As many Canadians get ready for the holidays, I wanted to share with you this festive and delicious Glazed Roast Turkey recipe. My grand-mother used to make the most delicious turkey roast. It was so good that we could not imagine celebrating the holidays without it.
For many years now, we have been continuing this holiday tradition with our children. I think that there is nothing better than preparing a beautiful Canadian Turkey roast for my family and friends gathered around the table. Whether I am feeding a few people or a massive crowd, I can easily prepare a delicious meal without spending a lot of money. It is super economical and a great source of protein!
This Glaze Roast Turkey with Apricot and Pecan Stuffing recipe will surprise everyone at any celebration or gathering. I can guarantee you that your whole family will love it! This recipe includes 3 delicious glaze recipes as a source of inspiration for all your holiday cooking.
Glazed Roast Turkey with Apricot and Pecan Stuffing
For turkey:
1 whole turkey, 12-14 lbs.
4 tbsp olive oil
1 cup white wine
1 cup turkey broth
For rub:
2 tbsp salt
1 ½ tbsp white pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp ground Italian seasoning
1 tbsp ground sweet paprika
For apple butter glaze:
1 cup apple butter
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup apple juice
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp pepper
1 tsp salt
4 branches fresh thyme
2 cloves finely minced garlic
For stuffing:
3 cups crusty bread such as sourdough or Italian, cubed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup roughly chopped dried apricots
½ cup rolled oats
¾ cup turkey broth
1 medium onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried thyme
Prepare Stuffing:
- Spread the bread cubes out on a baking tray and place in your oven overnight
to dry out.
- Place in a large bowl.
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
- Add the onions and celery and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the turkey broth over bread to moisten.
- Add the onion and celery mixture.
- Add the oats, apricots and dried herbs.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Mix well and proceed to stuff your bird.
Prepare Glaze:
- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.
- Bring to a simmer for 20 – 30 minutes until glaze is thick and syrupy. Remove fresh thyme stems and discard. If you are using a chunkier style of apple butter and you want a smoother glaze, use a hand blender to blend the glaze until smooth.  Glaze can be made up to 1 week in advance.
Prepare Turkey:
- Make sure the turkey is thawed and the giblets and neck have been removed.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Pat the bird dry with paper towels.
- Rub the turkey with olive oil, inside and out.
- Combine all spices to make a rub. Sprinkle generously onto the bird, inside and out.
- Stuff the turkey, loosely, with the stuffing mixture.
- Place the bird into your roasting pan. Add wine and turkey broth.
- Roast the turkey for 4 – 4 ½ hours, until the juices run clear and an instant thermometer reads 170°F in the breast, 180°F in the thigh and the stuffing reaches 165°F.
- Generously apply glaze directly onto the turkey, twice, every 15 minutes in the last 30 minutes of cooking. Return the turkey to the oven and then re-apply in the last five minutes of cooking.
- Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
 NOTE: Cooking times are for planning purposes only – always use a digital meat thermometer to determine doneness.
Here are a few other variations:
Cranberry Rosemary Port Glaze
1 cup cranberry jelly
½ cup ruby Port
½ cup orange juice
1 sprig rosemary
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.
Bring to a low simmer and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes or until glaze is reduced to a thick syrup-like consistency.
Can be made up to 1 week ahead.
To use on your roast turkey, generously apply glaze directly onto the turkey in the last 30 minutes of cooking. Return the turkey to the oven and then re-apply in the last five minutes of cooking. Rest and carve according to your turkey recipe directions.
Spicy Maple Bourbon Glaze
1 ¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup bourbon
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp tobasco or hot sauce
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp salt
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.
Bring to a simmer for 20 – 30 minutes until glaze is thick and syrupy.
Can be made up to 1 week ahead.
To use on your roast turkey, generously apply glaze directly onto the turkey in the last 30 minutes of cooking. Re-apply in the last five minutes of cooking. Rest and carve according to your turkey recipe directions.
TIP:
You can change the flavour profile of your glazes by adding a variety of spices. Try adding a combination of one or more of the following: cloves, nutmeg, star anise, cinnamon or five-spice blend to any of these glazes to add a hint of holiday spice and change things up.
