By Sean Sherman
- Total Time
- About 2 hours, plus chilling and resting
- Rating
- 4(50)
- Notes
- Read community notes
The flavor of heritage turkey breeds is richer and more pronounced than that of commercial turkeys sold at supermarkets nationwide. Put plainly, heritage breeds taste more like turkey. Heritage birds are raised outside, pecking at a varied diet. They tend to have meatier thighs and smaller breasts, and a higher ratio of dark meat to white meat. The Onondaga tribe, among others from the Northeastern United States, would have been able to serve them with forest berries, perking up the rich, dark meat with color and flavor. Sparked with mint, this berry sauce is bright and fruity, with just enough acid to complement the richness of the turkey.
Featured in: Sean Sherman’s 10 Essential Native American Recipes
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Ingredients
Yield:8 to 10 servings
- 1(10- to 12-pound) turkey, preferably a heritage breed
- Coarse sea salt
- 1bunch fresh sage
- 3cups wild rice cooking liquid (reserved from Wild Rice and Berries With Popped Rice, if desired) or turkey stock, plus more as needed
- 6medium leeks, white and pale green portions only, halved lengthwise, cut into 2-inch pieces and rinsed clean
- 2tablespoons sunflower oil
- ½cup maple syrup, plus more as needed
- 3cups fresh raspberries or blackberries
- 3cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- 2tablespoons chopped fresh mint, plus more as needed
- ½cup black walnuts (see Note), lightly toasted and chopped
- Pea shoots or microgreens, for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
850 calories; 28 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 10 grams polyunsaturated fat; 64 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 16 grams sugars; 86 grams protein; 1618 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Remove giblets from the turkey cavity and discard or reserve for another use. Pat the turkey dry using paper towels. Rub the turkey all over with ½ teaspoon salt per pound of turkey. Tuck the sage sprigs inside the turkey cavity.
Step
2
Set the turkey on a baking sheet, breast-side up. Place in the refrigerator, uncovered, for at least 4 hours and up to 6 hours to dry out the skin (this will help it crisp when it roasts).
Step
3
When you are ready to cook the turkey, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature, 1½ to 2 hours.
Step
4
Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Pour the rice cooking liquid or stock into a large roasting pan and add the leeks. Place a roasting rack on top, then transfer the turkey to the roasting rack, breast-side up, and tuck the wings underneath. Brush the exposed turkey generously with the oil. Transfer to the oven and roast, 30 minutes. Baste the turkey with the pan juices, adding rice cooking liquid or stock as needed to make sure there is a ½-inch layer of liquid at the bottom of the pan.
Step
5
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting, basting every 30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh reaches 165 degrees, 1 to 1½ hours. If the skin begins to darken too much, tent the turkey loosely with aluminum foil. Brush ¼ cup maple syrup over the turkey. Transfer turkey to a cutting board to rest for 30 minutes before carving.
Step
6
Transfer ¾ cup of the turkey pan juices to a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the raspberries or blackberries, cranberries and the mint to the saucepan, stir with a wooden spoon to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have popped open, the raspberries have fallen apart and the liquid is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the remaining ¼ cup maple syrup, then add maple syrup and mint according to taste.
Step
7
Carve the turkey. Smear some berry sauce on each plate. Top with the leeks then the turkey. Garnish with walnuts and pea shoots or microgreens, and pass more berry sauce alongside.
- Black walnuts are smaller and more flavorful than most commercial varieties and are worth seeking out (they are available online). They’re very perishable, so are best stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
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Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Amrie
Update: I held this in the fridge for five days. It was still delicious and my guests raved about it.
Amrie
I just made the berry-mint sauce. It's DELICIOUS. I added mint gradually until I could just taste it. I'm popping this into the fridge and can't wait to serve it to my guests.
No Mint
Did everything, just omitted the mint. It was delicious for Thanksgiving. Ordered a heritage turkey, had a great flavor, and would definitely buy it again. You would think with all the maple syrup that it is sweet, but it's barely sweet. Would make again.
Amrie
I just made the berry-mint sauce. It's DELICIOUS. I added mint gradually until I could just taste it. I'm popping this into the fridge and can't wait to serve it to my guests.
Amrie
Update: I held this in the fridge for five days. It was still delicious and my guests raved about it.
C
Did you still add turkey stock to berries, or if not, did you replace it with a different liquid? Thanks!
Amazingly good, interesting, and easy to make.
Just made the berry-mint sauce for Turkey Day dinner Also made the "traditional" cranberry sauce. It has a deeper flavor. Love it (my husband likes traditional). The flavor was raisin-like but added more mint to suit my taste buds. Will have to freeze the native blackberries next year to have on hand for this sauce.
deborah
The leeks are mentioned in step 4
Colleen in DC
The leeks are definitely cooked in the photo, but no mention of them in the recipe until plating. Is something missing?
Elizabeth Valentine
Step 4: Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Pour the rice cooking liquid or stock into a large roasting pan and add the LEEKS.
Viv
See step 4"Pour the rice cooking liquid or stock into a large roasting pan and add the leeks. "
c
read step 4 again, leeks go on the roasting pan, under the rack.
LS Gourmet
The berry mint sauce reads like a great change from the usual cranberry sauce. Thanks for a new addition to the table.
Lydia Sugarman
Just found my Thanksgiving dinner! Looking forward to adapting this for one or two people. Any and all tips are eagerly anticipated.
mmclaughlin
Could one stuff the turkey as well?
Chris in SLC
Most modern cooks advise against stuffing a turkey. Put aromatics and herbs (onion, celery, lemon, orange, sage, rosemary, thyme) in the cavity to add flavor to the bird and then put them in the pot when it's time to make stock.
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