Sign Up for the Recipe Publishing Newsletter
Roast Turkey with Mexican Hawthorn and Potato Stuffing
The typical American whose only exposure to Mexican food is through fast food chains or if they're lucky, a local taqueria probably wouldn't know it, but turkey is an important part of Mexican cuisine. Native to the Americas, these birds were one of the staples of Mexican cooking before the arrival of Europeans and they continue to be popular to this day.
There are a great many different Mexican turkey recipes, from tacos to soups, salads to casseroles - and of course, roast turkey recipes like this one. This is a recipe similar to what you might see served in northern Mexico (especially the state of Chihuahua) around the holidays.
There is one ingredient here which may not be terribly easy for American cooks to find - tejocote. This is the crabapple-like fruit of a tree in the hawthorn family (often called Mexican hawthorn). Until recently, the fruit was almost entirely unavailable in the US, but has now begun to be imported legally after years of being one of the most commonly smuggled items at the US-Mexico border. If you cannot find it, Granny Smith apple could be substituted, though the flavor is significantly different.
Mexican Roast Turkey Recipe
Ingredients -
1 turkey, 15-17 lbs, thawed
2 ½ cups softened butter
1 ½ tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 medium onion, chopped
¾ lb. lean ground beef or chorizo
½ to 1 lb tejocote
the liver from the turkey, finely chopped
4 large potatoes, peeled and diced
3 large tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
3 tablespoons verdolagas (purslane - cilantro may be substituted if unavailable).
¾ cups blanched almonds, finely chopped
¾ cup walnuts, finely chopped
¾ cup golden raisins
¾ cup pimento-stuff olives, finely chopped
1 cup dry white wine
Juice of 3 oranges and 3 limes
3 cups turkey or chicken broth
Preparation:
After washing the turkey and patting it dry, spread the turkey evenly with a mixture of 2 cups of butter, salt, and allspice. Melt the remaining butter and sauté the beef and turkey liver until the beef is cooked, stirring regularly. Add the tomatoes, potatoes, tejocote (or apples) cilantro, verdolagas, nuts, and raisins, wine and chopped olives. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover, cooking 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally.
Once the stuffing mixture is cool enough to work with, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and stuff the turkey with the mixture. Once the turkey is stuffed, transfer to a roasting pan and cover with the orange and lime juice and broth.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, then cover and bake at 375 degrees for an additional 5 hours, basting every 30 to 45 minutes to keep the turkey from during out - test with a meat thermometer for doneness (the temperature should read at least 180 in the inner thigh when the turkey is done).
Allow the turkey to rest for about 20-30 minutes before carving and serving; the pan juices may be drained off and thickened with a little flour to make gravy.
(Serves 6)
Photo Description:
Roast turkey may be a dish that we think of as uniquely American, but Mexico actually has a better claim to the bird; of course, there is no reason we cannot share this New World poultry with our neighbors to the south, including roast turkey recipes. If you can find them, use tejocote, chorizo and verdolages instead of apple, ground beef and cilantro; though this recipe is good enough to stand up to a few substitutions. However, if these ingredients are available at your local Mexican grocery (the verdolages may also be available at a farmer's market), then by all means, use them to make a Mexican style roast turkey which you will never forget.
