Maple Whiskey Turkey and Gravy

🥘 Ingredients for Maple Whiskey Turkey

The ingredients will seem like a lot because we’re making this turkey in stages. First you have a brine, then we’ll make a compound butter to slather the turkey with, along with aromatics to cook with the turkey, and finally a few more items for the gravy.

Turkey – This recipe was made with about a 13-pound turkey and should be fine for anything 11-15 pounds. Unless you use something much smaller like a turkey breast or much larger like a 25-pound turkey, the recipe should still work. If you go a lot bigger or smaller, the main adjustment will be the compound butter since you’ll have a lot more or a lot less surface area to cover.

Maple Whiskey Brine

Water – Start with about 4 quarts, or 16 cups, of water. This should be enough to cover most average turkeys, but you may need more depending on how you brine your turkey.

Salt & Sugar – Use an entire cup of kosher salt here. The brine is incredibly salty, but this is what helps to penetrate the turkey flesh and infuse the other flavors. I also use brown sugar in the brine instead of white sugar as it helps reinforce the caramelized notes of the maple and whiskey.

Maple – Be sure to use real maple syrup here and not “pancake” syrup which is just flavored sugar water and not actual maple syrup.

Whiskey – While I use whiskey here, you can also use bourbon. Use something that you would actually drink and not a bottom shelf liquor. I like the flavor Jack Daniels adds to cooked and baked goods but use anything you prefer. If you don’t normally keep whiskey on-hand, get a smaller 375ml bottle and it will be plenty for this recipe.

Spices & Aromatics – For the rest of the spices, herbs, and aromatics I use a mixture of black peppercorns, allspice berries, a cinnamon stick, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, some smashed garlic cloves, and the peels from 1-2 apples (you’ll use the rest of the apples later).

Compound Butter

Butter – Use 1 ½ sticks (¾ cup) of very softened unsalted butter. You can use salted, just keep in mind how salty the brine is. The butter needs to be very soft and sitting at room temperature for a few hours before making the turkey. If you forget to take it out, you may want to microwave it until it is half melted and let it cool enough to resolidify before making this.

Seasoning – I use a smoky, herbal blend here comprised of these fresh and dry ingredients: ground black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, dried oregano, fresh thyme, fresh sage, and fresh rosemary. If you don’t have the fresh herbs, replace with a ¼ teaspoon dried.

Maple – Just a bit of maple syrup here adds more flavor to emphasize the brine. You don’t want to use too much, or it can burn on the turkey skin.

Turkey Aromatics

The aromatics here will be used to both stuff the turkey and in the roasting pan. This helps keep the inside of the turkey moist as it roasts and flavors the drippings for your gravy.

Vegetables – For the base of the aromatics, use onions, carrots, celery, and a head of garlic.

Fruits – Use the apples you peeled for the brine here, along with a sliced orange.

Herbs – Use a few sprigs of fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary.

Maple Whiskey Gravy

Turkey Drippings – Once the turkey is out of the oven, strain the drippings and set them aside for the gravy.

Flour – Use a bit of all-purpose flour here to make a roux with the drippings.

Stock – Homemade turkey stock is incredible here, but if you don’t have homemade or store-bought turkey stock, use a low-sodium chicken stock.

Maple – A bit more real maple syrup here.

Whiskey – A splash of whiskey to make a slightly boozy gravy. If you add it before bringing the gravy to a boil and then simmer, it will cook out enough to be safe for kids or just omit it if you’re worried about it at all.

Salt & Pepper – Add these a bit at a time and taste as you go. Depending on how salty the drippings and the stock are, you’ll have to adjust as the gravy cooks to find a balance you like.

🔪 How to Make Maple Whiskey Turkey & Gravy

The most important thing to remember when making this maple whiskey turkey is that you need to brine it for at least 12-18 hours and up to 1-2 days. If you’re using a frozen turkey, account for this extra time and start thawing it 1-2 days earlier than you normally would.

Prep the turkey by removing the neck and any included organs, usually in a small bag that contains the liver and giblets and maybe the heart. Remove the plastic trussing piece that holds the legs together as well.

Maple Whiskey Brine

In a large stock pot or Dutch-oven, add 2 quarts (8 cups) of water and place on the stove over high heat. Place the rest of the water into the refrigerator. When it’s almost to a boil, add in the kosher salt and sugar and stir until both are dissolved. Lower the heat to a simmer and add in the remaining brining ingredients. Let it simmer for 5 minutes until everything has incorporated and then remove it from the heat.

