Portuguese Style Roast Turkey Thanksgiving Menu

 

A Portuguese Thanksgiving menu – Enjoy!

Portuguese-sweet-bread

butternut-squash-carrot-puree

roast-potatoes

Portuguese-style stuffing

classic-Portuguese-rice

There are many variations to preparing at Thanksgiving Turkey. Some people brine the turkey for 48 hours while others simply rub the turkey with soft butter before baking.

I take this easy route. I marinate the turkey the day before Thanksgiving with basic Portuguese spices which enhance the turkey flavor but dot not overpower it.

Then I brush it with Olive oil, which will give the turkey a beautiful golden color when it’s cooked.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Ingredients:

2 -3 tablespoons of salt

1 lemon

1 large onion

1 large celery stalk

3 large sprigs of parsley

1 large carrot

1/4 cup of olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 to 2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup vinho verde or any white wine

 

Steps to prepping your turkey

Step 1

Remove packaging. Remove the neck and giblets from both cavities of the turkey.

Step 2

Wash the turkey, the neck and giblets in very cold water.

Step 3

Rub the inside and outside of the turkey evenly with the salt.

Step 4

Slice the lemon in half and rub the inside and outside of the turkey with the lemon half squeezing the juice as you rub.

Place the used lemon halves inside the cavity.

Step 5

Place the butter underneath the chicken skin over the breast

Step 6

Sprinkle the paprika, pepper and garlic powder evenly over the chicken leaving a small amount to marinate the cavity.

Step 7

Place the neck and gizzards inside the turkey. Add the wine and remaining spices into the cavity to marinate.

Step 8

Place the celery, onion and carrot inside the cavity.

Step 9

Drizzle and rub the Olive oil over the Turkey.

Step 10

Place in the refrigerator overnight or up to 48 hours before cooking.

Step 11

Take the turkey out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking.

 

*Remove the neck and gizzards from the cavity and save in the refrigerator until you are ready to make stock for my Portuguese Stuffing.

Cook the turkey with the remaining vegetables inside the cavity to add flavor.

My roaster is over 50 years old and it makes a perfect turkey every time!

Cook in Roasting pan, or cover with heavy aluminum foil. An average turkey of about 15 pounds will take about 3 hours to cook at 350.

My tips:

*Even if your timer pops up, it may not mean its fully cooked, test the turkey with a thermometer which reach 165 degrees.

*Marinate the turkey with the pan juices every hour.

*If you like your turkey skin dark colored remove the foil during the last 30 minutes.

*My simple test to see if the turkey is cooked, is this; Try to pull the thigh away from the body, if the thigh bone doesn’t break off easy, then continue to cook the turkey longer.

*Let the turkey sit at least 20 minutes before carving.

*Warm the turkey with a little bit of hot chicken or turkey broth.

** Do not discard the cooking juices. Simply strain it, let it sit for a few minutes, remove any excess grease from the top and cook it in a few tablespoons of flour for at least 5 minutes on low heat.

** Save the remaining gravy to make Turkey Pot Pie!