Check out these great glaze recipe video!
With a variety of recipes, techniques, and tips, Canadian Turkey will help you create divine meals that will satisfy all your guests. Visit canadianturkey.ca for all your holiday meal inspiration and more. The recipe section feature amazing recipes for full meals and appetizers, and the WHOLE BIRD HOW TOs will help you get your turkey prepped. You will also find in this section a gold mine of ideas for your holiday leftovers. Yum!
Giveaway
To help you create your festive holiday tradition, Canadian Turkey is giving away a $150 Amazon.ca e-gift card to one of our readers! This giveaway is open to Canada only. Good luck!
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Canadian Turkey. All opinions are mine.
I love our tradition of picking out great recipes/food to make together for our Christmas Eve appetizer night. It’s a great night of preparing food, eating food and having fun watching movies or playing games together.
We open one gift on Christmas Eve
I take my sons down candy cane lane with hot cocoa to check out all the houses decked out in Christmas lights then we come home and watch a Christmas movie
I always host the Christmas dinner for my whole family. I love to cook.
I always make chocolate truffles.
We open gifts on christmas eve
buying a real tree and decorating it while we eat cookies and drink hot chocolate. disguising our presents when we wrap them, playing board games and cards over the holidays
We bake together every year.
Well everyone in the family works and we only get the stat off so we work, we go to the inlaws for supper and then we have to work the next day LOL
My favourite holiday cooking tip is to not forget to baste very often.
Our holiday tradition is to get together for the lighting of the tree.
We go to my father’s house on Christmas eve for a big dinner with extended family . We come back and the kids open each a gift and then the next day we open our presents, have lobster and eggs for breakfast and then I host dinner here with mom, step- dad and my siblings and their kids. Boxing day we have dinner with hubby’s family and exchange gifts.
Hosting the Christmas parties
Our traditions are to decorate the apartment as a family in early December, then have a big meal with family on Christmas. If we all aren’t able to be together then we make sure to call everyone who is far away.
We put up the christmas tree together as a family!
My favourite holiday tradition is exchanging presents with my sisters on Christmas eve.
We go for a walk every Christmas Eve to look at the neighborhood lights. All the adults stuff each others stockings and in the morning we all watch each person open their stocking. There are usually a healthy amount of gag gifts.
Our holiday traditions include decorating the house and tree. We make a point of counting our blessings and donating food and gifts.
Our holiday tradition is hosting a big dinner for the family!
We have a few holiday traditions..my favourite is going to the tree farm, cutting down our tree then decorating it while watching our favourite Christmas movies
My holiday tradition is to go to candle light service on Christmas Eve
Our Christmas traditions include decorating our tree with ornaments we collect when we travel; Christmas Eve dinner and gifts for the kids at my sister’s (dressed up fancy); Christmas morning with breakfast/coffee and Christmas gifts for the adults, and for the kids from Santa, at my house (in our pajamas); Christmas dinner at either my house or my mom’s house on Christmas night (dressed up nice, but not fancy).
being with my family at my moms Christmas Eve seeing how excited the Children are for the morning
My holiday traditions are pretty much the same as most others are. Cooking, baking, decorating the tree, spending time with the family etc…etc
Our traditions are going to my parents house for Christmas Eve and a big turkey dinner at my house on Christmas Day. Thanks for the giveaway!
My favourite holiday tradition is getting together with my mom’s extended family on Boxing day. It’s awesome getting together with all of my aunts, uncles & cousins and having a great time with great food!
We love our tradtitions of opening stockings first thing Christmas morning, and listening to the same Christmas music every year!
Our holiday tradition is hosting a big turkey dinner for the whole family!
My holiday tradition is cooking a family dinner.
We have so many things we do every year at Christmas – Elf on the Shelf (the girls really believe), advent calendars, opening one present on Christmas Eve (pjs & a movie), sprinkling reindeer food and a big turkey dinner.
a favourite tradition is baking all the goodies i only make during the holidays! and the building of the annual Gingerbread house!
On Christmas Eve, the girls open a present (it’s always pjs & a movie) and we watch it together as a family. When the movie is over, the girls sprinkle reindeer food outside and off to bed. On Christmas morning, we open presents and then head to my SIL for Christmas dinner.
