Cuban Mojo Spatchcock Turkey Recipes

MOJO TURKEY

Steps:

• Rinse turkey well in cold water and pat very dry with paper towels.
• Make the marinade: Combine garlic, cumin, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl and mash the mixture together with the back of a kitchen spoon to make a kind of paste. Stir sour orange juice (or orange and lime juices) and oil into the paste and whisk to combine. Add oregano leaves and mix again. Reserve 1/2 cup of marinade and put aside.
• Put turkey in a roasting pan that can fit in the refrigerator and cover with remaining marinade, making sure to get a lot of it into the turkey's open cavity. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for at least a few hours. Baste a few times with marinade.
• When ready to cook, heat oven to 450 degrees. Remove turkey from marinade and place on a clean cutting board. Discard marinade and clean roasting pan well. Return turkey to roasting pan, tuck the tips of the wings under the bird and shower it with salt and pepper. Place orange, lime and onion quarters in the turkey's cavity, then truss its legs together with cotton string. Roast turkey, uncovered, in the oven for 30 minutes.
• Reduce oven heat to 325 degrees. Baste turkey with pan juices, and add remaining marinade to the pan. Continue roasting turkey, basting every 30 minutes and tenting it with foil if the skin is turning too dark, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees, approximately 2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hours more. Transfer to a cutting board or platter and allow to rest at least 30 minutes before carving.

SPATCHCOCKED TURKEY WITH SAGE BUTTER AND GRAVY

Steps:

• For the turkey: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Remove and reserve the heart and giblets from the turkey cavity; remove and discard the liver. Flip the turkey upside down so the breast is on your cutting board. Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the backbone to remove it. Using your fingers, gently separate the skin from the breast meat while keeping it attached. (You want to create a pocket for the sage butter without tearing the skin.)
• Push the Sage Butter under the skin of the turkey, being careful not to puncture it. Rub the skin with olive oil, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• For the gravy: Put the bay leaves, garlic, apples, celery, carrots, onions, cinnamon stick and thyme in a roasting pan and sprinkle with salt. Add 2 cups of the chicken stock and 1 cup of the apple cider, as well as the heart, giblets and backbone of the turkey.
• Roast the turkey: Place a roasting rack on top of the vegetables and set the turkey on the rack. Roast for 1 hour 15 minutes. Tent the turkey with foil and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the leg (without touching bone) registers 175 degrees F. Let the turkey rest for 15 minutes before carving.
• Meanwhile, finish the gravy: Strain all the veggies over a bowl; discard the veggies. Skim the fat from the pan juices and add it to the roasting pan; this is the fat for the roux.
• Set the roasting pan over 2 burners over low heat and whisk in the flour. Cook until the mixture looks like wet sand, 4 to 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in the remaining 1 cup apple cider and 2 cups chicken stock, as well as the strained pan juices from the bowl. Cook until the mixture has thickened and reached a gravy consistency. Taste and adjust with additional salt and pepper as needed. Pour into a serving pitcher or bowl and serve with the turkey.
• Mix the butter with the sage and some salt and pepper until well blended. Set aside.

ROAST SPATCHCOCK TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place a roasting rack on a baking sheet.
• Turn the turkey over, breast-side down. Using a pair of sharp heavy-duty kitchen shears, cut along one side of the backbone. Repeat on the other side of the backbone. Reserve the backbone for making turkey stock for gravy. Press firmly down onto both sides of turkey to flatten.
• Tuck the wing tips under the turkey and place on the roasting rack. Pat skin dry and rub olive oil over the entire turkey; season with salt, sage, thyme, rosemary, and black pepper.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, rotating baking sheet every 30 minutes. Increase temperature to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and roast until skin is crisp, about 15 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove turkey from the oven, cover loosely with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.