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Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

Ultimate Jerk Turkey + Simple Gluten Free Gravy.

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Chris we want ah Jerk Turkey recipe.. tired of boring oven roasted turkey” That was the DM I received on Twitter a couple weeks back.. even before I was thinking about doing this Christmas Special. I’m not a huge fan of turkey as I find the meat boring, especially when you think about the cost of it and the time it takes to get good results. My goal with this recipe is to show you how simple it is to make a tasty jerk oven roasted turkey, using a ‘cheap’ turkey and in much less time than the traditional method used for roasting turkey.

You’ll Need…

1 turkey (abt 12 lbs)
3 carrots
2 stalks celery
5-6 parsley stalks (optional)

Jerk Marinade
2 scotch bonnet pepper
1 medium onion
5-7 cloves garlic
2 shallots
10 sprigs thyme
5-7 scallions
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/2 cup citrus juice (I used fresh clementines)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
1-2 tablespoon brown sugar
4 slices ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon allspice (aka ground pimento)

Gluten Free Turkey Gravy
– 3 cups chicken stock (gluten free)
– pan drippings (there was about a cup)
– 2 sprigs thyme (chopped)
– 1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
– 1 tablespoon corn starch (potato or rice will also work)
– 2-3 tablespoon water
* adjust salt and black pepper if necessary

IMPORTANT! If doing this gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the soy sauce and chicken stock.

You may have to watch the video below to fully understand how to spatch-cock the turkey. Basically you have to remove the entire back bone, then press down on the breast to crack the bone so it sits flat (I usually make a cut on the inner part of the breast-bone to help achieve the flatness I require). I also trimmed off the wing tips. please save the back bone, wing tips and if the neck is included with the bird. Please note that I used a ‘utility’ turkey from Walmart. it’s pretty much the cheapest bird available as I wanted to show you that you DON’t need an expensive turkey (works great with more pricey birds as well). Be sure to choose one that not freezer burned, no blemishes and looks overall decent. Be sure to trim off excess fat and skin.

jerk-turkey-recipe-1By removing the back bone (spatch cock) it will help the turkey cook MUCH faster in the oven as we’ll have more cooking surface. Give all the ingredients (for the marinade) a rough chop and place it all in your food processor or blender. Please pulse until you have a sort of chunky marinade. Wash your hands immediately after with soap and water after handling the scotch bonnet pepper – same for if you apply the marinade with your hands as I did.

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 Basically all you have to do now is massage the jerk marinade all over the bird. If you wanted you can also work it below the skin. Then cover and allow to marinate overnight or at least 4 hours. Before I placed the marinated turkey on the roasting tray I was using, I created a bed with chopped carrots, celery and some parsley. This way the turkey had some space below it to allow the heat to do it’s thing. I would also recommend that you line your roasting tray with tin foil or it will take some WORK to clean it after.

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I then placed the pieces of clementines I juiced earlier for the marinade as well as the back bone and wing tips (for some reason the package didn’t have the turkey neck) on the roasting tray. As your oven comes up to 35 F, cover the roasting tray with tin foil (loosely over the breast so it doesn’t stick as it roast).

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Place the marinated (covered) turkey into the oven (middle rack) and cook for an hour. After an hour remove and baste with the juices. Be VERY careful when removing it from the oven as it will generate a lot of juices and combined with the weight of the bird, it could potentially spill on you.

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 After another hour in the oven it’s time to remove once again baste it. The remove 90 % of the juices which formed, along with the back, neck and wing tips. Now back into the oven UNCOVERED!

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 Place the juices along with the back/neck/wing tips in a sauce pan, along with the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer and allow to reduce by about 1/2. It’s then time to strain this and place back on the burner. Go in with the chopped thyme and parsley.. then thicken this gravy. Since we’re doing this gluten free, add the corn starch to the water (cold) and whisk. then into the pot with the gravy. Whisk, taste for salt (adjust) and thicken to your preference. Add a bit more corn starch if needed (you may also use potato or rice starch).

