Goon to a Gobbling 5 Spiced Turkey
Is Thanksgiving around the corner? Having Lil Wayne over for dinner? Completely lost for a dinner party main entrée? 5 Spiced Turkey to the rescue! I’ve used this recipe base for my last few Thanksgivings and it hasn’t failed me yet. It’s sweet, savory, and ALMOST tastes like Chinese roast duck. My turkey day menu usually leans towards Chinese flavors and this smoothly accompanies everything. Yes, the turkey is delicious but my favorite part is saving the leftover meat, carcass and rack drippings to make a SUPER flavorful Chinese rice porridge (jook) the next day. What’s your favorite thing to do with leftover turkey?
INGREDIENTS
1 Turkey (*roughly 12-14 lbs - dry brined)
2 cups chicken stock
1 yellow onion (sliced)
1 small ginger (sliced)
8 cloves garlic (smashed)
6 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp white pepper
3 tsp five-spice powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sesame oil
Salt
Kosher salt
Makes: 1 whole turkey
Cook time: 4 hours
STEPS
Preheat oven to 350º and make sure there is room for the turkey + roasting pan on the bottom rack.
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together for the marinade (hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, white pepper, five-spice powder, onion powder, garlic salt, ginger powder, smoked paprika and sesame oil).
Rub marinade over entire turkey.
Mix the onion, ginger and garlic cloves into the marinade bowl to use up remaining sauce in the bowl. Place this mixture into the cavity of the turkey.
Place the turkey in the middle of the roasting pan (with rack) and pour 2 cups of chicken stock and 2 cups of water at the bottom.
Roast turkey (breast side up) in 350º oven on the bottom rack for roughly 3 hours (until internal temperature is 165º in thickest part of thigh and breast). Baste the turkey every hour and once at final 30 minutes.
Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest for at least 30 minutes before carving.
Strain the pan drippings as a sauce on the side. The drippings make for a great base for leftover turkey jook!
* Remember to THAW your turkey. A 12-14 lb frozen turkey will take 3-4 days to fully thaw in the refrigerator.
- Dry brine: 6 tbsp kosher salt. Sprinkle kosher salt into the cavity of the turkey and heavy handed onto the rest of the turkey. Make sure to get into all the crevices. Loosely cover with plastic wrap on a roasting pan and leave in in fridge for 12 hours (up to 2 days). Uncover the turkey in the fridge about 4 hours before (if possible) to dry the skin and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before marinade.