Yucatán Cold Spiced Turkey Recipes

BUTTERFLIED TURKEY WITH YUCATAN RUB

Steps:

• For the turkey: The day before serving, heat 3 quarts of the water with salt and sugar in a large pan, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Remove from heat, add remaining 1 quart cold water, and stir. Set brine aside to cool to room temperature.
• Put turkey in a large container and cover with the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours. (If you want to brine the turkey overnight, use half the amount of salt and sugar.)
• For rub: Crumble annatto paste into a food processor and blend with the garlic, oregano, coriander, black pepper, salt, and allspice. Add the fruit juices and the olive oil and process to make a pasty sauce. Drain and pat the turkey very dry. Smear the rub all over the bird. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Prepare an outdoor grill with a large medium-heat fire for direct and indirect grilling. Position a drip pan under the grate on indirect side of the grill.
• Place turkey, breast side up, over the drip pan and grill, covered, until meat is cooked about halfway through, about 50 minutes. Turn and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 170 degrees F, about 50 minutes more. Move turkey to direct heat and rotate to evenly brown the skin in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Transfer to a carving board, cover, and let rest 10 minutes before carving.
• Shopsmart: Annatto paste is a Mexican flavoring composed of ground annatto, or achiote, seeds mixed with herbs-usually oregano-and spices. The rust-color paste is then pressed into a compact brick. Look for it in the Hispanic section of your grocery.

YUCATáN COLD SPICED TURKEY

Steps:

• 1. With a sharp knife, make 3 diagonal cuts about 2 inches deep into the turkey. Tuck in the ham strips. Make a paste of the oil, garlic, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and pepper. Rub it all over the turkey and into the cuts. Wrap the turkey securely with cheesecloth. Place the turkey in a large pot. Add the remaining ingredients and enough water to barely cover the turkey. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the turkey is tender, about 1 hour. Remove the turkey from the pot, transfer to a large platter and let stand to cool, 25 to 30 minutes. 2. Meanwhile, strain the cooking liquid, discarding the solids. Cool the stock and remove about 1/2 cup to moisten the turkey. Cover and refrigerate remaining stock for soup or some other use. 3. Remove the cheesecloth. Remove the meat and discard the skin and bones. Slice the turkey and arrange on a platter. Moisten with the 1/2 cup reserved stock. Cover and refrigerate until shortly before serving. Prepare vinaigrette. Serve the turkey cold with the vinaigrette.From "1,000 Mexican Recipes." Copyright 2001 by Marge Poore. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.