Thanksgiving, one of America’s most favorite holidays, is just around the corner. Thanksgiving is a very famous American holiday which is all about gathering with friends and family and giving thanks.
Traditional Thanksgiving dinners are not complete without turkey, pickles, cranberry sauce, baked carrots, potatoes, fruit salad, fruit cake, apples, grapes, green olives, celery, hot rolls, mince meat pie, candies, fish and many other food harvests. However, many are tired of the same old traditional recipes they cook year after year. They can now try out Herb Rubbed Roasted Turkey, a Spanish-tinged Thanksgiving dish and spice up their Thanksgiving dinner!
Ingredients:
- One whole turkey
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 medium onion, cut into wedges
- 2 stalks Celery
- 2 Carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 Leek, sliced
Garlic Gravy:
- 10 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
Directions:
Wash turkey with cold water and dry with disposable paper towels.
Mix tomato paste, salt, 2 tablespoons of smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon of rosemary, thyme, cumin and cayenne pepper in a bowl using your hands. Rub the mixture all over the turkey.
Use a sharp knife to slit the skin covering the turkey’s breast. Rub some mixture under the skin and around the breast. Make sure the entire turkey is covered with the herb mixture.
Mix salt, left over paprika, dried oregano and thyme in a bowl and sprinkle over sliced leeks, celery and carrots and place them in the turkey cavity.
If the mixture is left over, it can be sprinkled over the top of the turkey.
Place chopped carrots, celery and onions on the bottom of the roasting pan with a cup of chicken broth. Place the turkey on top.
Cook the turkey in an oven preheated to 350˚F for around 5 hours. Remove the dish from the oven when the meat thermometer reads 165°. While cooking, pour chicken broth over the turkey, if desired. This will help turkey come out juicy.
Remove turkey from oven and let it sit for 30 minutes. (Save drippings from turkey roast to make garlic gravy.)
Garlic Gravy:
Squeeze pulp from garlic and discard skins. Cook garlic pulp and flour along with drippings from roasted turkey in a saucepan for a minute. Whisk the mixture constantly. Add chicken broth to it. Give it a nice stir and remove from heat once the mixture boils. Garlic gravy is now ready!
Carve Herb Rubbed Roasted Turkey, garnish with oregano and serve with garlic gravy.
Happy Thanksgiving!
For more Hispanic recipes keep track of our U.S. immigration blog.