Turkey

This is no ordinary turkey. Food editor Lillian Chou blended toasted guajillo and ancho chiles with a range of spices and aromatics to create a brick-red adobo sauce that seasons both the bird and its gravy. After a long marinate, the adobo permeates the bird's juicy meat during roasting. The resulting turkey features a savory complexity heightened by the accompanying red-chile gravy.

Chinese Rice Porridge with Turkey and Ginger

When food editor Shelley Wiseman was asked to develop a recipe for an over-the-top turkey, she began by rubbing truffle butter under its skin. "It’s a cheap shot," she admitted, "but it’s damn delicious." We all agreed—it’s the best turkey most of us have ever tasted. The butter, an excellent carrier of that unmistakable truffle flavor, moistens the turkey’s meat and crisps its skin during a high-heat roast. For this splendid centerpiece, a nuanced French shallot-wine sauce is just the thing.

The Thanksgiving turkey conundrum: How to keep the breast meat from drying out while the dark meat finishes cooking? By roasting a bone-in turkey breast by itself, we've eliminated the stress and cut the cooking time by several hours. What you get is perfectly moist, tender white meat with crisp, salty skin—all in under an hour. If you don't have time to make the gravy, skip it. This succulent bird doesn't need it.

Along with the pan juices, this stock flavors the gravy. Make and freeze it up to two weeks ahead.

This recipe has subtle Asian flavors that delicately perfume the turkey in a way that’s beautifully compatible with the rest of the Thanksgiving meal.

A bacon-herb butter goes under the skin before roasting, which infuses the turkey with flavor. Be sure to get started at least one day ahead.

Smoked salt and paprika give this turkey a smoky southwestern flavor that pairs very nicely with the spicy-sweet gravy. Look for Halen Môn oak-smoked sea salt at specialty foods stores and surfasonline.com.

Looking for a classic turkey with some added depth of flavor? This is the one for you. The meat tastes of sage, rosemary, and thyme.

To take the sandwiches on a picnic, use ciabatta rolls—they will stay firm despite the mayo.

You might expect to find smoked duck breast in a sultry, sensual main-course salad like this one, but here we use smoked turkey, which makes it a lot more affordable and a little bit more robust. Both good things.

Pretty protein-rich bites by Jarett Brodie, chef at FR.OG in New York City.

Turkey is native to Mexico; it was a staple in the Mayan diet. I first sampled pavo en sac kol at Los Almendros in Mérida. This recipe was inspired by Rick Bayless.

Often overlooked, turkey cutlets are a great, inexpensive substitute for veal. Sandwiching a thin slice of prosciutto between two of them and frying the whole thing leaves you with a packet full of flavor and texture.