Good Housekeeping UK

Honey-glazed turkey with gravy

Name: Honey-glazed turkey with gravy
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 3 h 30 min
Total time: 4 h
Yield: 8 serving(s)
Ingredients: 5 free-range turkey; 1 quantity Maple Pecan Stuffing (see link below); 2 lemons, skin on, sliced; 2 onions, skin on, sliced; 20g pack fresh sage, plus optional extra to garnish; 2 tbsp. olive oil; 50 g (2oz) butter, melted; 2 tbsp. runny honey; 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard; 25 g (1oz) plain flour; 400 mL (14 fl oz) chicken stock; 2 tbsp. whisky; 2 tbsp. runny honey

This is the ultimate Christmas turkey recipe; with maple pecan stuffing, honey mustard glaze and succulent turkey meat every time.

By The Good Housekeeping Cookery TeamUpdated: 08 September 2022

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We've developed countless roast turkey recipes at Good Housekeeping over the years, but this honey-glazed turkey with maple pecan stuffing and moreish gravy might just be our best yet. There are a few steps involved, though you can rest assured the results will be worth it. Serve with traditional trimmings and cranberry sauce; this is a recipe you'll want to repeat year after year.

Browse all of our favourite Christmas recipes here.

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Yields:

8 serving(s)

Prep Time:

30 mins

Cook Time:

3 hrs 30 mins

Total Time:

4 hrs

Cal/Serv:

276

Ingredients

5
free-range turkey
1
quantity Maple Pecan Stuffing (see link below)
2 lemons, skin on, sliced
2
onions, skin on, sliced
20g pack fresh sage, plus optional extra to garnish
2 Tbsp.
olive oil

For the glaze

50 g
(2oz) butter, melted
2 Tbsp.
runny honey
1 Tbsp.
Dijon mustard

For the gravy

25 g
(1oz) plain flour
400 ml
(14 fl oz) chicken stock
2 Tbsp.
whisky
2 Tbsp.
runny honey

Directions

1. Step 1
  Remove turkey from the fridge 1hr before cooking to let it come up to room temperature.
2. Step 2
  Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5. Put turkey breast-up on a board and use tweezers to pluck out any stray feathers. Pat dry with kitchen paper. Lift up the neck flap and use your fingers to ease the skin gently away from some of the breast meat. Put the stuffing (click here for the recipe) inside the neck cavity. Turn the turkey over on to its breast, pull the neck flap down and over the stuffing and secure with a skewer or cocktail sticks. Weigh the turkey and calculate cooking time, allowing 30-35min per kg (2lb 3½oz).
3. Step 3
  Make a trivet in a large sturdy roasting tin with some of the lemon and onion slices, and put the rest, along with the sage, into the turkey’s central cavity. Tie the turkey legs together, rub the oil over the bird and season. Cover tin loosely with foil.
4. Step 4
  Roast for calculated time, basting occasionally (add a little water to tin if base is catching), removing foil for last 45min of cooking. At the same time as removing the foil, mix together the glaze ingredients and paint over the bird. If you find the skin is browning too quickly, cover again with foil.
5. Step 5
  To check the turkey is cooked, insert a fork into the thickest part of the thigh and check the juices run golden and clear. If there’s any red tinge to the juice, return the bird to the oven and keep checking every 10-15min. Alternatively, use a meat thermometer – the temperature needs to read 72°C when inserted into the thickest part of the breast.
6. Step 6
  Transfer turkey to a board (set aside the roasting tin for gravy), and cover well with foil and clean tea towels to help keep the heat in. Leave to rest in a warm place for at least 30min or up to 1¼hr.
7. Step 7
  Make the gravy. Spoon any excess fat out of roasting tin, leaving behind the roasting remains. Put tin over medium hob heat and whisk in flour. Cook, whisking, for 1min. Gradually whisk in the stock (scraping up all the sticky bits from the base of the tin)
  and leave to bubble for a few min. Next, whisk in the whisky and honey and leave to simmer, whisking occasionally, for a couple of minutes. Strain into a warmed gravy jug or a clean pan (to reheat when needed). Check seasoning.
8. Step 8
  To serve the turkey, unwrap and transfer to a warm platter. Remove skewer or cocktail sticks and garnish with sage and Forked Roast Potatoes, if you like. Serve with the gravy (reheated if needed).