Cajun Brined Turkey-Two Ways

Cajun Brined Turkey-Two Ways might be a good recipe to expand your main course collection. Watching your figure? This gluten free and dairy free recipe has 1078 calories, 142g of protein, and 47g of fat per serving. For $3.41 per serving, this recipe covers 51% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. This recipe serves 6. If you have canolan oil, onion powder, fresh bay leaves, and a few other ingredients on hand, you can make it. 28 people were impressed by this recipe. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes roughly 39 hours and 5 minutes. A few people really liked this Creole dish. It is brought to you by Foodnetwork. Overall, this recipe earns a great spoonacular score of 93%. If you like this recipe, take a look at these similar recipes: Cajun-brined Smoked Turkey Breast, Cajun Broccoli Potato Noodle Pizza: Two Ways, and Brined Turkey.

Servings: 6

Preparation duration: 20 minutes

Cooking duration: 2325 minutes

 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder

1 1/2 teaspoons chile de arbol

1/4 cup New Mexican chile powder

1 tablespoon dried thyme

2 fresh bay leaves

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 1/2 cups kosher salt

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 large Spanish onion, quartered

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 cup Spanish paprika

1 12-pound fresh turkey

4 whole cloves garlic

Equipment:

bowl

pot

whisk

grill

kitchen thermometer

aluminum foil

roasting pan

Cooking instruction summary:

Watch how to make this recipe. Special equipment: 3 cups hickory or apple chips if desired, soaked in cold water for 1 hour Two days before cooking: Combine the Spanish paprika, New Mexican chile powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, chile de arbol and cayenne in a small bowl. Remove 1/4 cup for another use, such as the Eggplant Casserole with Red Pepper Pesto and Cajun Breadcrumbs. Dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons cold water in a large (at least 16-quart) stockpot or a clean bucket. Whisk in half of the remaining spice rub, the garlic, bay leaves and onion. Add the turkey, cover and refrigerate or set in a very cold place (that stays somewhere between 32 to 40 degrees F) for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. Rinse well under cold water and pat dry to remove the salt. Let air-dry in the refrigerator for 24 hours. In The Big Green Egg: Light a large chimney filled with charcoal briquettes (about 5 quarts) and allow to burn until all the charcoal is covered with a layer of fine gray ash. Empty the coals into the grill. Top with some of the soaked wood chips if using. Put in the ceramic plate, then the grill rack. Put the cover on and let the grate heat up. Brush the turkey with oil and rub the entire turkey (including the cavity) with the remaining spice rub. Tie the legs together. Adjust the grill vents to get and maintain an internal temperature of 350 degrees F. Roast the turkey for 2 hours to 2 hours and 15 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh reads 165 degrees F. Remove from the grill, tent with foil and let rest for 30 minutes before carving. In the Caja China: Prepare the charcoal briquettes according to the instructions that come with the box. Put the roasting pan with its rack (comes with the box) inside, and put the turkey breast-side down on the rack. Put on the top and fill with charcoal. After 30 minutes, flip the turkey breast-side up and continue cooking for about 1 more hour, until a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh reads 165 degrees F. Add charcoal as necessary according to the box instructions. Remove from the box, tent with foil and let rest for 30 minutes before carving.

 

Step by step:


1. Watch how to make this recipe.

2. Special equipment: 3 cups hickory or apple chips if desired, soaked in cold water for 1 hour


Two days before cooking

1. Combine the Spanish paprika, New Mexican chile powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, chile de arbol and cayenne in a small bowl.

2. Remove 1/4 cup for another use, such as the Eggplant Casserole with Red Pepper Pesto and Cajun Breadcrumbs. Dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons cold water in a large (at least 16-quart) stockpot or a clean bucket.

3. Whisk in half of the remaining spice rub, the garlic, bay leaves and onion.

4. Add the turkey, cover and refrigerate or set in a very cold place (that stays somewhere between 32 to 40 degrees F) for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. Rinse well under cold water and pat dry to remove the salt.

5. Let air-dry in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

6. In The Big Green Egg: Light a large chimney filled with charcoal briquettes (about 5 quarts) and allow to burn until all the charcoal is covered with a layer of fine gray ash. Empty the coals into the grill. Top with some of the soaked wood chips if using. Put in the ceramic plate, then the grill rack.

7. Put the cover on and let the grate heat up.

8. Brush the turkey with oil and rub the entire turkey (including the cavity) with the remaining spice rub. Tie the legs together. Adjust the grill vents to get and maintain an internal temperature of 350 degrees F. Roast the turkey for 2 hours to 2 hours and 15 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh reads 165 degrees F.

