Tag Archives: turkey

Tandoori Turkey

28 Monday Nov 2011

Posted by in Meat, Recipe

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This is one of the best turkey recipes I have ever had! What a flavorful, tender, and spicy bird! If you are bored with a traditional recipe, you will NOT be disappointed with this one. While I found the recipe rather involved and time consuming, it was worth every minute. But, don’t skimp on the quality of turkey. It’s worth every penny to invest in a free-range, fresh bird from a local farm. Not only to you support your local farmers and environment, but you also support a higher quality of life for the bird. Serve with Cranberry Apple Chutney.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit.

INGREDIENTS

Tandoori Masala

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds
  • 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon mixed colored peppercorns
  • 1 tablespoon ground cardamom
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek seed
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ajwain seeds
Turkey
  • 1 12–14-pound fresh (NOT frozen), free-range, organic turkey
  • 1/4 cup kosher salt
  • 10 green cardamom pods
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 1 medium red onion, chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves
Marinade
  • 4 cups (1 quart) plain whole-milk yogurt
  • 1/2 cup chopped peeled ginger
  • 1/2 cup high quality bottled lime juice
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped garlic
  • 1/4 cup paprika
  • 2 tablespoons tandoori masala (see recipe above)
  • 2 tablespoons garam masala (use store bought)
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

  1. Tandoori Masala. Toast spices in a skillet over medium heat, swirling often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Let cool. Grind, using a spice mill or a mortar and pestle.
  2. Turkey. Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Rub inside and out with salt. Stuff turkey with cardamom pods and cumin seeds, then onion, celery, and garlic. Transfer to a large marinade bag.
  3. Marinade. Purée all ingredients in a blender. Pour marinade into marinade bag. Smear all over turkey. Tie bag and arrange turkey, breast side down. Refrigerate overnight.
  4. Roasting. Let turkey stand in a bag at room temperature for 1 hour. Turn breast side up and place turkey (and all of the marinade) in a large roasting pan. Cover and seal well with heavy duty aluminum foil. Preheat oven to 400°. Roast turkey for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (puncturing bag with thermometer) registers 160°, about 1 1/2 hours longer. Remove aluminum foil and roast turkey until breast is deeply browned but not burned and a thermometer inserted into thigh registers 165°, 15–30 minutes longer. Transfer to a platter. Let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
  5. Gravy. Strain juices into a large saucepan. Spoon fat from surface. Simmer over medium heat until sauce is reduced to 3 1/2 cups, about  40 minutes.
  6. Carve turkey. Serve with accompanying gravy.
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Tortilla Stew with Roasted Turkey

09 Wednesday Dec 2009

Posted by in Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Stew

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This is a fabulous recipe to use leftover roasted turkey or chicken. The base recipe comes from a good friend of mine, Ellen. Serve topped with sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese and with your favorite cornbread.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 medium organic red onions, diced
  • 4 medium organic carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 5-7 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 cans organic diced tomatoes (such as Fire Roasted Muir Glen), undrained
  • 1 to 2 (8 oz) cans of diced green chilies
  • 2 cans of organic pinto beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 2 quarts organic, free-range chicken broth
  • 1 large bunch organic collard greens, chopped
  • 1 medium bunch organic kale, chopped
  • 1/2 cup to 1 cup organic fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 to 1.5 lb chopped roasted turkey or chicken
  • Organic, light sour cream
  • Shredded organic cheddar cheese
  • Organic tortilla chips

DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat in a large stock pot. Saute onions, carrots and garlic, stirring frequently until golden – about 10-15 minutes.
  2. Add tomatoes through oregano. Shortly after, add chicken broth. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. Add collard greens through turkey. Bring back to a boil, and simmer for another 15 minutes, or until the collard greens are tender.
  4. Serve hot, topped with a dollop of light sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and crushed tortilla chips.

Roasted Brined Turkey with Dried Herbs

27 Friday Nov 2009

Posted by in Meat, Recipe

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This was the first time ever that I cooked a turkey. Usually we spend Thanksgiving with family or friends and I always make most of the sides and desserts. However, this year, since Rex was sick, we had our first Thanksgiving at home. The night before Thanksgiving, I walked to Whole Foods in search of the smallest whole turkey. Luckily I found a fresh, 9 lb one. While it wasn’t organic, it was free range, hormone free, and antibiotic free. Next year, I’ll hopefully have more time to plan and can order a small, organic turkey from a nearby farm. I also picked up a brining kit (next year I’ll have to make my own brine – because it’s basically just salt and herbs). The brining directions say to brine the turkey for 1 hour per pound. Next time I will definitely follow these directions. I let our turkey brine for an extra 2 hours. While our turkey turned out to be quite moist and succulent and delicious (even the breast meat), I found it a tad salty. For detailed directions and a youtube video, check out turkeyperfect.com.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 (9 lb.) fresh, free-range, antibiotic-free, and hormone-free turkey
  • 1 package Fire & Flavor Turkey Perfect Herb Blend Brining Kit (available at Whole Foods) (Note: I only used half of the brine mix for my 9 lb. turkey. Follow the directions included on the package for a larger turkey, instead of my directions below.)
  • 1.5 quarts water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2.5 quarts ice water
  • 1 medium sized roasting pan

DIRECTIONS

Brining Directions

  1. Heat water in a medium stock pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add 1/2 the brine mix and sugar and stir until dissolved. Add vinegar. Allow to cool for 15 minutes to 1 hour.
  2. Remove neck and giblets from inside turkey. With a knife, carefully cut a 3 inch slit on both sides of the turkey just under the thickest part of the breast – cutting the skin only, not through the meat. Place turkey, breast side down in the plastic brining bag included in the Fire & Flavor Turkey Perfect Herb Blend.. Brining Kit. Place bagged turkey in roasting pan for added support.
  3. Pour brine solution and ice water over turkey in plastic bag. Remove as much air as possible from the bag and seal bag. Brine turkey for NO MORE than 9 hours (1 hour per 1 lb. of turkey).

Roasting Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Remove turkey from brine; carefully straining out leftover herbs/spices from the brine solution. Make sure you remove all the brine solution from the turkey cavity. Remove turkey from the bag. Place in roasting pan. Brush turkey lightly with oil and strained herbs/spices. If you are not stuffing your turkey, cover up the cavity (I didn’t have any twine or pins, so I stuffed the cavity opening with aluminum foil).
  3. Roast turkey for 2 3/4 to 3 hours (about 15-20 minutes per pound), or until temperature gauge (the turkey came with one – see picture above) pops (Note: if you have a meat thermometer use it. I didn’t have one and didn’t have time to buy one.) or until a meat thermometer that is inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 165°F and the innermost part of the thigh reads 180° F.  Do not touch bone when inserting the thermometer.).
  4. Let turkey rest, partially covered with aluminum foil (don’t cover it completely, or else turkey will continue to cook, make sure there are quite a few places where steam can escape), for 20 minutes.
  5. Carve turkey. Check out this youtube video for instructions on how to carve a turkey from cooking.com.