Pour half of the remaining cold water into the brine to start it cooling down. Alternatively, you can use a few cups of ice. If you have another large stock pot, it can help to transfer the brine to that. After 30 minutes or so, add the rest of the ice-cold water. You need the brining liquid to be about room temperature or colder before you can add it to the turkey.

Never add a turkey to hot brining liquid, so wait as long as necessary for it to cool before moving on. If you have room in your fridge, you can shave a little time off by moving the warm brine there. If you do this, the brine cannot be hot off the stove, it can only be warm, otherwise you’ll raise the entire interior temperature of your fridge and place other foods at risk.

Once the brine has cooled completely, place the turkey into your brining vessel. I used a brining bag here, but other methods also work, like 5-gallon food-grade buckets. Add the turkey first, then pour the brining liquid over the turkey. Try to be sure the brining liquid completely covers the turkey, adding a bit more water if needed.

Place the turkey in the brining bag into a roasting pan or other deep walled vessel and refrigerate for at least 12-18 hours and up to 1-2 days.

Prepare the Turkey & Aromatics

Once you’ve finished brining your turkey and are ready to cook, start by preparing a compound butter and aromatics to stuff the turkey and add the rest to the roasting pan as a bed for the turkey to sit on as it cooks.

There’s lots of arguments for and against washing the brine off the turkey, so I’ll leave that decision to you. If you do decide to rinse, be sure to do these two things. First, completely clean your sink with soap and water and rinse thoroughly. Instead of spraying the turkey with water, turn the sink to a low stream and gently let the water rinse the turkey without splashing around. Be sure to completely clean the sink again when finished.

Whether you wash it or not, after removing the turkey from the brine, use paper towels to completely dry off the skin and interior of the turkey, and remove any peppercorns and other brining aromatics from the inside and outside of the turkey.

From here I like to leave the turkey out for about an hour so that you’re not adding the compound butter to an ice-cold turkey. Otherwise, the butter just seizes up and becomes all but impossible to spread.

Place the softened butter into a mixing bowl and smash it up a bit. Add all the compound butter ingredients and stir and smash into the butter until fully incorporated.

Once the turkey has sat at room temperature for about an hour, preheat your oven to 425°F / 220°C and move the rack towards the bottom so that the middle of the turkey will sit roughly in the center of the oven.

Loosen the skin under the turkey breast and the leg if you can without tearing the skin. Pat the turkey skin dry one more time. Now spread the compound butter all over the turkey. Be sure to get the inside of the turkey, as well as under the skin.

Roughly chop all the aromatics and slice the orange into thin wheels. Leave the garlic head whole and cut the top off to reveal the cloves. Stuff the turkey as much as you can with a mixture of the aromatics and herbs and place the rest of them into the roasting pan and spread them out evenly.

Roast the Turkey

Tuck the wings behind the turkey and tie the end of the legs together. Place the turkey directly on top of the aromatics in the roasting pan and place into the hot oven, legs towards the back if you have the room.

Roast the turkey at this high heat for 30 minutes. Without opening the oven, after 30 minutes, lower the temperature to 325°F / 160°C and continue cooking. If the breast looks like it’s darkening a little quickly, cover it with a tent of aluminum foil.

Baking times can vary a lot, so never rely on timers. A rough gauging of 13-18 minutes per pound is a good estimate but always use a quality instant-read thermometer to check doneness. The breasts should register around 155-160°F and the thighs about 165-170°F. After removing from the oven, carry-over cooking will finish heating it the rest of the way. Mine took a little over 2 ½ hours total for reference.

When finished cooking, remove the roasting pan from the oven. Move the turkey to a clean baking sheet with a rack set inside. Tent the turkey with foil and allow it to rest at least 35-45 minutes before slicing into it.

Make the Maple Whiskey Gravy

After you remove the turkey from the roasting pan, pour the pan drippings through a fine mesh sieve to remove the solids. From here you can either pour the drippings into a fat separator or a glass measuring cup. Let the drippings sit for 5 minutes or so and the fat will rise to the top.

In a large skillet or medium saucepan, add some of the fat from the drippings over medium heat and slowly add the flour while constantly whisking. Continue whisking for a few minutes until the roux becomes a pasty consistency and slightly browns.

Now pour in the turkey or chicken stock slowly while continuing to whisk. Add in some of the defatted turkey drippings, maple syrup, and whiskey and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook until you feel it thickening and it coats the back of a spoon. Taste and add salt and pepper until you’re happy with the flavor and remove from the heat. The gravy should continue to thicken as it cools.

