Thanksgiving doesn't have to be stressful. Especially with this easy to follow recipe for the perfect Afghan Turkey, you'll be wondering why you were ever worried in the first place.
This recipe is inspired by my father's classic chicken marinade. Our local community in Ohio would have an annual festival and feature booths from different countries. My family would always volunteer to run the Afghanistan booth, selling some of our food as a fundraiser for the community.
The most popular of these dishes was that juicy flavorful chicken kabob that is an explosion of flavors in one bite. Spiced but not spicy, it's the perfect marinade to enhance poultry.
Inspired by this marinade is my take on an Afghan turkey. Turkey doesn't have to be bland and flavorless-- it can be the showcase dish on the Thanksgiving table that it deserves to be.
Afghan Turkey Recipe
Ingredients:
Whole Turkey or Chicken
2 tsp Garlic Powder
3 tsp Paprika
2.5 tsp Curry Powder
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tsp Salt
these measurements are for a 4.5 lb poultry. For a larger one, for example 10lb turkey, double these measurements
Oven Bag
For the cavity:
apple
lemon
garlic
thyme
sage
rosemary
Instructions:
Remove any of the innards in the cavity of your poultry. Wash well under water, washing both the inside and outside. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers.
Pat poultry dry, place in a large bowl
Add to poultry: oil, spices, and salt. Rub well until they are mixed evenly and coated the entire exterior of your poultry
Cut your apple and lemon into quarters so they can fit easily in the cavity. Peel your garlic.
Stuff the cavity of your poultry by placing apple, lemon, garlic and herbs inside until the cavity is full or your ingredients are completely used.
Using an Oven Bag, Place your marinated and cavity stuffed poultry into the center of the oven bag. Be sure to follow the instructions of your oven bag, found inside the box.
Close your oven bag, following its instructions to cut slits.
Place poultry with its oven bag on a roasting pan. Preheat oven according to temperature recommended on oven bag. Refer to chart included in the box for how much time to leave your poultry in the oven, depending on its weight
When it has completed cooking in the oven, remove roasting pan from oven. Set turkey aside for 15 minutes to rest before serving.
Slice your turkey and serve. Noshejaan!