Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 turkey (10-12 lb)
1 garlic head, cloves separated and peeled
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp cumin powder
2 sweet chillies, chopped
Lime zest
½ cup canola oil
1/3 cup aged rum
2 cups sour orange juice
3 bay leaves
1 onion, cut in 4
1 orange, cut in half
4oz butter, at room temperature
½ cup white wine

Preparation

Clean turkey, remove excess fat. Remove entrails and set them aside.

Grind garlic and mix with salt, pepper, oregano and cumin. Add oil, lime zest and chillies. Mix all together. Proceed to do small cuts all over the turkey and spread mix, even inside the cavities. Mix sour orange, rum and bay leaves. Put the turkey on a plastic bag or a Tupperware with breast upside down. Let it marinate at least 24 hours and up to 48 hours.

Pre-heat oven at 425° F.

Remove turkey from marinate, dry excess liquid. Discard the marinade. Let turkey rest at room temperature 30 minutes before going to the oven. Place onion and orange on turkey’s cavity. Spread butter over the turkey and in between the skinand the flesh of the breast. Tie turkey legs.

Place turkey (with the breast upside) on a thick stainless steel oven tray with a rack inside. Let turkey brown 30 minutes.

Lower temperature to 325° F and cook another 1 ½ hour. Moisten the bird every 15 minutes with the drippings in the tray.

The turkey will be ready when a cooking thermometer shows 165° F when inserted in the breast and 175° F for the leg. Usually, the total time for a 10-12 lb turkey should be 2 ½ -3 hours, or 13-15 minutes per pound.

Move turkey to a cutting board; remove onion and orange from the cavity. Cover turkey with foil paper and let it rest 20 minutes before carving.

Remove excess fat from the drippings. Heat this liquid with entrails and white wine over a medium heat until it thickens. Season to taste, pass thru a sieve and serve turkey with the jus.

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