Finish cooking or heating any remaining dishes and after the turkey has rested around 40 minutes you can begin to carve it how you prefer and serve the meal.

📜 USDA Thawing & Cooking Guidelines

Thawing Frozen Turkeys

In the Refrigerator (40°F or below)

Allow approximately 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds

Keep the turkey in its original wrapper. Place it on a tray or in a pan to catch any juices that may leak. A thawed turkey can remain in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days. If necessary, a turkey that has been properly thawed in the refrigerator may be refrozen.

In Cold Water

Allow approximately 30 minutes per pound

Wrap your turkey securely, making sure the water is not able to leak through the wrapping. Submerge your wrapped turkey in cold tap water. Change the water every 30 minutes. Cook the turkey immediately after it is thawed. Do not refreeze.

Approximate Times for Oven Roasting

(325°F oven temperature)
Use the timetables below to determine how long to cook your turkey. These times are approximate. Always use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of your turkey and stuffing.

Unstuffed

Stuffed

Personal Advice

Cooking times can vary a lot, especially with two different temperatures. An overly general approximation can vary from 13-18 minutes per pound. I would use a general time of 12-13 minutes per pound to guess when to start checking the temperature of your turkey. It probably won’t be done, but this gives you a good time to start checking instead of opening and closing the oven every 20 minutes.

Always, always rely on a quality instant-read thermometer instead of timetables. Approximate times are great for giving you an idea of how much time to set aside and can help you gauge when to start the cooking if you want to eat at a certain time. However, always confirm the doneness with a thermometer. Waiting for the turkey to rest and then carving it in front of your family isn’t the time to find out that it’s still raw in places.

When checking the temperature, stick the probe of your thermometer in the deepest parts of the breasts, and then check the fat part of drumsticks and thicker parts of the thigh. Try to avoid hitting the bones. If you cook your turkey with stuffing, check that it is cooked to 165°F as well.

Roasting Pan – A good quality roasting pan can make a difference. These things come in multiple sizes, prices, and differently shaped racks. I like this All-Clad 13x9 Roaster because of the shape of the rack (which I don’t use in this recipe), the large handles for safe gripping, and ability to withstand oven temperatures up to 500°F.

Roast Lifters – These roast lifters are great for moving around large turkeys and beef or pork roasts. They’re great for moving hot and heavy large pieces of meat around without burning yourself.

Instant-Read Thermometer – As I mention repeatedly, a quality instant-read thermometer is the only thing you should rely on for determining when the turkey is done. This ThermoWorks Thermapen One is a bit of an investment but is so highly rated for good reason. I’ve been using mine for years without fail, on everything from turkeys to roasts to pork shoulders and loins, steaks, burgers, breads, and even fry oil temperature. It gives you an accurate reading in about 1 second, so that you can quickly check the temperature and shut the oven door again.

Fat Separator – While you can do this manually with a spoon and measuring cup, it’s not as easy. You can also refrigerate things like stock overnight and easily spoon the fat layer off. When making gravy from pan-drippings, however, this Oxo 2-cup fat separator makes it a breeze. Also available in a 4-cup size.

❄️ How to Store & Reheat Maple Whiskey Turkey

Thanksgiving meals tend to go on for a bit while the food sits out for people to enjoy at their own pace. With that said, cooled turkey shouldn’t sit out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Once everyone has had their fill, the rest of the turkey should be carved into manageable pieces and stored.

Once broken down, transfer the leftover turkey to an airtight container or distribute it into plastic bags and refrigerate for 3-4 days. If you wish to store leftover maple whiskey turkey and gravy longer than that, you can freeze it for 3-6 months instead.

Planning to make homemade turkey stock with the remains of the carcass and any other bones? Break down the carcass and transfer all the pieces to freezer safe bags and freeze up to 6 months. If you plan to make stock that day or the next, you can refrigerate them instead.

When you wish to reheat the leftover turkey, you have two options. For a small amount, you can microwave leftovers at 50% power a minute at a time until heated throughout and brought to 165°F. The best method, however, would be to place the turkey in a baking dish and reheat in a 350°F oven. Add a splash of stock or butter to the baking dish to keep the turkey moist and cover the dish. Reheat until it registers 165°F as well.

The maple whiskey gravy can easily be reheated in the microwave until as hot as desired. If reheating a large amount of gravy for a group, I recommend heating it over medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stovetop.