Yum! Yum! Yum!

Thanks giving is around the corner, all the Turkey events at Kids School, Turkey songs at Music Classes are reminding me that those Holidays are approaching soon. And thanks to continuous freezing temperatures, which made me to get those coats, boots out of closet, and making me to believe that Winter is already here!  Most of the time Thanksgiving Gathering happens at our home, where our family and friends gather and we compile a Potluck Menu with full of Thanks Giving Recipes, and I take full pleasure on making my Signature Cranberry Chutney and Baking the Turkey. This year we have a planned trip to California during Thanks Giving week and our family will be missing this Thanks Giving Gathering. So I am posting the Thanks Giving Turkey recipe here so that Turkey is not missed at the table while our family is missed. :-)!



So far I have baked Whole Turkey two times, One time is Indian Twisted Way, and last year I baked the Turkey in Cajun Style. Today I will be sharing the Cajun Herbed Turkey recipe here, which was super hit at the table. The Turkey came out super tender, very easy to cut, spicy to satisfy our Indian taste buds and the Whole Turkey (20 Lbs weighed) is gone by the end of the party and it was Super Delicious and cherished by both Kiddos and Grown-ups. Here is the recipe, Njoy!

Ingredients:

Whole Turkey - ( around 20 Lbs, feeds up to 20 people) Cajun Seasoning - 1 cup Sea Salt - 1/2 cup Salt - 1/4 cup Black Pepper - 1/4 cup Lime Juice - 1/2 cup ( or Vinegar) Ginger  - 1/2 cup Garlic - 1/2 cup ( peeled) Mint  Leaves - 1 cup Oregano  Leaves - 1/3 cup Vegetable Oil - 1/2 cup

Preparatory Steps:

• Grind Ginger, Garlic, Mint Leaves, Oregano into smooth paste and set aside.
• In a small Bowl Mix salt, black pepper and lime juice and set aside.

Marination Process:

• First you have to thaw the Whole Turkey ( if you are using frozen one) for at least 8 to 10 hours outside, so that all the freezing temperatures inside will come to room temperature. Usually I leave the frozen turkey outside on the counter top for whole night.
• Once the Turkey is completely thawed, take out any inner parts of it and clean the whole turkey from in and out. 
• Using Knife make slits on all around turkey to allow the spices and seasonings to sink in. 
• First start rubbing the sea salt all over turkey and leave it there like for 1 hour. Then rub the Salt, Black Pepper and Lime juice mixture all over the turkey, leave it for 30 minutes. It literally sounds like you are giving a bath to Turkey. .
• Then apply all the ginger, garlic and herb paste all over the turkey and leave for another 30 minutes.  By now all the flavors will sink in and out side will be dry. Now Apply Cajun Seasoning in and out all over turkey.  
• Finally Brush with vegetable oil all over it ( this helps the skin and outer side roast more and gives shining effect). Now your turkey is ready to bake. 

Baking Method:

• Pre-Heat the Oven to 350 F. Once the Oven is ready. Keep the marinated Turkey in Roasting Pan and bake it for at least 5 to 6 hours. The bigger the turkey the longer time you need to bake. 20 Lbs turkey will easily take 6 hours to cook completely. After 5 hours on wards I will be at the Oven and keep on checking and monitoring the tenderness ( by piercing with long forks) and roasting effect on the outside. 

Notes:

• Initial Sea Salt Rubbing and marinating for 1 hour is the trick to make Turkey very tender inside. Salt is the natural agent in tenderizing the meat.
• In this recipe, I haven't used any stuffing inside, as our crowd is not that big about stuffing. If you like you can stuff the stuffing inside turkey and bake it.
• You can cover the turkey with Aluminum Foil while baking not to roast the outer skin. Usually I like the roasting skin part, hence I don't cover with Aluminum Foil. But from last 1 hour I will be monitoring, if the skins gets right roasting effect, otherwise some times your will get the burnt effect than roasting. ( that's when aluminium foil will help).
• I didn't have any fancy thermometers to check the temperature inside, but 5 to 6 hours of baking will do the full cooking of turkey. 
• For Small Turkey you need to reduce the measure of marination ingredients, and need to reduce the time to bake. Based on your turkey size adjust these accordingly. 

Happy Thanks Giving Ahead!
-Mythreyi