Thanksgiving Dinner: The Guest of Honor

Oh yeah. It’s time to talk about the bird. And this is a very special friend. This has to be my best turkey to date. I’m sorry to gloat, but this turned out perfectly. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a firm believer in brining turkey. It keeps it moist and juicy and adds a lot of flavor while cooking.

Different from what I’ve done before, I rubbed in an herbed butter before roasting this bird. And since I was going for that Latin flavor, I added achiote paste too. Let me tell you how this all came together.

Achiote & Herbs Turkey with Garlic Butter Gravy

First, the brine. I added a large onion, garlic cloves, bay leaves, celery, Jugo Maggi, salt, sugar and some spices to a large pot of water and brought it to a boil. Allowed it to simmer for about 15 minutes, to infuse the flavors in the water. I then allowed that to cool completely before pouring it into a cooler. Followed by the turkey (giblets removed), then filled with cool water and topped it with plenty of ice to keep it cold overnight.

If you go back a few months, you’ll remember a post I shared for roast chicken, I followed the same principles for the turkey. Incidentally, I want to give a shout out to Noelle over at Portland Palattes, she sent me a note after she followed the same post and ended up with a delicious chicken.

Back to the turkey. I combined 2 sticks of butter (I know!) with achiote paste, garlic, parsley, green onions, orange zest, salt and pepper. After draining and drying the turkey, I then squished the butter under the skin while the oven preheated to 475°. I filled the cavity with whole garlic cloves, quartered orange, celery and carrots, and threw some more at the bottom of the roasting pan.

After inserting the electronic thermometer (love that thing!) I placed the whole thing in the oven for 15 minutes, then lowered the temperature to 325° and roasted it, undisturbed until the internal temp read 185°–about 3 extra hours. No basting, no turning, no nothing.  Once it was done, it got a foil blanket and took a little nap for about 30 minutes before I began carving.

The fact that *I* had to do the carving this time explains why there are no pictures of that part. Sorry, I was in a panic at the thought of it. I didn’t do too badly. Look at these shots and tell me you don’t want some turkey like NOW!

Gravy. You see that pretty gravy? Of course, you can’t have turkey without some gravy, so gravy I made. I poured the cooking liquid out of the roasting pan. Once the fat raised to the top, I scooped out about 4 tablespoons of it and heated it in a saucepan. To that I added 2 cloves of garlic finely diced, cooked them for a couple of minutes before adding 4 tablespoons of flour, stirred it in and allowed it to cook for about 5 minutes stirring constantly.

Add the reserved liquid (not the fat), be sure to keep stirring or you’ll end up with lumps and bumps. Once it boils, it will begin to thicken. At this point you can adjust the seasoning as necessary. Keep warm and pour over the sliced turkey.

And here it is. I always always always have cranberry with my turkey. Straight out of the can, I love the stuff. But, this is a Latin Thanksgiving, so no cranberries for you. Instead…

Guayaba Sauce

Guayaba, or guava as it’s known in the US, is similar in color and temperament to cranberry. By temperament I mean they have very similar flavor profiles, they’re both sweet and tart, though guayaba doesn’t have that tangy bite cranberries do. This sauce was easy to make and DELICIOUS with the turkey.

I combined about 6 ozs of guayaba paste with the juice of 2 oranges and the zest of 1 and 1 diced shallot, brought it all to a boil and seasoned with a dash of salt just before serving. That’s it!

To see the recipes for the rest of this incredible meal, follow this link. To see the other food porn shots, click here.

Gobble gobble!
Cookingly yours,
Anamaris