Easy Caribbean-Infused Roast Turkey and Gravy from Scratch Recipe

One of my most treasured childhood memories is that one thanksgiving weekend I spent at my grandma’s house. This did not happen often, and now, about two years past my grandma’s passing, I treasure even more that one thanksgiving weekend I spent with her.

Just to give you a little nostalgia moment, my grandma was everything you think of when you think about a perfect grandma. She was loving, caring, and she loved to cook! I only wish I had the opportunity of growing up next to her and learning all her wonderful recipes. She truly believed that happiness began with a full belly.

It was then, at my grandma’s house that I tasted roasted turkey for the first time. To my 8-year-old eyes, that was one big bird sitting in the middle of a perfectly set table.

Fast forward to present day, and here I am. A mother of two and a wife for almost 10 years now. A little confession, I did not always find joy in cooking. But every day I continue to appreciate the value of delicious, home-cooked meals.

So, here I am, bringing to your table a little bit of our family’s taste.

Food is more than just cooking and eating. Some memories are created around a perfectly set table.

D.S.

Story time:

When I went to buy my wedding dress, I tried on the first one and immediately knew that was the one. I rang the bell and was on my way to the cash register. I could’ve tried a few others, but I did not have the need for it. The dress was, at that time, everything I was looking for.

Let’s get this roasted turkey cooking!

My wedding dress story may sound irrelevant, but I promise you it isn’t. The reason I mentioned it was because the turkey I made in this recipe was also the first turkey I ever made. And, just like when I rang the bell when I picked my wedding dress, I knew I had to share this recipe.

The young turkey I bought weighed 9.5 lb. If yours is bigger, you can double the measurements to make sure it is well seasoned. I bought it way ahead of time while they were on sale. Immediately, I began looking for recipes of how to cook my turkey. I came across many recipes with great reviews, but none of them really caught my attention. So, I decided I would make my own version.

For this recipe, I discarded the turkey giblets, but kept the neck.

I used my favorite seasonings to add the flavor that our family likes. You can add as much or as little as you like to make sure this turkey reflects your own taste.

The next thing I did was add the juice of one lime to the turkey. The purpose of this was to wash the turkey, but I ended up leaving the juice in the turkey and then continued to add the remaining ingredients.

The next thing to do was to add the other seasonings. I added complete seasoning, color seasoning (no salt added), chicken fajita seasoning, salt, pepper, cumin, and sofrito.

Easy Sofrito Recipe

Sofrito is a very basic ingredient that I use on most of my recipes, like this one, I knew my roasted turkey recipe would not be an exception. If you haven’t tried it already, I highly suggest you do. What is sofrito? Simple. You’ll need a peeled onion, fresh garlic, cilantro, and green/red bell pepper.

To stuff the turkey, I used an apple, a lime, an onion, and fresh herbs (thyme, sage, rosemary). I cut all of those in 4.

At my local grocery store, I found a fresh poultry herb mix and I bought two packs at about $3 each. What I did was that I chopped half of one pack and that is what I used for the herb butter. This herb butter idea, I got from different recipes online, but I did use my own measurements.

One very important part of this recipe is that I made sure that I seasoned the turkey in every part. No part was left behind. I even lifted the skin, where I could, to make sure I seasoned under it too.

After I seasoned the turkey, I decided to make two slits on each side of the breasts. I did this hoping that the seasoning would get in the thickest part of the turkey given I didn’t leave the turkey seasoning over night as it is usually done.

I decided I wanted to use potatoes on my roasted turkey, because I had so many at home. For the potatoes, I used the same seasonings I use when I make roasted potatoes. I added Italian seasoning, dry rosemary, salt, complete seasoning, and black pepper. Normally, the complete seasoning will come with black pepper, but I grabbed the wrong one and it doesn’t have black pepper.

• This is the roasting pan I used for this turkey. I bought it at Walmart.

I don’t know about you, but I have tasted some very dry turkey. For that reason, I decided I wanted to add some liquid to the bottom of the roasting pan. I ended up adding 1 cup of water, and 1 cup of vegetable stock. The idea was that, since the turkey would be covered in aluminum foil, the liquid at the bottom of the roasting pan will steam up and be absorbed by the turkey. And it worked!

I suggest you follow the cooking directions in the turkey you bought. For mines, it said that I should roast it at 325° F. That is what I did. I left the turkey covered with aluminum foil for an hour, then removed the foil and cooked for another hour and a half.

Lessons learned:

• Do not leave the turkey in the over after it is done cooking so that it doesn’t lose the juiciness.

• Add the potatoes after roasting the turkey for the first hour so the potatoes don’t overcook.

Let me know in the comments your thoughts on this recipe. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Thank you for taking the time to read this roasted turkey recipe. Until next time, stay sabroso!

Sincerely,