Our Best Turkey Recipes

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com
June 01, 2012

Our recipes help you find a fresh flavor for this year's turkey, with ideas for cider-brined turkey, maple-gazed turkey, grilled turkey breast and more.

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Cider-Brined Turkey with Roasted Apples

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Even better than the pretty glazed fruit and crazy-juicy bird? The appley gravy made from the drippings.

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Maple-Glazed Roast Turkey

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We spread an herb blend under the skin of a whole turkey, then roasted the bird, slathering with a maple glaze halfway through cooking. Glazing the bird after 2 hours of roasting prevents overbrowning. Serve with our make-ahead Apple Cider Sauce.

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Holiday Turkey

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For this moist roast Holiday Turkey (recipe link above), we borrowed a couple of tricks from Cincinnati, Ohio, chef Paul Sturkey: basting with butter and cooking with broth in the pan. Serve with Paul's Cranberry-Pear Chutney.

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Grilled Turkey Breast with Spiced Almond Butter

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When you're not feeding a crowd at the holidays, choose a smaller turkey breast instead of a whole bird. Our nut butter adds a hint of citrus alongside the allspice and pepper. Roast the meat on the grill or in your oven.

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Turkey Breast a la Porketta

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Our recipe plays up the seasonings in porketta, a pork roast invented by Italian and Portuguese immigrants in Iron Country.

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Turkey Steaks with Spinach, Pears & Blue Cheese

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Need a fast, but special, dinner this holiday season? This one's ready in just 20 minutes! Season turkey tenderloins with a sage rub then top with spinach, juicy pear slices and blue cheese crumbles.

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Tomato Pesto Turkey and sides

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Our Tomato Pesto Turkey (recipe link above) gets an extra sparkle of flavor from tomato pesto with herbs, salt and pepper slipped between the skin and meat of a turkey breast.

The Chipotle Smashed Potatoes mix yellow and sweet potatoes with cream cheese, butter, sour cream, bacon and canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. The Brussels Sprouts with Lemony Mushrooms are skillet-roasted and tossed with seasoned mushrooms.

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Turkey with Old-Time Stuffing

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This classic stuffing features pork sausage, chopped celery and onion, butter, seasonings, and fresh bread cubes.

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Main-Event Turkey

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A rub of pepper, paprika and your favorite herb gives an easy flavor boost to Main-Event Turkey (recipe link above). If you like, serve with  Herb-Sausage Dressing or Cranberry-Apple Cornbread Stuffing.

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Cherry-Pecan Stuffed Turkey

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Dried tart cherries and coarsely chopped pecans add texture and color to this stuffing recipe.

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Video: How to carve a turkey

Watch as we carve a turkey for Thanksgiving or another special dinner. We help you separate the light meat from the dark meat so you get the most out of your holiday bird.

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By The editors of MidwestLiving.com