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 By now the turkey can come out of the oven fully cooked. By having it go the last 40-45 minutes uncovered, it will develop a wonderful color and really heighten the ‘jerk’ flavors. The cooking time will vary a bit according to the size of your turkey, plus your oven may give different results than mine. basically you want the thickest part of the turkey read 165 F on a meat thermometer. (Total cook time was 2 hrs 45 mins for me)

We achieved a few things with the jerk turkey. We took a cheap turkey and evenhanded it with the jerk marinade and at the same time we cooked it much faster than if you were roasting a whole bird.

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Meat & Poultry

A Traditional “Trini” Thanksgiving Turkey?

roasted turkey caribbean recipeWhen in Rome! Yes, this past Monday was turkey day in Canada and as any good Canadian (I have the people passport) I prepared a turkey for dinner as we’ve done since our girls were born. This is part of their culinary culture and I/we try my best to give them a balanced education and experience as far as their multi-cultural heritage is concerned. My experience with turkeys as a child was the “big chicken” that moved around our yard that me and my brother were warned not to pelt with stones (we tested our mom). If I recall correctly, one of my dad’s friends gave him 3 turkeys and from that we had about 8 running around the yard for a few years. Still don’t remember what happened to them, since I don’t ever recall eating turkey until I came to North America. BTW one of the best animal fights I’ve ever witnessed was two male turkeys at war! Must have been over one of the females in the yard.

I’m no expert at roasting turkey and I don’t get into the whole “make it a production” as most North Americans do when it’s Thanksgiving. However, I do get compliments even though I cheat when it comes to the stuffing. But I do add a little twist that makes the boxed stuffing delightful.

Though I don’t recall roasted (bake) turkey being among the common dishes enjoyed on the islands, it’s enjoyed in our home so I thought I’d share my recipe with you. BTW, my mom makes a deadly stew (like our stew chicken, beef, pork etc) with turkey wings and drumsticks which I’ll share in the months to come.

You’ll Need..

1 Turkey  (the one I used was about 6 kilos – about13 lbs)
2 cups diced celery
1 large onion chopped in large pieces
2 carrots chopped in larger pieces
8-10 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 cups of chicken broth (low sodium)
Salt (depending on the size of the bird) ..I used about 1/2 teaspoon.
Black pepper – fresh ground works best (about 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 stick butter (soft)

For the stuffing (we’ll cheat)
1 box Paxo (Pepperidge Farms) – 227 g or 8 oz
300g pure pork sausage (just over 1/2 pound)
1 stalk celery (sliced thin)
dash of fresh black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley.

Before we begin I must mention that cooking a turkey is very simple and it should not scare you. The key is to have some patience and allow it to cook slowly in the oven. You will notice that there are many (probably hundreds) of recipes for roasting a turkey, but don’t get confused by all the different options. Find a recipe where the instructions are clear, the ingredients used are those you like (no sense making one with stuff you hate) and where you can add your own personal touch.

Let’s prepare the stuffing first. You’ll notice that I cheated and used a pre-packaged stuffing. I’m sure the made-from-scratch stuff is excellent, but we’ve found this brand to be tops in our books. Plus I add a few things which makes it a bit more than just a package stuffing mix.

Slice the stalk of celery in thin slices and chop about 1 tablespoon of flat leaf parsley which you’ll add to a bowl. Then dump in the stuffing mixture (usually bread crumbs and herbs like sage etc). Now follow the directions on the package. Except in my case I didn’t add the butter they suggested for a richer stuffing. Instead I added the pork sausage (meat), as well as a dash of fresh ground black pepper. You’re basically following the directions on the package, except you’re adding the extra ingredients I mentioned above. You won’t believe what a nice flavour and texture the sausage adds to the stuffing.. gives it some “body”.

simp-le turkey stuffing

caribbean turkey stuffing

turkey stuffing recipe

Let’s get to the bird now…

Be sure that the turkey is at room temperature (you may have to thaw it overnight in the fridge, if you purchased a frozen bird) as you begin to prep it. Remove the giblets and neck (see inside the cavity or under the skin in the neck region), then rinse the bird under cool water and pat dry with a paper towel. It’s important that you pat it as dry as you can.

