Thursday, November 11, 2010

I'm Craving {Turkey}

Yes I know Thanksgiving is two weeks away but ever since I got my Free Turkey gift certificate from my job, I just can't stop thinking about sinking my teeth into a big juicy turkey leg!! Now, you may be wondering, what happened to her veganism, well let's just say I've been coerced by my carnivorous family to delve back into meat eating. I'll spare you the details, but apparently being Mexican=meat eater!

SOOOOOO, last night after I got home from work, I defrosted my free turkey (tastes better already ;))
and commenced to prepping the marinade that I have used for decades. Now, mind you, I am NOT the cook in the family. In fact one can easily say  that I HATE cooking. But when it comes to Thanksgiving I'm all Molly Mormon ;-]
Several people, over the years, have asked me how I prepare my turkey and have it turn out so juicy and tasty, so here's the SIMPLE (is there any other way) WAY I do it:
First, here's what you'll need:
Reynolds Turkey/Oven Bag
1 tbsp flour
2 Bunches of Cilantro
1 Medium White Onion
3-4 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup White Cooking Wine (gasp!! Wine! relax,  most of the alcohol evaporates leaving only the delicious flavor) OR you can sub. with the  Non-Alcoholic Version
1/2 cup Pure Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 Kikkoman's Teriyaki with Garlic Sauce
Basting Brush
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
First defrost your turkey. Remove the giblets and neck. Rinse and pat dry. Set aside. Take the oven bag and put in the flour. Hold bag shut and shake the bag to distribute the flour inside it. Place it on your roasting pan ready for the turkey.
Slice up the onion. Peel the garlic.
In food processor or chopper, put in 1 bunch of cilantro, 1/4 of the onion you just chopped, 2-3 cloves of garlic and all the liquid ingredients. Pulse until it is smooth but you can still see the little cilantro leaves.
Take your basting brush and brush generously on turkey (back and front). Stuff turkey with another bunch of cilantro, the rest of the onion and the rest of the garlic. Put turkey into oven bag and close it with the twist tie. Slice 6 one inch slits all along the top of the bag to let out steam.
Ideally I marinade my bird for a few hours before cooking, but you can just put it in the oven now.
For a 12 lb. turkey, it usually only takes about 2.5 to 3 hours. Follow the directions on the Reynolds Oven Bag chart included in the package. Do not over cook!! Do not cook overnight! It will dry out the meat.
When timer is up, put a meat thermometer thru the bird's leg and breast to see if it reads 180 degrees. Take care that the thermometer doesn't touch the bone. When it reads 180 degrees it is DONE! Take in the heavenly aroma and carve it! Serve it on a platter, and take the juice in the roasting pan/bag and spoon it over the meat to keep it juicy and fragrant. Enjoy your turkey and the accolades to come from your hungry family!!

                                         (this is the consistency it should be)

Would you like to comment?

  1. Wow, This sounds really delicious. I love cilantro, but would have never thought to try it on my thanksgiving turkey! Thanks for the great recipe. LOVE your blog by the way. Que Bueno!

    Warmly, Michelle

    ReplyDelete

I love your comments and read all of them! I respond to each one of them too!

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails