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What’s on My Texas Plate? Peruvian-Style Turkey
This Thanksgiving, I’m shaking it up a bit. Spice and zesty wines will wake up my Thanksgiving table this year.
Peruvian Chicken or some style of chargrilled chicken with cool and spicy dipping sauces is popular here in Austin, Texas and insanely delicious. I crave it often. The deep rich flavors of the spices are like no other and there is a reason why they are so popular.
Smoking meats on my Traeger Smoker/grill has become my new hobby. I absolutely love my pellet smoker. During the summer months I smoke all kinds of meats and thought this would be perfect for a Thanksgiving twist over the usual oven-baked turkey.
There is so much flavor from this marinade/paste I don’t know where to start. Rich, smokey flavors from the paste combine with the smoke from the grill which penetrates through the skin into the meat. Zest from a lemon, lime and orange and the earthiness of cumin really bring this turkey to another flavor level.
This turkey was sooooo delicious we had just enough leftover for the next day’s meal!
Aji Panca is the South American hot pepper paste that is used to marinate or wet rub the poultry. This deep red pepper is the second most common pepper in Peru, and is grown near the coast. Don’t let the “hot” fool you. It is slightly spicy and has a rather sweet, berry-like, and slightly smoky flavor and reminds me a bit of mixed chili powder with dried fruit in it.
Spatchcock (split and remove the backbone and spread out flat) a turkey ( I bought a 7 lb bird) and slather the paste all over with a jar of Aji Panca mixed with citrus zest, olive oil, garlic, cumin and seasoned salt, brown sugar and then smoke to 165 degrees. Once it sits for a while slice the smoked turkey and serve with Cilantro Lime Sauce and Jalapeño Green sauce. (Google for many versions of the Jalapeño green sauce recipe)
NOTE I used a Traeger smoker. Follow directions for your smoker that you use. Yes, this can be cooked in the oven but you won’t have the extra smokiness that is soooo extra amazing.
Sides
Serve with your favorite sides like blistered green beans, slow roasted tomatoes, sweet potatoes and Sumac marinated onions.
What’s in my wine glass?
Albariño Wine is the Perfect Pairing
Around the holidays there is always a buzz about what wines pair with the Thanksgiving meal. One of my favorite white wines is Albariño from Spain. There is a reason why it is one of the most popular and sought after white wine of Spain. From the first sip to the last drop you’ll experience a light to medium bodied dry white wine with loads of floral aromas, fresh peach, apricot with a lime and lemon zest finish that will make your mouth water for more of this boldly flavored wine.
My previous article gives details about these gorgeous Spanish wines. They can easily be found at your local wine store or you can order them too. Read about Albariño wines from Rias Biaxas to learn more about these gems from Spain.
Purchase Aji Panca Paste on Amazon or a speciality market.
- Whole Turkey, thawed and Spatchcocked ( 6-8 lb turkey) *Double the marinade paste if you plan to cook with a larger turkey
- For the Marinade/Paste:
- 1 Jar Aji Panca Paste (Amazon link provided in the post)
- Zest from 1 orange, lemon and lime
- Juice from 1/2 of 1 orange, lemon and lime each
- 1 heaping T of brown sugar
- 1 T cumin powder
- 1 t granulated garlic powder
- 1 tsp HEB Mi Tienda Orange Pepper Seasoning Salt or All-Purpose Seasoning Salt + more for seasoning the turkey
- 1 -2 t smoked paprika
- 1/2 t ground oregano
- 1/2 t ground marjoram and/or thyme
- For the sauce:
- 1 bunch cilantro, rinsed dried and remove tough bottom stems
- 1 medium fresh jalapeno, seeded
- 3 cloves fresh garlic
- Juice and zest from 1 lime
- Seasoning salt
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- Rub:
- 2 T olive oil
- Orange Pepper Seasoning or AP Season Salt
- In a bowl, Thoroughly mix all the marinade/paste ingredients. Too much citrus juice will make it a thinner marinade/paste so start with 1/2 of each citrus juice. Add more if it’s still thick.
- Spatchcock the turkey, rinse and pat dry.
- On each side of turkey, ub or use a pastry brush and spread with olive oil and seasoning salt.
- Flip onto the “inside” of the turkey and slather with about 1/3 of paste and cover thoroughly.
- Flip over on the skin side and slather paste over the turkey skin throughly making sure to cover all of turkey completely.
- Save about 1/3 of paste for later.
- Prepare and set the Traeger smoker to 250 degrees according to directions and place the turkey skin side up.
- After about an hour, spread the rest of the marinade/paste over the skin side of the turkey.
- Smoke until the thickest portion reads 160 – 165 degrees.
- For crispiest skin, finish turkey in oven on 425 degrees for 10 minutes until it’s sizzling.
- Serve with Cilantro Lime Sauce
- For the sauce:
- Combine all sauce ingredients in food processor and pulse until cilantro is broken down. Don’t over process.
- Chill until ready to serve.