9. Remove from the grill, tent with foil and let rest for 30 minutes before carving.

10. In the Caja China: Prepare the charcoal briquettes according to the instructions that come with the box.

11. Put the roasting pan with its rack (comes with the box) inside, and put the turkey breast-side down on the rack. Put on the top and fill with charcoal. After 30 minutes, flip the turkey breast-side up and continue cooking for about 1 more hour, until a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh reads 165 degrees F.

12. Add charcoal as necessary according to the box instructions.

13. Remove from the box, tent with foil and let rest for 30 minutes before carving.


Nutrition Information:

Quickview
1108k Calories
143g Protein
48g Total Fat
25g Carbs
54% Health Score
Limit These
Calories
1108k
55%

Fat
48g
75%

  Saturated Fat
10g
66%

Carbohydrates
25g
9%

  Sugar
12g
14%

Cholesterol
463mg
155%

Sodium
29189mg
1269%

Get Enough Of These
Protein
143g
286%

Vitamin B3
51mg
257%

Vitamin B6
4mg
219%

Selenium
140µg
201%

Vitamin A
8119IU
162%

Vitamin B12
7µg
131%

Phosphorus
1261mg
126%

Vitamin B2
1mg
84%

Zinc
12mg
84%

Iron
10mg
60%

Vitamin E
8mg
59%

Potassium
1970mg
56%

Vitamin B5
5mg
56%

Magnesium
203mg
51%

Vitamin K
42µg
40%

Copper
0.73mg
36%

Manganese
0.67mg
33%

Fiber
8g
33%

Vitamin B1
0.4mg
26%

Calcium
190mg
19%

Folate
63µg
16%

Vitamin D
1µg
13%

Vitamin C
3mg
5%

covered percent of daily need
Widget by spoonacular.com

 

Suggested for you

Latin Chicken and Rice Pot
Pumpkin French Toast
Salisbury Steaks With Gravy
Parmesan Zucchini and Corn
Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich
Spinach Almond Crostini
Seasoned Green Beans
Creamed spinach grilled cheese sandwich
Three Cheese and Chicken Stuffed Shells
Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Food Trivia

If you want to speed up the ripening of a pineapple, so that you can eat it faster, then you can do it by standing it upside down (on the leafy end).

Food Joke

I tried not to be biased in hiring a handicapped person, but his placement counselor assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. I had never had a mentally-handicapped employee, and I wasn't sure I wanted one. I wasn't sure how my customers would react to Stevie. He was short, a little dumpy, and had the smooth facial features and thick-tongued speech of Down Syndrome. I wasn't worried about most of my trucker customers because truckers don't generally care who buses tables as long as the meatloaf platter is good and the pies are homemade. The four-wheeler drivers were the ones who concerned me; the mouthy college kids traveling to school; the yuppie snobs who secretly polish their silverware with their napkins for fear of catching some dreaded "truck stop germ;" the pairs of white-shirted business men on expense accounts who think every truck stop waitress wants to be flirted with. I knew those people would be uncomfortable around Stevie so I closely watched him for the first few weeks. I shouldn't have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his stubby little finger, and within a month my truck regulars had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot. After that, I really didn't care what the rest of the customers thought of him. He was like a 21-year-old in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties. Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a bread crumb or coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table. Our only problem was convincing him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished. He would hover in the background, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, scanning the dining room until a table was empty. Then he would scurry to the empty table and carefully bus the dishes and glasses onto a cart and meticulously wipe the table up with a practiced flourish of his rag. If he thought a customer was watching, his brow would pucker with added concentration. He took pride in doing his job exactly right, and you had to love how hard he tried to please each and every person he met. Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled after repeated surgeries for cancer. They lived on their Social Security benefits in public housing two miles from the truck stop. Their social worker, who stopped to check on him every so often, admitted they had fallen between the cracks. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home. That's why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie had missed work. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a new valve or something put in his heart. His social worker said that people with Down Syndrome often had heart problems at an early age so this wasn't unexpected, and there was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months. A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery and doing fine. Frannie, my head waitress, let out a war whoop and did a little dance in the aisle when she heard the good news. Belle Ringer, one of our regular trucker customers, stared at the sight of the 50-year-old grandmother of four doing a victory shimmy beside his table. Frannie blushed, smoothed her apron and shot Belle Ringer a withering look. He grinned. "OK, Frannie, what was that all about?" he asked. "We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay." "I was wondering where he was. I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?" Frannie quickly told Belle Ringer and the other two drivers sitting at his booth about Stevie's surgery, then sighed. "Yeah, I'm glad he is going to be OK," she said, "but I don't know how he and his mom are going to handle all the bills. From what I hear, they're barely getti.

Popular Recipes
Skillet Gnocchi with Shrimp & Asparagus

Eating Well

Frozen Mojito Pie

Foodista

Boozy Christmas bombe

BBC Good Food

Shrimp and Grits

Foodnetwork

Eggnog Cookie Bars

Foodnetwork