Asian Style Roasted Turkey Food

PEKING-STYLE ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• For the brine-2 days in advance: Roughly cut up the orange, lemongrass, and ginger into pieces. Smash garlic. Bring water to a boil and add garlic, ginger, chilies, lemongrass, orange, salt, sugar, soy sauce, and sweet soy sauce. Let it simmer until sugar and salt dissolve, about 10 minutes. Then remove from heat and refrigerate overnight.
• For brining the turkey-1 day in advance: Place turkey and turkey neck into the chilled brine. Add more water, enough to cover the turkey. Cover with lid and refrigerate, 24 hours.
• For the turkey: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove turkey from the brine and place it on a sheet tray lined with paper towels; allow it to dry and come to room temperature, 1 hour. Meanwhile, prepare the aromatics to be cooked with the turkey. Roughly chop the fennel with stems, onions, apples and ginger. Place aromatics around the turkey and inside the cavity. Next, make a compound butter by combining butter and sweet soy sauce. Rub a quarter of the butter all over the turkey. Discard the thermometer probe that comes with the turkey and replace it with a kitchen thermometer in the same spot or in the deepest part of the turkey. Roast the turkey to 160 degrees F, about 3 hours. (Note: it will continue to cook after it comes out of the oven.)
• As the turkey cooks, baste it with more compound butter every 20-30 minutes.
• When the kitchen thermometer in the turkey reads 160 degrees F, remove it from the oven and let it rest. The temperature will continue to rise slowly as it rests outside the oven. Let the turkey rest for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

ASIAN STYLE ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Peel off one whole garlic and mash it a little bit.
• Cut a piece of ginger (2 oz) into 8 slices.
• Peel and cut a medium sized onion into half.
• Wash and cut 4 sticks of green onion into strips.
• Pour 12 cups of water into a big pot. Then, add 1 cup of kosher salt, 1 onion, 4 sticks of green onion, 8 slices of ginger, 2 sticks of cinnamon sticks, 10 pieces of star anise, 1 teaspoon of clove, 1 whole garlic and ½ cup of soy sauce. Next, turn on medium to high fire to boil them, until it's boiling. Then, turn to a small fire and simmer for 15-30 minutes.
• After that, add 6 cups of ice into the brine water and let it cool off. Remember to let the liquid completely cool down. Then, immerse the whole turkey ( I used 11.62 pounds) starting with the breast side for a few hours and turn the other side. Brine the turkey for a day and overnight in the refrigerator.
• Take the brined turkey out of the pot, use a paper towel to dry it and put it through the angel fruit cake stand. Cut up 3 potatoes, 4 carrots, 3 sticks of celery and mix them with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, ⅛ teaspoon of salt and ⅛ teaspoon of black pepper. Then, lay the mixed vegetables around the tray.
• Preheat the oven for 425 F. Add one cup of water around the tray and vegetables. Bake the whole turkey at 425 F for an hour. Then, change the temperature to 350 F and bake around 1.5 hours until it reaches 165 F internal temperature.***(The baking time depends on the size of the turkey. Most of the time for non-stuffing turkey is every 13 minutes per pound and stuffing turkey is 15 minutes per pound. In this Asian turkey recipe, the turkey is 11.62 pounds. (11.62 pounds x 13 minutes)/60 minutes = 2.52 hours. I round up to 2.5 hours total bake time. Usually I roast it until the last 30 minutes. Then, I keep checking if it reaches 165 F internal temperature. Remember don't over bake the turkey because it will be very dry.)
• Next, cover the whole turkey and rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting up.

ASIAN FIVE-SPICE ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Remove the turkey neck and giblets from inside the cavity and set it aside if making homemade gravy, otherwise discard. Wash and pat dry the turkey completely with paper towel before adding seasoning.
• In a small bowl, whisk to combine five-spice powder, soy sauce, Shaoxing cooking wine, olive oil, sesame oil, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt and pepper, into a smooth paste.
• Place the turkey on a clean cutting board, and rub half of the marinade over the entire turkey including inside the cavity and underneath the skin of the breast. To spread the marinade underneath the skin, use a knife and a spoon to gently loosen the skin of the turkey breast, then place 2 tablespoons of the marinade under the skin and slowly press down on the skin to spread the marinade evenly. Wearing disposable gloves helps make clean up easier.
• Transfer the turkey (breast side up) onto the rack of a large roasting pan and tuck the wings underneath. Insert onion, lemon, garlic and sprigs of thyme inside the cavity. Optionally, truss the turkey by tying the legs together with kitchen string so that they stay close to the body.
• Wrap the roasting tray tightly with aluminum foil and let the turkey marinate in the refrigerator overnight, up to 2 days.
• Store the remaining marinade in the refrigerator until the turkey is ready.
• Remove the roasting pan and extra marinade from the refrigerator and place on the counter to slowly bring the turkey to room temperature, about 2 hours. Roasting the turkey directly from the refrigerator will cause uneven cooking.
• Preheat the oven to 450 F with a rack positioned in the lowest level of the oven. Place the second rack out of the way on the highest level at the top of the oven, or you may have to completely remove the second rack out of the oven to make room for the turkey, depending on how large your turkey is.
• Generously brush the entire turkey with the remaining half of the marinade. Add 1/2 cup of water or more to the bottom of the roasting pan to prevent the pan drippings from burning. Transfer the roasting pan to the lowest rack and roast at 450 F for 45 minutes.
• Lower the oven temperature to 350 F and continue to roast until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165 F. Check the internal temperature of the turkey by inserting a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the turkey breast, without touching the bone. For a 10-12 pound turkey, this should take approximately 1.5 hours. Every 30-45 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and tilt to release juice from the cavity into the pan. Use a brush to baste the turkey with the pan drippings and return to the oven. This will help achieve a golden brown crispy skin.
• Also, monitor the turkey closely during these intervals to make sure that the skin doesn't become too burnt because of the five-spice rub. Cover the turkey by lightly tenting with aluminum foil if needed to prevent further browning.
• Remove from oven and loosely cover the turkey with aluminum foil. Let the turkey rest for 20 minutes. Resting helps the juices redistribute into the meat as the internal temperature continues to rise by 5-10 degrees, reaching 170 F while resting. Meanwhile, remove the turkey drippings and set aside for making homemade gravy.
• Carve the turkey with a sharp knife or electric carving knife and serve.

ASIAN TURKEY BURGERS

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Mix ground turkey, onion, water chestnuts, bell pepper, garlic, parsley, soy sauce, water, ginger, salt, and pepper in a bowl; shape into 4 patties.
• Cook the turkey burgers on the preheated grill until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 4 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).