Spicy Roast Turkey

"This is a moist and flavorful bird with a crispy, spicy skin. I developed this particular recipe myself. I just don't like a soggy-skinned bird and the spices really kick it up. The roasting technique is my adaptation of Alton Brown's Good Eats turkey. The photograph that I included is actually a deboned bird that made for Thanksgiving 2003. The turkey (especially the leftovers) loses much of the gamy flavor if it has been deboned prior to roasting and it is so much easier to slice!"
 
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photo by iamafoodblog photo by iamafoodblog
photo by iamafoodblog
photo by iamafoodblog photo by iamafoodblog
photo by iamafoodblog photo by iamafoodblog
photo by Shelby Jo photo by Shelby Jo
photo by Shelby Jo photo by Shelby Jo
Ready In:
3hrs 20mins
Ingredients:
10
Serves:
12
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ingredients

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directions

  • Mix the spices into the mayonnaise until thoroughly blended.
  • Tuck back the wings and slather the spicy paste all over the turkey, massaging it into the bird.
  • (Rub inside the bird, outside the bird and make sure to spread it under the breast skin).
  • Roast on lowest rack of the oven at 500°F for 30 minutes.
  • Remove the turkey from the oven and cover the breast with a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil folded into a triangle (leaving the legs and dark meat uncovered), insert a thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return it to oven.
  • Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
  • Roast until the turkey temperature reaches 161°F (14 to 16 pound bird only needs a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting).
  • Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest, loosely covered for at least 15 minutes before carving.

Questions & Replies

  1. I am going to try this recipe on Thanksgiving. I ordered a 6 to 7 pound turkey. I adjusted the "Serves:" from 12 to 6 on the website and the ingredients were adjusted for the smaller turkey. Perfect, except the roasting times were not adjusted. Should I still roast for 30 minutes at 500? That seems excessive for only 6 pounds. And what about the time at 350 degrees? What should my roasting times be?
     
  2. On the first ingredient of mayo, you have 1-1 1/2 cup. Is it just 1 1/2 cup?
     
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Reviews

  1. take 1 and 1/2 c. mayo and put it in the garbage because mayo is gross. replace it with 1 10-12 oz. bottle of good honey mustard and follow the recipe. you WILL be glad you did.
     
  2. I have used this recipe three times and it comes out perfect each time. It gives the turkey wonderful flavor without being spicy. My kids love it and my son can't handle anything spicy. The skin also has a great crunch while the meat is super juicy and moist throughout. I make this every Thanksgiving and even on Christmas. Its everyone's favorite. I do make a few substitutions. I use 2 tsp of fresh minced garlic instead of garlic powder. I also use 1/2 sweet onion, minced instead of onion powder. Garlic powder and onion powder give me terrible heart burn. So I use the fresh ingredients instead.
     
  3. Followed the recipe almost as is - added 1 teaspoon of cayenne instead of the half because I got the extra kick. I received many compliments on the flavor. I also used an apple juice brine recipe (google it) for the juicy texture. Brining is KEY to any sucessful turkey. I will most definetly use this recipe again! It's too easy!
     
  4. This was my first time roasting a turkey, and it turned out great! The hardest part was waiting for it to get done! I really liked the spice mixture...not too hot but you could definitely tell there was some zip to it. The meat was so juicy and moist. Thanks so much for posting!!
     
  5. Turned out a very nice flavor without being too spicy (hot) for any one at the table. For more zip could increase the cayenne slightly. Had a wonderful crispiness. Instead of mayo, I used olive oil, and instead of covering the breast with foil, I turned the turkey breast down after the first 30 minutes. Next time I may brine it, or keep the temp down to 160 (as per recipe) instead of 175 for moister breastmeat.
     
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Tweaks

  1. I have used this recipe three times and it comes out perfect each time. It gives the turkey wonderful flavor without being spicy. My kids love it and my son can't handle anything spicy. The skin also has a great crunch while the meat is super juicy and moist throughout. I make this every Thanksgiving and even on Christmas. Its everyone's favorite. I do make a few substitutions. I use 2 tsp of fresh minced garlic instead of garlic powder. I also use 1/2 sweet onion, minced instead of onion powder. Garlic powder and onion powder give me terrible heart burn. So I use the fresh ingredients instead.
     
  2. Turned out a very nice flavor without being too spicy (hot) for any one at the table. For more zip could increase the cayenne slightly. Had a wonderful crispiness. Instead of mayo, I used olive oil, and instead of covering the breast with foil, I turned the turkey breast down after the first 30 minutes. Next time I may brine it, or keep the temp down to 160 (as per recipe) instead of 175 for moister breastmeat.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Greetings everyone! My name is Mary and I am a native Floridian. I live in Central Florida with my wonderful husband of 13+ years. I enjoy cooking simple dishes with simple ingredients.
 
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