El Salvador - Salvadoran Roasted Spiced Turkey - Pavo Salvadoreno En Especias

[Olga Drozd]

El Salvador - Salvadoran Roasted Spiced Turkey - Pavo Salvadoreno En Especias

Serve this spiced turkey for Christmas or New Year. Serve it with the spiced sauce, rice and asparagus dish, a green salad and vegetables. This turkey dish is not stuffed. The turkey is basted in a recado (sauce) of traditional Salvadoran spices and herbs.  The turkey is cooked breast side down, and its juices mix with the recado, forming a lovely sauce which actually braises rather than roasts the bird.  This cooking method produces a succulent holiday bird.

TURKEY:

1 fresh turkey (about 15 pounds)
1/2 pound butter, softened
1/3 cup prepared mustard
1/8 cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme

RECADO (SEASONING):

1 1/4 cups sesame seeds
1/3 cup pepitoria (hulled pumpkin seeds)
3 dried chiles pasas or chiles pastillos, stems removed (see Note)
8 bay leaves
8 whole cloves
1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cups boiling water

2 slices French bread
3 medium tomatoes
2 medium white onions, peeled
8 cloves garlic, peeled
3 quarts water

Preparing Turkey:  Remove the giblets from the turkey cavity and set aside for another use.  Rinse the bird under cold running water and pat dry.  In a small bowl, mix the butter, mustard, vinegar, salt, and thyme to form a paste.  Rub the turkey, inside and out, with the paste.  Refrigerate covered until ready to use.

Toasting Ingredients: Heat a lightly greased griddle over medium heat.  Toast the sesame and pumpkin seeds, stirring frequently, being careful not to burn; place in a medium bowl. Toast the chiles pasas, bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon stick, oregano, and thyme, stirring until lightly colored and fragrant.  As the ingredients are toasted, place in the bowl with the toasted seeds.  Pour 3 cups boiling water over the ingredients; cover and soak 15 minutes.  In small batches, grind the toasted ingredients in a blender container or in the work bowl of a food processor until completely smooth.

Roasting Ingredients:  Toast the bread until dry; crush into crumbs.  You should have about 3/4 cup.  Place the tomatoes and onions on a heated griddle.  Roast, turning as needed, until the tomatoes have blackened and the onions are lightly charred.  In a blender container, puree the bread, tomatoes, onion, and garlic until smooth.

Finishing Recado Sauce: Stir the tomato puree into the toasted seed paste mixture until blended.  Combine with 3 quarts of water and mix.  If the recado isn't completely smooth and satiny, strain through a wire mesh sieve.

Roasting Turkey:  Place the turkey in a roasting pan.  Roast breast side up in a preheated 375º F. oven for 20 minutes.  Turn breast side down and continue roasting for 15 minutes.  Pour the recado sauce over the turkey.  Continue roasting at 350º F. for about 3 1/2 hours, basting often, until completely cooked. Let the turkey rest for 20 minutes. Carve turkey and serve with plenty of sauce. Makes 16 to 18 servings (Portion size: 8 ounces)

NOTE:  Chile pasa is a dried, red Salvadoran chile pod similar to the Mexican pasilla chile.

SERVING SUGGESTION: For a Christmas buffet, serve the pavo en especias with its own sauce, accompanied by a rice and asparagus casserole and a watercress and pear salad.  For vegetables, try sauteed acorn squash with red bell pepper and onion and steamed broccoli with walnut butter.  A tropical fruit trifle (made with sponge cake, coconut pudding, and guava, mango, or pineapple puree) would be a spectacular ending.

Celebracion