices remained liquids underneath the butter. I had to break it apart, mix it as well as I could, and stuff the hard maple butter brickle under the skin. I rubbed the liquid part all around the outside of the turkey. Decent flavor at the end, just hard to follow through on.

I have make this my Thanksgiving Turkey recipe every year now and its wonderful. I coarsely chop the veggies that go under the turkey and then save them along with about half the dripping *before making the gravy* and use them for turkey noodle soup with the leftover turkey. The first time I made this, my family kind of turned their noses up, until they tasted it. Now they request this turkey instead of the traditional one we used to make :) Thanks Ibby look up her pumpkin stuffing recipe but make sure you use Ibby's pumpkin bread recipe to make the stuffing, its less sweet but is awesome!

I must start off by saying that I HATE turkey. Simply hate it for one reason...I have never tasted a turkey that wasn't so dry! Until now!!! I changed the recipe a bit to fit my needs. I omitted the lemon zest all together and doubled everything else that I would have plenty for lots of gravy( expecting the turkey to taste dry!) I also added a 1/2 cup of brown sugar to sweeten the mixture. I made the mixture the day before thanksgiving and stuck it in the frig. The morning of, I took it out and allowed it to reach room temp. When it came time to prep the turkey, I added 3/4 cup under the skin. Cooked the turkey 30 min as directed and then brushed on 1 cup of the mixture before lowering the temp and finishing cooking. The roasting pan I have has a cover so I didn't cover with foil. When we removed the turkey it looked like something out of a magazine! I have never seen a more beautiful turkey! Golden brown despite it being covered and not basting. Every bit of the turkey was soooo moist. Not one piece was dry. Everyone loved it and I can honestly say this is the first year ever we actually ate left-overs!

Very delicious - the maple syrup gives it a really nice holiday touch

I have to first off say that this was my first time making a turkey. Between the flavorful marinade in this recipe, brining the turkey, and the way I cooked it (breast side down and no foil), this was the most moist and flavorful turkey I have ever eaten anywhere! I pretty much went by the ingredients exactly except I didn't use brandy and I only had margarine instead of butter. Next time I will make sure to use butter because the sauce didn't set up to well and was a little liquid-y, so when rubbing on the turkey it wanted to drip off. I also made a solution of apple cider and maple syrup, boiled it down, and used a flavor injector to inject a little more flavor into the meat. I dont think it was really necessary but I thought what the hay, more flavor is always good! Next time I wont do that though, because between that and the butter mixture, the gravy was a little sweeter than it should of been. But it was still excellent! Thanks for this great flavorful recipe! When I have the chance at making a turkey again I will for sure use this recipe!

MOST DELICIOUS/MOIST TURKEY I'VE EVER HAD. THE GRAVY WAS A BIG HIT

This recipe makes the best turkey ever! My family loved it. The bird was moist and flavorful and the gravy was wonderful.

I used this for Thanksgiving and my turkey was the juiciest, most flavorful ever! Delicious!!!

This is the very first turkey I have made by myself and it turned out so flavorful and moist, juicy, and tender. Will make this recipe again!

it was perfect!!!...everybody in my family loved it!!...thanks...the breast was excelent

This recipe was absolutely awesome!! My turkey was extremely moist and the drippings made for a great gravy. I was skepitical abut using the drippings only so I boiled a few turkey necks with onion and celery in a seperate sauce pan and then just added the turkey drippings to it. Overall this was a huge hit for my Thanksgiving dinner and I will be using it again next year!!

Followed the recipe and it was great. The skin on the breast was very close to burning, but that was my own fault. Really excellent flavor in the meat. I highly recommend this recipe if you like these flavors.

just wonderful....I have made this twice and both times everything was flawless.

Made this yesterday for Thanksgiving and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I'm not normally a gravy person and I thought it was to die for. I made my turkey in a 16 qt roaster oven (so I'd have my regular oven free) and it turned out pretty well. I was worried that it wouldn't brown but it finally did there in the last 30 minutes. I will definitely use this recipe again the next time I make a turkey but next time I think I'll inject the maple/butter concoction into the bird to see if I can impart more of that wonderful flavor throughout. My one change was having to add an extra can of broth to the pan while it was cooking which gave me 1-1/2 cups broth at the end.

Very nice subtle flavor! I made this in the slow cooker instead of the oven and it was extremely moist! the gravy was a little sweet so i cut it with store bought turkey gravy to taste and it was perfect.