My daughter and I watch White Christmas every December.
We decorate the tree in early december. We have a little Christmas money that does tricks each year. We sing a lot.
I’m going to try their Twice Baked Turkey Dijon Baked Potatoes soon. I have a Twice Baked Turkey Potatoes recipe that I love, so a new twist would be welcome.
My favourite Christmas tradition is going to a u cut to cut down our tree as a family.
My fam has a big party on xmas eve & then we meet up again for dinner on xmas day. My mom does a brunch on boxing day & we see my hubby’s fam later that day.
A holiday tradition of ours family dinner đŸ™‚
My favourite tradition is watching Christmas movies while we decorate the house.
putting up a christmas tree with shortbread cookies in the oven and christmas carols playing in the background
We get together about 3 hrs before we are going to have dinner and let the kids play and we start to catch up on what everyone has been doing or currently doing, We have dinner, we open gifts. We have dessert and coffee. Then we finish the evening with 1-2 big games of Charades and some other games. We snack again at midnight then continue to enjoy each other’s company until approx 2 a.m. Then everyone crashes at the same house. 18-24 of us includes the children.
We always decorate the tree and pick it out together !
Our holiday tradition is having a big dinner with the extended family
going to look at the light around the area
My favourite tradition now with our kids is going to get the tree. We go to farm and cut one down it is the start of our season and then the kids love decorating it and really start to feel Christmas
We decorate the gingerbread house and have dinner with the family.
Family Get together and presents
Every Christmas Eve we spend the evening watching the old classic Christmas movies.
My favourite tradition is baking Christmas cookies with my daughter.
hmm,the PEACH GLAZED ROASTED TURKEY BREAST sounds delicious.
We always go out Christmas eve delivering presents to our family and friends!
My holiday tradition is to host Christmas dinner.
We play games after dinner, have a few drinks, light the fireplace & crank the Christmas tunes!
Christmas Eve we have a Chinese style hot pot dinner, then watch Christmas movies. Christmas day open our presents, have brunch, then watch, read, try on our presents then dinner!
We love to walk around the neighbourhood looking at the lights with the kids.
we get some hot chocolate and drive around looking at christmas light displays
One tradition would be always eating sushi on Christmas Eve!
Our holiday tradition is lighting the menorah and exchanging small gifts. So nice!
Putting up the tree, decorating, great meal, pyjamas and movie and treats and standing by the outside fire
My whole family goes to my mom’s for Christmas morning and dinner!
Kids get to open one gift on Christmas eve. đŸ™‚
We have Christmas Eve dinner at home and Christmas Day dinner at my brother’s house.
My favorite holiday tradition is making a Christmas gift with my granddaughter for her parents.
Putting cookies and milk out for santa
we open our gifts on christmas eve. its a thing my husband did with his family mostly because they couldnt wait. it bothered me at first but now i find it kind of romantic since we go get and give gifts with everyone else the next day. it keeps our thing separate.
My fave holiday tradition is opening presents on Christmas morning!
A holiday tradition is taking our family picture in front of our Christmas tree and sending it off in a holiday card to family and close friends
We have Family dinner on Christmas Day
We do a lot of baking as a family and then on Christmas eve, we set out the baking and sit around the living room as a family. We play Uno and other games.
My holiday tradition is flying back home đŸ™‚
We celebrate on the 24th with a turkey dinner around 5 and then opening presents around 7 in the evening
We have a tradition of still doing Christmas stockings even though everyone in my household is an adult.
I take my kids to the movies on Christmas day and then we celebrate with our good family friends
One tradition we have is to decorate the Christmas Tree together.
Our holiday tradition is driving the kids around to look at all the Christmas lights on Christmas Eve and than coming home to hot chocolate and a Christmas movie
Our family enjoys cooking together whenever we get the chance! And we love game nights after a great holiday meal!
Add special poultry spices to turkey to enhance the flavor!
Having family across the ocean we usually make it a small affair but with all the traditions from Scotland so my kids can carry this on when they grow up!
Dressing my cats up in holiday sweaters is my tradition đŸ™‚ They absolutely hate it BUT THEY ARE SO CUTE!!!
