Mojo Cubano Brine

"I have served this at Thanksgiving for the last two years, and each time the bird was gone in two days. This dish is so outstanding that there is no need to concern yourself with leftovers. Based on "Lacey's Mom" review and the fact that my last turkey took almost 4 hours to cook, I recommend increasing the cooking temperature to 300 degrees and strongly recommend the use of a meat thermometer. Obviously, cooking time increases with the weight of the turkey."
 
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Ready In:
4hrs
Ingredients:
16
Serves:
8-10
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ingredients

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directions

  • Thaw turkey in refrigerator for 3 days.
  • Remove neck and giblets from cavity.
  • Place the bird in a x-large cooking bag.
  • Using your hands, thoroughly rub the marinade into the bird and fill the cavity.
  • Secure cooking bag with twist tie.
  • Allow bird to marinate in the refrigerator for at least one day in advance of cooking.
  • Reserve the remaining half of the marinade.
  • Preheat the oven to 500°F.
  • Remove the bird from the marinade, reserving the marinade.
  • Place the bird on a rack on a roasting pan.
  • Fill the cavity with the limes, oranges, onion and cilantro& thyme sprigs.
  • Put it in the hot oven.
  • Caramelize the exterior of the bird, leaving the interior undone.
  • Pour the used marinade over the bird and reduce the oven heat to 300, Roast real slowly for up to 3 hours or until interior reaches 160 degrees.
  • Remove from oven and cover with foil until ready to carve.
  • Don't let the meat get cold.
  • Slice in 1/4 inch medallions, drizzled with reserved marinade.

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Reviews

  1. I've used a lot of different brines over the years, but this is the one I stuck with. One thing I would recommend: I like to start my turkey off at a high temperature to crisp the skin up and seal in the juices--the problem with this recipe is that the sugar in the orange juice and grapefruit can cause the skin to burn prematurely. I have found this to be the case even when using bitter orange juice, which is traditional in Cuban cuisine. To avoid the excess browning, I simply use the peel of 10 oranges, instead of the juice. The orange essence is still infused into the brine, minus the sugar.
     
  2. I used this recipe as a guideline. In my food processor I added whole limes and oranges, then puree'd them. The rest of the recipe I followed pretty closely. I used all of it to marinade for 30 hours, then after drying the bird inside and out very well, I deep fried it. This was the best turkey my family has ever had. Thanks for the idea.
     
  3. I used this recipe for GivingThanks Day. While it wasn't difficult to make, the process was labor intensive. The 18 lb bird wouldn't fit into my fridge, so marinated it overnight on ice in a large cooler. It was a huge hit! I followed the recipe to the letter, except i used ALL of the marinade in the cooking process. i live in an RV, and my turkey wouldn't fit in the stove, so i cooked it outside on my BBQ grill. The combination of the marinade and indirect smoking made for an incredible dark, golden brown presentation. thanks for the recipe.
     
  4. I have been making the same type of turkey for years based on an idea from B. Smith Restaurant. I use a bottle of marinade labeled caribbean jerk sauce and marinade for two days before roasting - pretty much same spices but easier as you just pick up a bottle of this.
     
  5. This made a very tasty and juicy turkey. Great flavor mixture. We had a 21 pound turkey which took about 6 hours to bake, which is quite a bit more than the 3 hours it mentions in the recipe for an 18-20 lb. bird.
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I'm a wife and mother, blessed with a wonderful family, and I live north of Atlanta, Georgia. I'm an avid reader and enjoy gardening, outdoor activites and thumbing through old cookbooks. My greatest joy comes from helping others, in whatever way I am guided to do so. Bigotry and narrowmindedness are my two pet peeves. We all have to live together on this small planet, better we do it with love, tolerance and compassion and try to make it fun. If I had a month off (and the money to do it)I would hit the road and explore as much of this country as I could fit in the time available.
 
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