Peking Cranberry Lacquered Turkey

*First off!! Please join me Monday, the 14th at 4pm PT on Facebook Live while I make Vegan Zoodle Fresh Rolls with Tahini Mango Dipping Sauce– the best, healthiest most delicious snack EVER!!

As last week seemed to reach a fever pitch in stress, my family decided to check out for a couple days. Pete and I took the kids to LA and we visited friends, saw my older brother and spent about 100 hours out by the pool watching the girls swim around in mermaid names with their new names “Mermadia” and “Aquamarine.” They had so much fun and were so cute and it was a great opportunity to soak up some vitamin-D and escape the stresses of real life. So now we are back in Seattle (hello cold, damp weather and spitting rain!) and snuggling with Wilbur and waiting for the Seahawks to hopefully whup some Patriot butt tonight. RIGHT?!!

In all the craziness, I also think I forgot to tell you that I am checking out this week. Pete and I are taking off for Mexico with friends for a full-blown break from life (some people call it a vacation.) My parents, being the saints that they are have things locked down here with the girls and Wilbur and so we get to go totally worry free and just concentrate on all the guacamole and margaritas. I will be snapping and instagram storying up a storm, so feel free to follow along!

Ok, without further babble, I am so excited to get to the main event of last weeks Asian Inspired Thanksgiving Dinner!!! THE TURKEY obviously!

We covered the Honeycrisp, Daikon, Cucumber and Pomegranate Salad, Mango Ginger Chutney, the Tahini Whipped Potatoes with Cilantro Chile Sauce, Sichuan Green Beans with Fried Shallots and the Roasted Sesame Delicata Squash. Now we have Peking Cranberry Lacquered Duck- the best thing ever.

The skin is stuffed with the most flavorful combination of ginger, garlic, chile and cilantro. It is mixed with coconut oil and when the turkey cooks, the oil and the flavors melt into the meat and it is beyond tender and flavorful. When you slice the breast there is still a thin layer of the stuffing that lies between the skin and the meat. And can we talk about the skin? You might think it looks burnt or way too dark- but I swear to you- it’s not! It’s just a deep layer of sweet gingery caramelization with the complex flavor of 5 spice that makes it absolutely amazing. I was ready to fight people to get to as much of the dark crispy sweet and salty skin as I possibly could. I served this with a generous helping of the mango ginger chutney.

Peking Cranberry Lacquered Turkey

Author: Heather Christo

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 2 hours 30 mins

Total time: 3 hours

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

1 whole turkey, (innards removed!) at room temperature.
(the turkey I used was 11 pounds)
1 cup fresh ginger, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
⅓ cup sambal
¼ cup coconut oil
3 tablespoons tamari
½ cup packed fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons tamari
½ cup natural hoisin sauce (gluten free)
¼ cup brown sugar (loose- not night tightly packed)
½ cup cranberry juice
1 teaspoon 5 spice powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
Place the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan. Using your hands, gently separate the skin on the breasts from the muscle, taking care not to tear the skin. I think it is easier to do this from the neck end.
In the bowl of a food processor combine the ginger and garlic and pulse until both are finely minced. Add the sambal, coconut oil, tamari and cilantro. Pulse until you have a paste. Use your hands to generously stuff the breasts with as much of the mixture as they will hold. Rub some of the extras over the skin of the turkey and put the rest in the cavity of the bird.
Place the bird in the oven to roast at 325 for one hour.
While the turkey is roasting, make the cranberry lacquer.
In a small saucepan, combine the tamari, hoisin, brown sugar, cranberry juice and 5 spice powder. Heat the sauce over medium until it is simmering. Whisk the mixture cooking until the brown sugar and 5 spice have dissolved into the sauce and it is thickened, about 5 minutes. Pull the sauce off the heat.
At 60 minutes, pull the turkey out and generously brush the sauce allover the turkey. Repeat every 15-30 minutes until the turkey is done cooking and a meat thermometer in the thigh registers 165, or I cooked my 11 pound turkey for about 2 ½ hours. The skin should be a dark color, caramelized with the sauces sugars.
Let the turkey rest for about 30 minutes while tented loosely with foil. Carve the turkey (this is how I carve a turkey) and arrange on a platter.
I served mine on a platter with a bed of chives, mizuna greens and cilantro, shiso and enoki mushrooms. (watercress or arugula would also be lovely). I sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and garnished with marigold blossoms. Serve with Mango Ginger Chutney on the side.