Happy thanksgiving to all my readers in North America! We usually serve our turkey when hosting a big dinner party. It is the centerpiece of a satisfying dinner or holiday table. Everyone has their favorite way of roasting a turkey. This recipe has been passed down through my grandmother to my mother and eventually to me. The turkey is loosely covered with a tent of heavy duty aluminum foil to control the level of browning and to help keep the bird moist. Salt and seven spice are used as a rub to flavor the turkey. Seven spice is a Lebanese/Syrian mixture that contains ground black and white pepper, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and coriander. However, if seven spice is not available in your household then use allspice as a substitute.
Roasted Turkey with a Lebanese Twist
The Turkey comes out nice and brown, and the method is fuss-free and easy.
Many people brine their Turkey for a more tender and juicier result, the brine is usually a combination of salt, water, herbs and spices. The bird rests for about 20 hours, unless you are working with a ready pre-brined Turkey.
The turkey is stuffed, after roasting, with a Lebanese rice that is called “totbeea”- rice cooked with ground meat – that gives the bird the typical Lebanese touch.
If you are cooking with a frozen turkey, you need to defrost the turkey by putting it in the refrigerator for 2 days. It is also crucial to remove the turkey from the refrigerator two hours before roasting.
Remove neck from the turkey cavity, and tie the legs together with a kitchen twine and remove the giblet bag inside its cavity.
Roasted Turkey with a Lebanese Twist
Description
Ingredients
- 1 4 kg. / 9 lb. whole fresh or frozen turkey, giblets and neck removed
- Salt to rub the inside and outside of the turkey
- 11/2 teaspoons of 7 spice
- ¼ cup canola oil to rub the turkey
- 5 bay leaves to put in the cavity of the turkey and in the tray
- 5 cardamom pods
For the rice:
- 2 cups medium grain rice I used jasmine rice
- 3 cups water to cook the rice
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
- 1 teaspoon 7 spice
- 500 g. /1 lb. 2 oz. ground beef or lamb
- ½ cup black or golden raisins optional
- 1/3 cup blanched almonds
- 1/3 cup ghee or canola oil
- 3 cups water to cook the chicken
- ½ teaspoon tomato paste + 3 tablespoons canola oil to brown the bird later
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225 °C / 450°F.
- Rinse the turkey and pat dry using a paper towel.
- Rub the inside and outside of the turkey with salt and seven spice. Then rub inside and outside with the canola oil.
- Place 2 bay leaves in the cavity of the turkey.
- Tie the legs of the turkey with kitchen strings.
- Place the turkey on its back in a baking tray.
- Add 3 cups of water, cardamom pods and bay leavesto the turkey tray. Cook until the water in the tray starts boiling.
- Loosely cover the tray with heavy duty aluminum foil. Make sure the top of the bird does not come in contact with the foil.
- Reduce the heat to 180°C/350°F and cook for 4 hours, rotating the pan and adding more hot water if the tray dries out.
- Mix the tomato paste with the three tablespoons of canola oil and brush the cooked turkey. Roast the turkey for about 10- 15 minutes. Do not cover at this stage.
- While the Bird is roasting in the oven, prepare the rice:
- Soak the rice in warm water. Rinse and drain.
- In a heavy based saucepan, toast the almond in ghee or canola oil until lightly browned. Set aside.
- Add the ground meat to the saucepan and cook for a few minutes until well browned.
- Add the rice, salt, cinnamon powder, raisins (if used) and seven spice. Stir well.
- Pour the 3 cups of water. Once it starts boiling, reduce heat to very low, cover the pot and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Transfer the turkey to a serving plate and stuff some rice inside its cavity. Arrange the rest of the rice around the turkey. Sprrinkle the toasted almonds on top of the rice!
- Serve it with your favorite gravy or extract 1 cup of the oven turkey broth and place in a pot. Add 1 tablespoon flour to it and whisk thoroughly over medium heat until the sauce thickens, season with salt and a dash of freshly grated white pepper. Serve the sauce on the side. Happy eating!
2 Comments
Our rice stuffing was always called hashweh and used Uncle Ben rice, half lamb half beef, pine nuts and vermicelli, and spices were cumin, allspice, cinnamon and salt/pepper.
My mom would also loosen the skin and pack the stuffing in there as well. Special treat of browned skin with crispy rice attached was amazing!
That rice sounds soooo good!!😋😋
What is TURCHY SEASONING?