Every Christmas Eve I read the new Night Before Christmas book that my mom has given me to my kids. It is my birthday and she has been giving me one every year since I was little.
My very favorite thing at Christmas is watching movies with my family and a great bowl of festively flavored popcorn!
We have a few special foods we cook for Christmas like shortbread and pirogies
Driving around neighborhood to see all the lights and decorations.
It will be latkes on the 25th for me!
My tip is to cook the turkey on low for several hours wrapped in tin foil and do not baste.
Nothing unusual. Putting up the tree together beginning of December, watching Christmas movies, one gift on Christmas eve, stockings, Family dinner on Christmas day.
Turkey dinner with family together.
One holiday tradition is family gathering together on Christmas Eve to exchange family gifts and have a bowl to freshly made seafood chowder.
my favourite holiday turkey recipe is the TURKEY ENCHILADAS
we have my sister coming with her family a few days after Christmas and the nieces and nephews unwrap presents and of course there’s food
Family get together Christmas Eve with extended family, sisters, nieces nephews love it best time ever
This year will be a start to new tradition’s, it’s just me and hubby at home now, So this year we will be getting up and travelling to the kids homes and then coming back to do our supper and watching movies! I used to make cinnamon rolls for breakfast Christmas morning, no need for me to do that now, I’m actually looking forward to having a quiet day!
We choose a day to make all our xmas baked goods and meatpies the entire family together. So many great memories.
We get the family together to bake Christmas cookies.
My holiday tradition is baking shortbread cookies while watching Christmas movies
We always decorate the tree & bake cookies as a family. On Christmas Day I always make a huge turkey dinner!
Spending quality time with family and friends
Christmas Eve we have appetizers for dinner & watch Christmas Movies in our pj’s. Christmas Day we open stocking, have breakfast, open presents under the tree and then have a family dinner.
A holiday tradition of ours is putting the Christmas tree up on Dec 1. Siblings will take turn putting the star on the tree each year.
My favorite holiday tradition is letting the kids open one special present from the parents on Christmas Eve.
we always take a carriage ride through the park to see the xmas lights.
we open our stockings in bed.
our stocking always have the same things…every year.
We usually go to my sisters for supper on Christmas day and have a big meal on Boxing Day with all our family.
Our favourite tradition is decorating the christmas tree
We make an anticipation chain in November and write a fun activity on each link. We rip a link off each morning during December and do that activity that day. We have Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve and have hot turkey sandwiches on Christmas Day and then go sledding Christmas night in our pyjamas (weather permitting). We also open one gift on Christmas Eve.
We try and visit most of our families over the holidays my sister on Christmas Day and my mothers on Boxing Day. đŸ™‚
I love to decorate the tree with my family while singing carols and eating cookies!
Baking cookies with my nieces and nephews is one tradition. And opening one ift on Christmas Eve has been a family tradition since I was a kid.
Christmas Holiday traditions are that we all go over to my parents house (18 of us) for xmas day. They have a large house so we all fit comfortably & my mom has lits of China, lol.
We have dinner on the 24th with my family – we have the kids open 1 gift and it is usually pjs. On the 25th we spend the day with my hubby’s family.
One of our holiday traditions is going out for a great Japanese dinner on Christmas Eve and then drive home along the waterfront gazing at the sea and the Christmas lights along the way! We’ve been doing this for over 25 years now!
We like to open one gift Christmas Eve which is always new pjs for everyone. On Christmas Day we alternate whose house we go to for the family Christmas meal. We play games and just have a wonderful time well into the evening.
Our traditions, well they start off in Advent with an Advent calendar for each child, an advent wreath with 4 candles one gets lit every Sunday up to Christmas until all 4 are alight. On Dec 6th St Nicholas comes during the night and leaves gifts for children (in their clean shoes!) who’ve been good, coal for those who haven’t. Too many more to go on, đŸ™‚
Awe, that’s so cute Stephanie!
My favorite holiday tradition is decorating my wheelchair with Christmas lights!!
My favorite holiday tradition is decorating my wheelchair with Christmas lights.
having the family together for christmas dinner, we are a big family so we take turns who has dinner at their house