Mojo Turkey

Name: Mojo Turkey
Total time: 6 h
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Cuisine: american, cuban
Ingredients: 1 12- to -14- pound turkey, giblets and neck removed; 2 heads of garlic, peeled and chopped; 2 tablespoons ground cumin; 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste; 2 tablespoons black pepper, plus more to taste; 2 cups sour orange juice, or 1 cup fresh orange juice and 1 cup fresh lime juice; 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves, roughly chopped; 1 orange, cut into quarters; 1 lime, cut into quarters; 1 small yellow onion, peeled and cut into quarters

By Sam Sifton

Total Time: 6 hours, plus marinating
Rating: 5(323)
Comments: Read comments

This recipe nods to what happened when Cuban culture drifted onto the Thanksgiving tables of South Florida, with a bird dressed in a marinade of sour oranges (a mixture of orange and lime juice works as well) mixed with a lot of garlic and oregano. Serve the bird with black beans and white rice on the side — and a Key lime pie for dessert.

Featured in: The United States of Thanksgiving

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Ingredients

Yield:10 to 12 servings

112- to -14- pound turkey, giblets and neck removed
2heads of garlic, peeled and chopped
2tablespoons ground cumin
2tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
2tablespoons black pepper, plus more to taste
2cups sour orange juice, or 1 cup fresh orange juice and 1 cup fresh lime juice
¼cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼cup fresh oregano leaves, roughly chopped
1orange, cut into quarters
1lime, cut into quarters
1small yellow onion, peeled and cut into quarters

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Rinse turkey well in cold water and pat very dry with paper towels.
Step 2
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 ½ cup of marinade and put aside.
Step 3
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.
Step 4
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.
Step 5
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.

Ratings

5 out of 5

323 user ratings

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Comments

Bernice Glenn7 years ago

Not just for Thanksgiving! I'm glad I came across this recipe posted on the bottom of the recipe I actually was interested in.
I cook turkey legs and thighs all year round, and marinating them Florida/Cuban style is a great idea.
Roast or braise, while putting some citrus quarters and chopped onions in the pot along with the thighs.

kniterati7 years ago

I had my butcher spatchcock a turkey and tomorrow I will put it on the grill for an hour after it spends the night in this orange-cumin-garlic marinade. I will grill some onions and some orange slices near the end and serve it all together. This with Molly Katzen's Southwest Salad with Blackbeans and Corn will be a beautiful thing. It's going to be in the nineties all week and I will have leftover cold turkey to serve. Hooray again, Sam!

mjan6 years ago

To make the marinade: Dump all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Lots easier than making a paste and then futzing with it.

Kal1 year ago

30min at 450 too long, already too dark. 15min or lower heat.

Annastasia Allard : )2 years ago

My yearly go-to recipe for Thanksgiving. My family loves it! It's moist and tender with the lime/oj combination. Lots of flavor! When possible, I double up the marinade so that my turkey goes for a "swim". I marinade for 2-3 days, making sure to pour marinade in between breast and skin, cavity, basting every 5-6 hrs.

Adam2 years ago

Huge hit for early Thanksgiving this year! Make sure you get the marinade under the skin to really penetrate the meat overnight. Also highly recommend spatchcocking the turkey and grilling it--start on indirect heat until nearly done and then give it a char over direct heat. Adds a delicious smokiness. Only changes to the recipe included a little sugar to balance out the acid and much less cumin. I feel like the recipe should read 2 teaspoons instead of 2 tablespoons.

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