Stuffed Turkey

A deep-fried turkey is a landmark in Cajun cuisine. Every year, our neighbor, Janet, makes a deep friend turkey and I join and enjoy a few bits. At the same time, my husband and I also cook a turkey for Thanksgiving. It is a traditional stuffed turkey with my unique Mediterranean / Cajun seasonings and Japanese / Mediterranean stuffing.

First, pour a lot of red wine, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil over the turkey. Then season it all over the turkey with salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, freshly ground allspices and a pinch of cinnamon. Put the turkey in a large Ziploc or cover it with plastic wrap and marinate it over night. All fragrances of the seasonings go into the meat and no injection is necessary.

My stuffing is not the traditional bread stuffing but rice stuffing. I first cook chicken liver risotto using Japanese medium grin rice (“Nishiki” rice) with lots of herbs and red wine. Do not over cook because it will be cooked more inside of the turkey. The turkey aroma extends to inside of the risotto and vice versa. I do not discard this stuffing but serve it as a side dish. Some people sprinkle Parmesan cheese and others enjoy it just as a risotto.

Seasoning and stuffing are very important factors for a truly delicious turkey. But the most important aspect is using a fresh turkey. I used an organic, non-frozen turkey this year. It was a good choice. The meat did not have the typical turkey odor and it was lean and yet juicy.

Thanks to my new gas oven, all of the gravy stayed inside of the meat. So it did not require a gravy sauce or any sauce.

A 15.5 lb big turkey was left with only bones and little meat. “You can make delicious gumbo soup with them,” said Janet. That sounds like another cooking adventure in Louisiana.