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Cranberry Braised Turkey Thighs with Root Vegetables
This recipe was inspired by Mario Batelli’s recipe, Cranberry Braised Turkey Thighs. The link provides both text and video. I made some of my own substitutions: turnips and parsnips for the rutabaga; boxed low sodium veggie broth for the chicken broth. I also left off the gremolata topping. One thing I really really don’t like: the dry and flavorless part of the turkey known as the breast.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 16 minutes browning + 1 hour 45 minutes cooking
Rest time: 10-15 minutes
Serves 4
Leftovers: Yes.
Cranberry Braised Turkey Thighs
Ingredients
2 skin on, bone-in turkey thighs
1/2 teaspoon olive oil (or whichever healthy one you prefer)
1 large red onion, peeled and eighth-ed. (ie, double the quartering… )
a variety of root veggies: I used 2 golden beets, 2 medium-sized parsnips, 1 daikon, which was large parsnip-sized (a rutabaga or a couple medium-sized turnips would work wonderfully, but I work with what's in the fridge...). Peel as desired, and chop everything to 1-1.5-inch cubes or thereabouts.
2 really large cloves of garlic, sliced or coarsely chopped.
3/4 cup fresh cranberries (you can make it a full cup with no problems)
3/4 cup dry white wine 1 cup low sodium veggie or chicken broth — home-made is best but I went with the low sodium veggie stock from a box.
1.5 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.
1 teaspoon honey (my source has you adding 1/8th a cup for 2 thighs — your call, I’m simply so not a sweet-tooth)
Ideally, a couple sprigs of fresh thyme, dill, marjoram and sage, tied into a bundle. I couldn’t dash to the grocery, so I used ground thyme, ground dill, and ground “herbes de provence”
and missed out on the sage. About 1/3 teaspoon each.
Salt and pepper to taste.
If you don’t do wine, I would make up the volume with more stock, and use 2 tablespoons vinegar.
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Preferably in a heavy-bottomed stock pot, add your oil and heat to medium heat on the range (I ended up using a large skillet, and transferring to a pan for the oven.) When the pot or skillet is hot, add the turkey, skin side down. Allow to brown eight minutes, then flip, browning the other side eight more minutes. Remove from pot or skillet and set aside.
To this pot or skillet, add all the veggies except the garlic and cranberries. (Before doing so, remove and discard any extra oil you won’t need for sautéing these.) Sauté for about five minutes, then add the garlic. Sauté another two minutes. Remove from heat.
If using the same stock pot in the oven: add the cranberries, the liquids, and the herbs and spices (in short, everything else). Place the turkey thighs, skin exposed, on top. Cover. If using a different pot for the oven: put all ingredients into that pot, adding the turkey last, skin exposed, on top. Cover.
Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Remove cover 20-25 minutes before the dish is done, so that the skin can crispy up some.
Pull out, remove the tied bundle of fresh herbs if you used them, let rest 10 or 15 minutes,
then enjoy. You can slice it the way you would slice up a turkey thigh from a whole turkey, and serve, along with a good helping of those wonderful veggies!
This recipe was inspired by Mario Batelli’s recipe, Cranberry Braised Turkey Thighs. The link provides both text and video. I made some of my own substitutions: turnips and parsnips for the rutabaga; boxed low sodium veggie broth for the chicken broth. I also left off the gremolata topping. One thing I really really don’t like: the dry and flavorless part of the turkey known as the breast.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 16 minutes browning + 1 hour 45 minutes cooking
Rest time: 10-15 minutes
Serves 4
Leftovers: Yes.
Cranberry Braised Turkey Thighs
Ingredients
2 skin on, bone-in turkey thighs
1/2 teaspoon olive oil (or whichever healthy one you prefer)
1 large red onion, peeled and eighth-ed. (ie, double the quartering… )
a variety of root veggies: I used 2 golden beets, 2 medium-sized parsnips, 1 daikon, which was large parsnip-sized (a rutabaga or a couple medium-sized turnips would work wonderfully, but I work with what's in the fridge...). Peel as desired, and chop everything to 1-1.5-inch cubes or thereabouts.
2 really large cloves of garlic, sliced or coarsely chopped.
3/4 cup fresh cranberries (you can make it a full cup with no problems)
3/4 cup dry white wine 1 cup low sodium veggie or chicken broth — home-made is best but I went with the low sodium veggie stock from a box.
1.5 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.
1 teaspoon honey (my source has you adding 1/8th a cup for 2 thighs — your call, I’m simply so not a sweet-tooth)
Ideally, a couple sprigs of fresh thyme, dill, marjoram and sage, tied into a bundle. I couldn’t dash to the grocery, so I used ground thyme, ground dill, and ground “herbes de provence”
and missed out on the sage. About 1/3 teaspoon each.
Salt and pepper to taste.
If you don’t do wine, I would make up the volume with more stock, and use 2 tablespoons vinegar.
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Preferably in a heavy-bottomed stock pot, add your oil and heat to medium heat on the range (I ended up using a large skillet, and transferring to a pan for the oven.) When the pot or skillet is hot, add the turkey, skin side down. Allow to brown eight minutes, then flip, browning the other side eight more minutes. Remove from pot or skillet and set aside.
To this pot or skillet, add all the veggies except the garlic and cranberries. (Before doing so, remove and discard any extra oil you won’t need for sautéing these.) Sauté for about five minutes, then add the garlic. Sauté another two minutes. Remove from heat.
If using the same stock pot in the oven: add the cranberries, the liquids, and the herbs and spices (in short, everything else). Place the turkey thighs, skin exposed, on top. Cover. If using a different pot for the oven: put all ingredients into that pot, adding the turkey last, skin exposed, on top. Cover.
Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Remove cover 20-25 minutes before the dish is done, so that the skin can crispy up some.
Pull out, remove the tied bundle of fresh herbs if you used them, let rest 10 or 15 minutes,
then enjoy. You can slice it the way you would slice up a turkey thigh from a whole turkey, and serve, along with a good helping of those wonderful veggies!
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