Hobgoblin Turkey

Serves 10 to 12.

Ingredients

• One 20 lb. fresh turkey
• Kosher salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large head of garlic, roasted with olive oil and salt and puréed with 1 tsp. salt
• 16 oz. Hobgoblin Ale or a malty, English substitute (Fullers ESB or Young’s Special London Ale)
• 10 oz. best-quality apricot jam (substitutions can be made, such as orange marmalade or blackberry jam)
• 3 lemons
• 1 fresh sage leaf (optional)
• 2 oz. unsalted butter
• 1 lemon sliced thin and 6 sage leaves for garnish
• (Optional injecting mixture: 4 oz. unsalted melted butter, 2 oz. Hobgoblin and 2 oz. strained apricot jam).

Step by Step

Inject the turkey before cooking by plunging the needle into the turkey and slowly pulling it out, injecting the mixture little by little so that all layers of the turkey receive the jam mixture. Inject the turkey’s breast, thighs and legs.

Heat the oven to 375° F. Rinse the turkey and pat dry. Salt the turkey inside and out. Rub the garlic puree over the turkey, in the cavity and under the skin. Tuck the sage leaves and one thinly sliced lemon under the skin of the turkey.

Cut the remaining two lemons in half. Stuff them into the cavities of the turkey. Transfer the turkey to a rack in the roasting pan. Heat the butter, beer and jam until the jam is melted; do not boil. Cook the turkey for 45 minutes. Then pour one half cup of the jam sauce over the turkey. Keep basting with the jam sauce until it is finished.

Cover the turkey if it begins to brown too fast. If the juices in the pan start to caramelize, add turkey or chicken stock to de-glaze. The turkey is done when it registers 180° F in the thickest part of the thigh (the cooking time should be approximately 12 minutes per pound). Cover the roasted bird and let rest 20 minutes before carving. Garnish with sage leaves and lemon slices before serving.