I came up with this recipe on Christmas Day a few years ago. My friend and I had gone outside to play in the freshly blanketed snow, when I suddenly remembered the large bird in the oven. When I went inside to baste our dinner, I found not a drop of liquid in the bottom of the pan and panicked as our dinner was drying out rapidly. I looked around, poked holes all over the top, spread lots of butter all over, but knew that it was not enough and I had no broth to add stored in the freezer. OH NO, was my immediate thought and then I spotted an unopened large bottle of Grand Mariner. I stuffed this bird with lots of fruit to add moisture anyway, so I opened that bottle and literally poured ¾ of it over the turkey and religiously basted it every half hour afterwards. Oh my, I can honestly say, that as the juice was pouring out of each slice the resulting taste was a pure offering of heaven!

*****Remember whenever roasting meat or poultry at high altitude, to add more broth, wine or water several times during the roasting process.

***** All foods at high altitudes will take longer to cook thoroughly. Therefore, the rule of thumb that a turkey takes 15 minutes per pound to roast thoroughly is not quite accurate. Base the roasting time on approximately 20 minutes per pound and make sure that when punctured the juices run clear.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit

Dressing/Stuffing
2 tablespoons melted butter, margarine or canola spread
1 1/4 chicken broth and/or unsweetened apple juice
4 cups, dry bread cubes (for stuffing/dressing)
1 1/2 cups diced celery
1 1/2 cups diced sweet yellow onions or pearl onions, sliced in half
1 cup grated carrots, (optional)
1-1 1/2 cups raisins, dark and golden, craisins and/or dried cherries
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
1/4 teaspoon paprika, (optional)
1/4 teaspoon each poultry seasoning, dill, celery seed, parsley and minced garlic
OR
1 teaspoon each of sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley and minced garlic
Sea salt and pepper to taste

The Turkey
1, 18-24 pound young turkey, preferably fresh or frozen and thawed
2-3 tablespoons butter, margarine or canola spread
2 teaspoons honey, brown sugar or unsweetened apple juice, (optional)
3 cups chicken broth, poured all over the top before placing in oven.
6 plus cups Grand Mariner, poured over the top after the first 2 hours of roasting
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Additionally sprinkle a bit more of the same seasonings used in the stuffing on top of the turkey.

Gravy
2 tablespoons pan drippings
1 cup white wine or chicken broth
2-3 tablespoons flour or cornstarch

1. In a large bowl, mix all dressing ingredients together and set aside to soak for a few minutes.
2. To prepare the turkey, first removing the bag or neck and giblets from the cavity and wash the inside and outside of the bird thoroughly with cool water. If you need to loosen the legs from the clamp, gently push down on the legs and they will slip right out of the clamp. Once washed, place the turkey on the roasting rack inside of the pan, fill the cavity with the prepared dressing and reset the legs in the clamp.
3. Mix together the butter and honey, sugar or juice. Rub this all over the turkey; including the legs, wings and thighs. Salt and pepper the top and sides, fill the bottom of the pan 1/2 inch full with water or broth and the turkey pieces previously removed from the cavity. Put the rack in place in the pan, the turkey on the rack, cover the pan with a loose tent made from tin foil and place the pan in the oven.
4. Baste the turkey about once every half hour or so. Pour the Grand Mariner all over the bird after 2 hours of roasting. Remove the tin foil about 1 hour before the turkey has finished roasting; allowing the top to brown. You will know when the turkey has finished roasting when the thermometer pops up and/or reads 175-185 degrees, Fahrenheit It will take approximately 5-7 hours for a large stuffed bird, 4-5 hours if not stuffed.
5. Remove the pan from the oven. Allow the bird to cool for a few minutes before removing it from the rack and placing it onto a plate to be carved. Spoon the dressing into a bowl before carving or place the dressing in a pan, drizzle it with 2-3 tablespoons of the drippings and place it into the oven to keep warm.
6. Prepare the gravy. Remove about 2 tablespoons of the drippings from the pan and put into a large cup. Add 1 cup white wine or chicken broth and 2-3 tablespoons flour (or cornstarch) and whisk vigorously breaking up any lumps, then add this to the dripping in the pan and whisk continuously over medium heat until the gravy thickens and no lumps remain. Pour gravy into a gravy bowl, or keep warm in the roasting pan over low heat.

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This recipe is from Randi's award-winning book:

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