Eddie's Garlic Turkey

One thawed turkey (around 15 lb.).

2 heads of garlic peeled.

6 spoons of white wine.

5 spoons of olive oil.

2 packs/envelopes of Sasón Accent (original).

1 pack/envelope of Sasón Accent with Coriander and Annatto Seasoning.

1/2 spoon of black pepper.

1/2 spoon of dry Basil Leaves.

1 spoon of Adobo seasoning or salt to taste.

If you would like to make your turkey taste more like baked pork (Pavochon), use 1 head of garlic instead of 2 and use 2 spoons of Sofrito with 2 strips of bacon cut in small pieces, the bacon goes inside of the skin.

Your turkey must be thawed out and seasoned the night before you are going to cook your turkey.

Take all the ingredients and put them in a high speed blender, blend the ingredients well.

Take out the wrapped guts out of the cave of the chest of your turkey and any other piece of metal or plastic it may have, except a pop up thermostat (easier to cook with one of these) that some turkeys come with. 

With your hands clean, starting from the chest's cave, slip your finger underneath the skin of the turkey and slowly/carefully, separated the skin from the turkey's meat, but do not take off the skin from the turkey.  Separate the skin all the way up to the neck and up the thighs of the turkey.

With 3/4 of mixture, insert it in-between the skin on top of the meat and also put some inside the cave of the chest.  Use the rest of the mixture for the outside skin of the turkey.

Also use either Adobo or salt and black pepper on the outside of your turkey to your taste, me I use about a spoon full.

In a turkey pan with aluminum foil on top of the turkey, save the turkey in the bottom part of your refrigerator the night before baking so that it will season well.

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

If your turkey did not come with a pop up thermostat, you will have to bake it for 4 to 6 hours, it all depends on how big the oven is and how many times you open it to bask your turkey. 

You really only have to bask your turkey the last 2 hours (about 3 times) with the juices from the pan.   Place your turkey in the preheated oven and put aluminum foil on top so your turkey will not dry out/stay moist.

After 4 hours if you think your turkey is cooked, to be sure take a knife and cut a small deep hole in the fattest part of the chest of the turkey to see if it is cooked inside, if you see blood, your turkey in not ready yet, cook it for another hour, then test again.

A nice gravy can be made from the juices from the cooked turkey from the pan for mashed potatoes.  Pour out the juices (take out the excess fat) and place the juices in a frying pan.  Mix apart 2 to 3 spoons of flour slowly with 3 to 4 spoons of turkey juice in a cup, mix until there are no lumps and mix this with the juices in the pan and cook at a low flame until the gravy thickens.

A turkey filling can be made with any kind of meat (chicken, pork, beef) with Sofrito, Adobo to taste, oil and Sason Accent in a frying pan.  Cook until the meat is well fried and then add, mix in bread crumbs.

Merry Chrismas to all.

By: Eddie Ferrer Velez

11/25/09