The only exceptional thing about this turkey is that it was very moist. Otherwise, it was pretty bland. We couldn't taste the maple or herbs at all. I won't be making this again.

This recipe is excellent and very easy to follow. Before today I had never roasted a turkey before, so I was very nervous but it turned out great. It was very moist and just slightly sweet. I made this for dinner with my fiance's parents and it had great review all around. Thanks, Ibby!

this was my first ever turkey and it was a success. I loved the reddish colour it has at the end. As my friend put it, it was bronzer

This is the best turkey and gravy I have ever made or tasted. I was suprised at how easy it was to do. Highly recommended!!

I've made this the last two Thanksgiving and it is DELICIOUS!! IT cooks up so beautifully and is sweet, but not overly. Can't wait to Thanksgiving day this year! I usually brine my turkey the night before.

I give this recipe 4 stars. The baste for the turkey, was EXCELLENT. I just happened to overcook my turkey a bit too much to vouch for the moist raves other reviewers gave this recipe. The gravy was also very easy (my first time making gravy) and had a very good, different taste. I will try this recipe again.

Delicious! The turkey was so moist, and the presentation was top notch. I slid a few whole sage leaves under the breast skin and it looked so pretty. The gravy was outstanding, guests were commenting on how great it was. I didn't get the apple brandy (too $$$) so I just used regular brandy that I had. So very good. I will prepare my turkey this way from now on.

This is the best turkey I have ever had. It actually had an interesting flavor! I was so tired of putting all kinds of spices, etc. on the turkey and having it taste just like plain old turkey. I took your advice and stuffed it with cranberry, apple, sausage stuffing (I found an awesome recipe on this site submitted by Stacy M. Polcyn) I will definately make this again!! thank you so much for such a great recipe!

My family LOVES this recipe. Every Thanksgiving they exclaime how great my Turkey is!

I brined the turkey before i baked it... but otherwise i followed the recipe fairly closely. (only gave it four stars because if brining directions had been included it would be even better =D) The turkey was very good, flavorful. The gravey was also very good. DO remember the foil...I had forgotten until AFTER the bird had been a bit burned. Still tasted pretty good though =) Would definately recomend this recipe. My other friend made it once and it was FANTASTIC.

Absolutely Stupendous. All I did was add a can of chicken broth to the roaster to keep the bird from drying out as there weren't a lot of juices.

this is now our new Thanksgiving day recipe!!! LOVED IT! juicy, tender and delicious!

Delicious! I had the dubious honor of cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year, and my husband declared it to be the best meal EVER. This turkey was obviously the centerpiece. I followed the recipe precisely and the flavors were absolutely yummy. I will say though that I did not detect a maple flavor so much, but regardless I would not hesitate to make this again.

my review is long-overdue as I've made this turkey recipe several times, beginning a number of years ago. I am prepping to make this tomorrow for yet another Thanksgiving. 5 stars all the way, this is an AMAZING turkey. Yes, gravy is quite sweet but that is a give-in, seeing the ingredients used and should not detract from the ratings. I make this exactly as written and it turns out awesome every single time!Thanks for the incredible recipe! I'm so looking forward to enjoying this tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving!

De-lux-ious.... This is the turkey recipe for you. But I don't recommend the giblets.

i loved this recipr i used it for a head start dinner we had for thanksgiving and everyone loved it so much and they asked me to make it again this year thanks for such a great recipe

This recipe was wonderful, and will become our new Thanksgiving treat. My husband and children loved it! Take the advice, and serve it with the Cranberry, Sausage and Appple Stuffing! Thanks for such a delightful recipe!

Not a winner. Skin burnt almost immediately and the breast was too dry while the back was almost undercooked, this with an UNSTUFFED turkey. Could not taste any of the maple flavouring. Thank you, Ibby, for sharing this recipe, but I feel that it was too much effort for very disappointing results. Next time I will be trying the brine recipe I saw in my local paper last week but didn't use this year in favour of this one.

This was not a keeper for me. I loved the way the apple cider butter tasted, but it made my turkey brown so fast that the skin actually turned black and I had to cover completely with foil which then steamed it. I think the temperature was too high as my turkey was over cooked too. Although the gravy was delicious, I could not taste the maple butter on my meat at all.

Simply amazing recipe! Instead of using the fresh marjoram and thyme, I used poultry seasoning and it worked fine. For the gravy, I tweaked it to have more like 4 cups and used only about 2 tbsp of the maple butter mix so it wasn't too sweet. I added some poultry seasoning to the gravy instead of the bay leaf and brandy. It got rave reviews in my household and the turkey cam out perfectly moist and flavorful. It's going to be a new holiday tradition!