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If the legs were secured when you first purchased it, detach it (usually held together with the skin from the tail or bottom area) so it’s easier to stuff. Be sure to drain out any water from the cavity area by holding over the sink, then using the stuffing we made earlier… stuff that sucka!

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You’ll notice that I’ve gone back and secured the legs to keep it together as it roasts. I’ve also tucked the wings under the back to help give it a flat area so ti can rest evenly in the roasting pan. Here is a close up picture of how I tucked the wings under the back.

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The next step is to (using your fingers) put pieces of the soft butter all over the turkey (with the turkey’s breast facing up, so it’s sitting on it’s back), then massage the butter all over all exposed skin, especially the breast area. this will help you achieve that golden brown colour when it’s all done cooking. A bit more work, but you can also work your fingers between the skin (breast area) and the meat and work some butter into that area. I didn’t do that method this time, but by placing the butter there, it supposedly gives you a more moist turkey. After you’ve worked the butter all over the bird, sprinkle on the salt and fresh ground black pepper. The butter will help it stick to the turkey.

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Let’s get the roasting pan ready…. pre-heat the oven to 325. (remove all the upper racks from the oven, since you’ll be using the lowest rack)

Rough chop the celery, onion and carrots, then place on the bottom of the roasting pan along with the fresh thyme. This will form a bed for the turkey to rest on while roasting.Place the stuffed turkey on top of the cut vegetables then gently pour in the 2 cups of chicken broth. Feel free to toss in the neck into the pan if you have room (providing you like the neck).

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trini bake turkey recipe

Tip: To avoid the legs and breast going too dark (early) you can rip some aluminum foil and place it over those areas. Then remove it the final 30 minutes of cooking.

Tip: If you don’t have a roasting pan with a lid like I used, use an open roasting pan but be sure to tent it with aluminum foil. This will aviod the bird getting burnt during the long baking period (also helps self baste it) Remove the tent the final 30 minutes of so to help it achieve that golden brown colour. If you find that it’s taking a long time to get to the desired colour you like, do what I did and turn up the heat in the oven. But be sure to keep a close eye on things, as it can become very dark quickly.

I’ve read that there’s never been any real proof that basting the turkey helps with keeping the final product moist, but it’s the way I learned to do it so I try to follow that technique. If you choose to baste, using a baster or spoon every 30 minutes pour some of the broth from the bottom of the pan over the turkey.

If you purchased a packaged turkey there should be cooking times posted on the packaging. You can also roast 18 minutes for every pound. As you can see you’ll need at least 3 hours for a fully cooked, golden brown and succulent turkey. I’ve also noticed (and used) the turkeys that come from the grocery store with a thermometer stuck into the thickest part of the breast. When it reaches the desired temperature it pops out to let you know that the turkey is fully cooked. Cheating? Not really, just being smart!

When the turkey is done please don’t rush to carve it. give it some time to cool and rest a bit. Then scoop out the remaining juices at the bottom of the pan (strain off the vegeables) and make into a rich gravy.

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how to oven roast a turkey

Remember to scoop out the stuffing! Leave me your comments and/or suggestions in the area provided below.

Happy Cooking

Chris…

I'm Chris

Welcome to my kitchen, where Caribbean flavor takes center stage. Since 2009, I've been sharing recipes, stories, and memories that celebrate the food I grew up with and the people who taught me how to cook.

Whether you're here to master the classics, try something new, or just find comfort in a bowl of soup or plate of rice, there's a spot for you at this table.

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