Chef notes
If you like cranberry sauce with your turkey you'll love it with pomegranate molasses. It's a little more tart, sweet and sticky but still brings the same fruity flavor.
Technique tip: The final internal temp of the turkey should be 165°F. Take it out of the oven at 155°F-160°F to avoid overcooking. Also, bring the raw turkey to room temp before sticking in the oven to promote even cooking.
Swap option: Use store-bought pomegranate molasses or you can easily make your own.
Ingredients
- One 6-pound fresh turkey breast, on the bone
- 4 turkey drumsticks (about 7-8 pounds)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 sticks softened butter
- 20 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped (about 2 tablespoons leaves)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 cups pomegranate molasses, plus more for serving
Preparation
1.Pat the turkey breast and drumsticks completely dry and place the breast into a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Place the drumsticks onto a baking sheet fitted with a cooling rack. Mix 1/2 cup salt, a few grinds black pepper and the sugar in a small bowl then rub the mixture all over the breast and drumsticks. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 4 hours and up to overnight. Rinse the breast and drumsticks, pat them completely dry.
2.Preheat the oven to 350°F.
3.Mix the butter with the thyme, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper and rub the mixture all over the breast and drumsticks getting underneath the skin if you can. Brush the turkey all over with 2 cups pomegranate molasses. Add 1 cup water to the bottom of the roasting pan and baking sheet and tent both with foil. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
4.Remove the foil from the pans and brush the turkey legs and breast all over with 1 cup pomegranate molasses. Continue baking for 30 minutes, uncovered, then brush one last time with the remaining pomegranate molasses leaving about 2 tablespoons. Bake until the skin is crispy and the turkey has reached 160°F-165°F, about 30 minutes more. Brush a final time with the molasses and let rest for 30 minutes.
5.Slice the turkey and serve with more pomegranate molasses on the side.