Last year was my first time cooking for thanksgiving and I wanted to try something different since my familys turkey always seemed a little dry....boy was everyone impressed this year. We loved this recipe and the gravy was phenomenal! I'm so happy I took a chance and tried this recipe. This is going to be our classic thanksgiving turkey from now on. Thanks for sharing!

This was a delightful new flavor for our Thanksgiving turkey. The meat came out juicy, sweet, and tender. Just be sure to cover the bird in tinfoil while in the oven - the added sugars can scald the surface. We found making a tent out of the foil we extremely helpful and kept the bird succulant! Brilliant! Deserving of 5 stars!

I make this recipe every year for Thanksgiving! The first year I made it my family absolutely loved it, so I was chosen to make the turkey every year now. Turkey comes out moist and the gravy is different from your typical gravy which the family loves.

We had it for Christmas dinner and everyone was saying "yum!"

My Family loved this turkey. This made my holiday the best ever since it was easy enough to make on my first try at thanksgiving dinner.

I've made Thanksgiving dinner for the past 15 years and I've tried many different turkey recipes (even a teriyaki turkey one year!) I think this recipe is my favorite!

A classic. The whole family loves it. We've made it that past two Thanksgivings and it's been outstanding each time.

This was a good, and different way to roast a turkey. I liked the sweetness of the gravy, but I would have preferred a little less sweetness. Don't get me wrong though, it was still very good and I'm looking forward to the leftovers. The cider/maple syrup made the skin brown nicely. I stuffed the cavity with about 10 garlic cloves and a very small apple, sliced. After roasting, there was 6 cups of drippings left in my pan!! So it took a while to thicken the gravy; I had to add more flour w/a water paste. Good turkey, thanks for the recipe!

This is a great recipe. I was looking for something that would add a little more flavor into the meat of the bird - and this recipe measures up to that. We'll definately make this again!

Last Thankgiving I used this recipie. The turkey was sweet and moist. It was a hit.

This made the most delicious, moist turkey and by far the best gravy I have ever tasted. Definitely the best gravy I have ever made and it was SO easy!!

A year after making Thanksgiving dinner with this recipe, my friends and family are still talking about it. I won't make turkey any other way!

I have used this very recipe for the past 4 years. I am starting my Thanksgiving planning early and thought I would drop in to thank Ibby for her fabulous recipe!! My family loves it so much, we have adpoted it into our family as our own. Each year before "Amen", I give a special little shout out to Ibby and thank her for sharing her recipe. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

To start with this is my first review. I have been using recipes from this site for years and finally found one I truly had to comment on. My cooking experience is minimal, I'm just past using measuring cups for everything. This Turkey was outstanding I didn't make the gravy but followed the Turkey recipe to the T, the only change I made was to brine the Turkey the night before. This is definitely a keeper

Yummy! The maple flavor is subtle but it's really good. I made it with the Cranberry, Sausage & Apple stuffing and they go very well together.

Wouldn't change anything. Everyone loved it.

This was my first year serving Thanksgiving dinner as well as my first attempt at roasting a turkey. All in all it came out O.K. The breast meat did come out too dry but the dark meat was moist and delicious. I goofed a little bit with the gravy though. I forget to save the maple butter mixture, so, I made a paste out of 1/4 cup of the broth left in the pan and made a gravy with that. It was pretty good. Overall, even though the white meat came out too dry this went over pretty well! Especially for a first timer!

This is a top notch recipe. I had a large dinner party and everyone loved the unique mild flavor of this turkey.

Came out delicious and moist. I also used the Reynolds Oven Bag. 16# turkey done in 2 1/2 hours

GREAT!! I will make this again next year!!

excellent. Well worth the effort for a nice moist and mellow flavor. A great switch from the usual boring bland bird.

Didn't Like This. Was not a favorite at Thanksgiving Won't make again. My husband liked it maybe it was just me.

Best Turkey ever! I am making it again for Christmas.

The turkey was delicious and wonderfully moist but the gravy was awful - way too sweet and nobody touched it. This recipe is a bit time consuming so any steps you can do a day in advance would be a good idea.

I have been using this recipe for close to four years and we love it. Not only does it help create a delicious tasting turkey, but the gravy is uniqud and awesome. I recommend this to anyone.

This was the BEST! I will make roast turkey with this recipe from now on. The flavor of the gravy was incredible!

