Cookbook:Turkey with Plantain Stuffing (Pavo Relleno de Mofongo)

Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes

| Cuisine of Puerto Rico

By: Brenda Ortiz Valle

This recipe is my mom's, Aida E Valle, special Turkey recipe. The best I have tasted in my life!!

Ingredients

• 1 whole turkey (15 lbs)

For Turkey Seasoning

• ½ cup of olive oil
• ¼ cup of red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp of adobo
• 2 tbsp of oregano
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp of ground pepper
• 2 packages of ground "cubitos" (Cubitos en polvo - chicken bouillon cubes)
• 2 packages of uncolored sazon (sazon sin achiote - uncolored seasoned salt. Goya is a typical brand.)
• 4 large cloves of garlic, minced

For Turkey Filling

• 3 medium to large green plantains
• 2 cups of canola oil
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into ½ inch squares
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into ½ inch squares
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• 2 tbsp of adobo

Procedure

To season turkey

1. In a small bowl mix olive oil, red wine vinegar, adobo, oregano, salt, ground pepper, "cubitos", "sazon" and garlic.
2. With a sharp knife make incisions in different places of the Turkey.
3. Use seasoning mixture to season whole turkey, inside and out. If you need more seasoning mix, repeat first step.
4. Cover turkey with aluminum foil and refrigerate until it absorbs the seasoning, at least 2 to 4 hours, preferably overnight.
5. Preheat oven at 350°F (175°C).

To prepare filling

1. Peel plantains. Slice plantains into 1-inch chunks.
2. Add 2 cups of canola oil to a medium size frying pan. Set stove to medium high and place frying pan for about 5 minutes.
3. Add plantains and fry until they are golden brown. Drain them on paper towels or brown paper bags.
4. Squash plantains one by one using a mortar and place into a medium size bowl.
5. Add, tomato, red and green pepper, garlic, olive oil and adobo to the bowl containing the squashed plantains and mix.

To prepare Turkey

1. Fill turkey with plantain filling. Cover, the turkey filling opening with kitchen thread.^[1]
2. Cover turkey with aluminum foil and place turkey in preheated oven.
3. Leave turkey within the first two hours w/o removing aluminum foil. After two hours, remove aluminum foil and turn in ½ hour intervals for two hours. Use the turkey drippings to moist turkey while cooking.
4. Set oven to broil for 20 minutes each side.

Notes

1. ↑ Alton Brown shows how to truss a turkey here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/how-to-truss-a-turkey/27751.html