This family recipe for El Salvadoran Roast Turkey is both delicious and comforting. The perfect treat for any gathering or holiday party.
Recipe by Karlee Flores on December 20, 2016
Prep time: PT15M
Cook time: PT5H
Total time: PT5H15M
Rating
5 stars ( reviews)
Keywords
el salvadoran roasted turkey, el salvadoran, roasted, turkey
Ingredients
1 turkey, 12-20 pounds
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup mustard
1 can capers, drained
1 can green olives, drained
64 ounces chicken stock, or more as needed
3 dried bay leaves
1/2 cup white sesame seeds
2 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoons annato seeds
2 teaspoons whole peppercorns
1 28-ounce can of stewed, whole tomatoes
3/4 cup water
3 garlic cloves, smashed
2 dry chili pods
1 teaspoon ground paprika
2 teaspoons salt
Cuisine
Salvadoran
Steps
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Blot the defrosted turkey with a paper towel and massage the skin with the butter and mustard. Pour the chicken stock into the bottom of the roaster and add the dried bay leaves. Place turkey into roaster breast side up without the rack and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
Toast the sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, annato seeds and peppercorns in a small saucepan until just fragrant and add to a blender container. Drain the liquid from the can of tomatoes into the blender container and add water, garlic, dried peppers, paprika, and salt. Blend until ingredients form a paste. Add the rest of the canned tomatoes to the blender and pulse until a salsa appears. Add in the capers and olives (don’t blend). You may need to add more water. The salsa should be thick but pourable.
After the turkey has cooked for 30 minutes, turn the oven down to 325 degrees and pour the blended tomato sauce over the entire turkey. Place turkey back into the oven and roast until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 170 degrees, generously basting every half hour. Turkeys typically cook 15 minutes per pound. Place foil over the turkey when it starts to darken. Let rest before carving.
To serve traditionally (recommended) – place the carvings back into the salsa to marinate together. Add in more stock as needed to thin out.
Or, carve and serve with the sauce on the side like gravy.
Reviews
Maria on 2021-12-26 (5 stars): Love your recipe! My family enjoyed it!
Katie on 2022-12-11 (5 stars): I finally got to make this recipe this weekend for Friendsgiving and let me tell you: it was the star of the danged show. Gone are the days of dry, flavorless turkey, y'all. The recipe came together in a flash -Karlee's instructions made this so easy, especially for someone like me who doesn't have a ton of experience cooking large birds for a crowd of 20+. I easily found the spice packet with bay leaves, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, annato paste, peppercorns and dried chili pods already measured out at a Hispanic grocery store. 100/100 will make this again. Thank you, Karlee!
Lucia on 2023-01-01 (5 stars): I followed this recipe and loved it. My Salvadoran mother even liked it. The only difference is we did not have Annato seeds so I used a Goya achoate flavor packet and it worked fine. thanks for a great recipe.
