Turkey Lechon Style

CEBU, Philippines — In the provincial town where I grew up, turkey – well, the local “pabo,” actually – only appealed to the drunkards. Those neighborhood bums were the only ones who liked the rather bland taste of the fowl, which they’d often enjoy during drinking sessions. At times they’d make the turkey into a “patoten,” although the dish is supposed to have duck – not turkey – as main ingredient.

In the U.S., turkey takes center stage on Thanksgiving Day, which was yesterday. The standard cooking process for turkey there is oven-roasting. And then it stars in the Thanksgiving Dinner with family and close friends.

In the Philippines, people who like turkey also roast it sometimes – but they mostly do the roasting over burning charcoal. And it doesn’t have to be for Thanksgiving Dinner only. Any other celebrations are potential occasions for Lechon Pabo.

For reasons of convenience, many Filipino cooks have since switched to oven-roasting their turkey but seeing to it that the finished roast still resembles the charcoal-roasted flavor. Following is a Pinoy oven-roasted turkey recipe from the website www.noodlesandrice.com:

Lechon Pabo

Ingredients:

1 pc 10-12 lb. turkey, rinsed thoroughly, innards removed

1 cup fish sauce (patis) (or 2 cups kosher salt or 1 cup table salt)

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

2 pcs lemon or 10 pcs calamansi

10 large cloves garlic, crushed but unpeeled

Procedure:

• In a large stockpot or other container that will accommodate turkey, combine fish sauce with 2 gallons cold water.

• Add turkey, and additional water if needed to just cover turkey. Refrigerate for 12 hours. 

• In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, oil and black pepper. Rinse lemons or calamansi and pierce with a fork all over.

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove turkey from brine and rinse thoroughly under running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Stuff cavity with lemons and garlic. Truss turkey if desired.

• Pour 1 cup water into a shallow roasting pan large enough to accommodate a roasting rack for the turkey.

• Set turkey breast side down over a roasting rack and brush all over with the soy sauce mixture. Roast for 45 minutes. Using paper towels, carefully turn turkey onto one side (wing/thigh up) and baste with soy sauce mixture. Replenish water if it’s drying up. Roast 15 minutes.

• Repeat with the other side. After 15 minutes, turn turkey breast side up. Lower heat to 325 degrees F. Start basting turkey every 15 minutes with juices from pan. Continue to roast until thickest part of thigh registers 180 degrees F on a meat thermometer. Juices should run clear, not pink or reddish.

• The last 30 minutes of roasting, baste turkey all over with soy sauce mixture. If turkey is browning too quickly, cover with a loose tent of foil. Remove from oven and let rest for 30 minutes before carving. Serve with lechon sauce. 

Cook’s Notes:

• If you’re going to bake the stuffing in the turkey, omit lemons and garlic. Stuff turkey just before roasting. Do not fill turkey up completely, as the stuffing will expand as it cooks. The remaining stuffing can be baked in a separate dish. Trussing is required if you stuffed the turkey. A stuffed turkey will take longer to roast than an unstuffed one.

Easy Lechon Sauce

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

¼  cup minced onion

1/3 cup liver pate or liver spread, or finely ground chicken livers

1 cup water

1/3 cup cider vinegar

½ cup brown sugar

1 ½ teaspoon salt or to taste

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup breadcrumbs

• Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté garlic and onion until garlic is golden and onion is limp. Add liver pate, water, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring until smooth. Lower heat and add breadcrumbs. Let simmer 5 more minutes. Serve with turkey lechon.