I made this last year and it was the best turkey everyone had ever had. It was moist and juicey. You can bet I will make it again this year. Everyone who had it wants the recipe. Dont change a thing when making this turkey.

What an excellent way to roast a turkey! So flavorful! The breat meat was very moist and juicy and the carrots picked up so much of the maple butter flavor! (I only used carrots because we don't like onions and celery.) I will use this recipe again and again and again!

I made my Thanksgiving turkey with this recipe this year. The recipe for the maple butter was plenty to cook my 20 pound bird. The taste was sweet, but not overpoweringly maple. It received rave reviews from all of my guests, all who said it was the best turkey they'd gotten to eat! My maple gravy came out a bit too fatty, but cooling it in the fridge and skimming it made it perfect for potatoes, next-day sandwiches, and everything in between. The carcass also produced a very nice flavored stock for soups and stews!

Wonderful flavore, and the turkey was extremely moist.

This was the first time I held thanksgiving at my house, and I was very worried that it would turn out horrible. but it turned out great, everyone told me how great the turk was and some said it was the best they ever had. It was very juicy and tender no where near dry. thnak you so much

Wow! Best recipe to impress and this is so good I want to marry it! It has become my stand by. Do not omit the veggies as they are key. In making a gravy, I puree some of the carrots, etc. and include them in the stock. It just adds a depth that is unbeatable.

i'd give this high marks for looking good, and staying moist, but lower ones for taste. All the "extra's " kind of take points away from the healthiness of a turkey. Makes great stock, though.

I tired this recipe for Thanksgiving this year..and it was WONDERFUL. I changed it a bit because I make turkey breast instead of a whole turkey. I use the baste to make gravy and to add to my stuffing. My family loved it so much we had the same for Christmas. This will be used many times in my kitchen!

I tried this recipe and it turned out beautifully. Everybody loved it. The white meat was moist not dry at all like it usually is. Thank you very much Ibby. MaryD

1st Turkey I've ever cooked, but it was the best Turkey I've ever tasted. I added a bit of rosemary.

The turkey was absolutely delicious. My whole family loved it, even my 3 year old picky eater! I plan on making this turkey again for the holidays. Thanks for the excellent recipe!

I liked the flavors,yes a tad on the sweet side but so flavorful.I cooked my turtey in a bag and did everything as was stated and it was very delicious.

The gravy in particular was phenomenal. Everyone I served it to said it was some of the best they have ever tasted. I will definitely be making this again.

I tried this recipe and it turned out beautifully. Everybody loved it. The white meat was moist not dry at all like it usually is. Thank you very much Ibby. MaryD

I made this for my family when they came out for Thanksgiving. It was good. I would suggest making the apple butter a day or two ahead of the big turkey day. It will give it more time to "set". Otherwise very good recipe. Moist and delicious!!

This was the first turkey I have ever made and I am very pleased with this recipe. Im glad that I chose this one. Probably the most moist turkey I have ever had.

I made this for the second time this year. I really like it!!! It's pretty time consuming & the ingredients are expensive. But I enjoy making it because it is so different. The gravy is very rich. I usually cut up the turkey and pour the gravy over all of it. Then I serve a different gravy along side the potatoes.

AMAZING!! The dinner table was quiet, because everyone was busy eating TURKEY!!! Will definatly use this again

Thnx so easy for this 1st time turkey. Wonderful flavor n again so easy. New to cooking and what a treat to have a wonderful taste after.Surprised everyone:)

The turkey smelled wonderful while cooking but it came out a little dry (and I cooked it less time than the recipe said) and I felt that all the butter that was used in the syrup glaze just didn't add that much more flavor to the turkey. The recipe said to cook the turkey to 180 degrees. Other recipes for roast turkey say between 170-175 degrees. Next time I would definately cook it less time.

This always turns out wonderfully. I don't know that the turkey itself picks up a lot of the maple flavor, but the resulting gravy is wonderful... and I don't typically eat gravy.

when i cooked this for thanksgiving 2004, it was the first time i ever heard nothing said at the dinner table!

Yum! Good turkey, nice and moist, couldn't have been better...

BEST TURKEY EVER! When ever I cook Turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas this is the recipe I use.

I just made this recipe last night for an after christmas dinner party. The turkey came out moist and delicious I used some of the turkey stock in the stuffing and the gravy. Great recipe!

Turkey was good, Gravy was exellent!

I made this for my first turkey last Christmas. I never rated it...but my family is still raving about it!!!