A "Floribbean Turkey"

A Floribbean Turkey

This recipe was inspired by the "Cuban Thanksgiving Turkey" recipe in "Miami Spice" by Steven Raichlen. This is a GREAT book that I strongly suggest you purchase if you would like to indulge in truly-Floridean/Florribean cuisine.

1 11-12-0z turkey (brined)


1/2 head (several cloves) garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp salt
about 1 tsp black pepper
Other spice blends (optional)

Canola oil, with a pat or two of butter melted in (optional)


Thaw the turkey. The day before you plan to make it, "brine" the thawed turkey in a solution of water and kosher salt (at minimum). You can also add other spices, like whole peppercorns. The next day, drain the turkey, rinse and pat dry. Make a paste of the garlic, salt and lime juice (the best way is to mash with a pestel and mortar). Add the cumin and oregano and mix. Loosen the skin all over the turkey breast and spread a lot of the paste underneath it. Reserve at least 1/3 of the herb and lime mix for the top. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Oil the turkey all over (on the top and down the sides) with canola oil. The best approach is to use your fingertips to spread it all over. Afterward, spread the remaining herb and lime mix over the turkey. At this point, you can also add other seasonings to the skin. I added "Lawry's Perfect Blend Seasoning and Rub for Chicken & Poultry", "Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning" and "Goya Adobo All-Purpose Seasoning", which are optional. Cover semi-loosely with foil. Add a small amount of water to the pan for moisture (maybe 1/2-3/4 cup water?). Roast for around 2 hours. Baste the turkey. Turn the heat up to 350 degrees. At this point, you need to watch your turkey, depnding on size and elements. In this particular case, with a turkey just under 12 pounds, I loosened and half-moved the foil off (moreso leaving it over the breasts, which will tend to dry out quicker) for an hour. After that (at the end), turn the oven up to to 400 degrees and remove the foil and finish roasting the turkey for 15-30 minutes. You will have to keep an eye on it, every turkey and oven is a little different. When done, transfer to a platter and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before carving. Enjoy!

SIDES: Along with this turkey we served mashed sweet potatoes and green beans. To make: Peel, cut up and boil a 2-4 sweet potatoes (based on how many people you are feeding...a couple smallish ones for us fed two people). After boiling till soft, drain and mash with a pat of butter and a tbsp of mayonnaise. You can also add a tbsp of brown sugar and some cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and a pinch of white pepper, if you want. For our dinner, we only had the mashed sweet potatoes with a pat of butter, mayo and a pinch of white pepper. We steamed the fresh green beans and then while hot, added a pat of butter and a pinch of "Lawry's Seasoned Salt".

We served our turkey dinner with "Pepper Grove Pinot Noir".