🇵🇹 Portuguese-Style Roast Turkey – The Juiciest Thanksgiving Turkey
This juicy Portuguese turkey is dry brined overnight, coated in a Portuguese-inspired seasoned butter and injected with butter, white wine and stock for incredibly tender meat and crispy golden skin.
Equipment
- MEAT INJECTOR https://amzn.to/4yAhFlS
Ingredients
TURKEY
- 1 whole turkey approximately 3-5
- Onion wedges for the roasting pan
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken or turkey stock
- 2 bay leaves
DRY BRINE
- Kosher salt appropriate for the weight of your turkey and brand of salt*
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika / colorau
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
PORTUGUESE SEASONED BUTTER
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1½ tablespoon sweet paprika / colorau
- 1 tablespoon pimenta moÃda
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary crushed
- Zest of ½ lemon
BUTTER INJECTION
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- â…“ cup chicken or turkey stock
- 2 tablespoon dry white wine
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika / colorau
CAVITY FILLING
- ½ onion quartered
- ½ lemon quartered
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Dry Brine the Turkey
- The night before roasting, remove the neck and giblets and pat the turkey very dry with paper towel.
- Combine the appropriate amount of kosher salt with the baking powder, paprika, garlic powder and white pepper.
- Season the turkey evenly, including underneath the breast skin where possible and lightly inside the cavity.
- Place on a rack OR tray and refrigerate uncovered for 12–24 hours.
- Prepare the Turkey
- The following day, preheat the oven to 325°F / 165°C.
- Remove the turkey from the refrigerator. Do not rinse off the dry brine.
- Make the Portuguese Seasoned Butter
- Mix the softened butter, garlic powder, paprika, pimenta moÃda, white pepper, olive oil, dried parsley, oregano, rosemary and lemon zest until combined.
- Carefully loosen the skin covering the breasts.
- Massage approximately half of the seasoned butter directly onto the breast meat underneath the skin.
- Rub the remaining seasoned butter all over the outside of the turkey, including the legs and wings. NOTE: if you run out of mixer add more to insure the turkey is completely covered.
- Fill the Cavity
- Loosely place the quartered onion, lemon and bay leaves inside the turkey cavity. Do not tightly pack the cavity.
- Prepare the Roasting Pan
- Place onion wedges across the bottom of a deep roasting or lasagna pan.
- Set the turkey breast-side up over the onions.
- Pour 1 cup white wine and 1 cup stock around the turkey, being careful not to pour it over the seasoned skin.
- Add the bay leaves to the liquid.
- Make the Butter Injection 💉
- Combine the melted butter, stock, white wine, garlic powder and paprika.
- Whisk until completely smooth.
- Fill a meat injector with the warm mixture and inject small amounts into several areas of both breasts, thighs and drumsticks.
- Avoid injecting a large amount into one location. Multiple smaller injections distribute the flavour and moisture throughout the meat.
- Roast
- Roast uncovered at 325°F / 165°C.
- Baste with the pan juices approximately every 45 minutes.
- For a turkey around 3-5 kg, begin checking the internal temperature at approximately 2¼ hours.
- If the breast becomes sufficiently golden before the turkey has finished cooking, loosely tent just the breast with aluminum foil.
- Continue roasting until the thickest part of the breast and innermost portion of the thigh reach at least 165°F / 74°C, without the thermometer touching bone.
- Rest
- Carefully transfer the cooked turkey from the roasting pan to a large cutting board or serving platter.
- Loosely tent with aluminum foil and allow it to rest for 30–40 minutes before carving.
- Do not leave the turkey resting in the pan juices if you want to preserve the crispy skin.
- Save the pan drippings for gravy or molho.
Notes
Salt: Different brands and types of salt vary considerably by weight and volume. Adjust the dry-brine quantity according to your salt and turkey weight. If your turkey is pre-brined, self-basting, enhanced or contains an added salt solution, reduce or omit the additional salt.
Baking powder: Use baking powder, NOT baking soda. It helps encourage beautifully browned, crispy skin.
Pimenta moÃda: Many brands are already quite salty, which is another reason not to add additional salt to the seasoned butter.
Injector: Keep the injection mixture completely smooth so it passes through the needle easily. If you add any fresh ingredients, strain the mixture before filling your injector.
Cooking time: Turkey cooking times are estimates. Always use an instant-read meat thermometer to determine when your turkey is safely cooked.
Leftovers: Refrigerate cooked turkey in an airtight container within 2 hours. Use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days.
