How to Marinate Your Turkey for the Holidays

I love  the holidays festivities. Most of all I enjoy cooking and eating. Although I'm caribbean, I do cook an American traditional Thanksgiving meal.  The difference between my household  holiday meal and the traditional American meal is that we do not make cranberry sauce, and our stuffing is served as a side dish. Most of us place the stuffing inside of the turkey when we serve it and place it on the dinner table.

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Day 1: Tuesday night

I thaw the turkey by placing it in a bowl and

allow it to thaw overnight.

We go to bed pretty late in the early morning

hours so I did it around midnight

Day 2: Wednesday morning

The turkey is unwrappped and the liquid or

bloody water is drained.

The neck and gizard is removed from the

inside of the turkey.

P.s I usually remove the excess skin, cut the

butt out and trash it along with the gizard

All turkeys come with a plastic holder to hold

the turkey legs in place. This holding piece is

attached to the inside of the turkey.

I find it quite difficult to remove.

I do not cook my turkey with that

attachement, but sometimes I do use a string

to keep the legs together 

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Wash off the turkey under cool running water

Place the turkey and the neck back into a clean

bowl

Add 1/2 cup of white vinegar, fill the bowl

with cool running water and let it sit for 45 mn

to 1 hour

(Turkey has a strong raw scent to it)

Rinse  the turkey over cool running water and

make sure to run the water inside of the turkey

to clean the inside

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Marinating

Lightly add seasoning salt to cover the entire

turkey on both sides and the inside

Sprinkle onion and garlic powder to cover

the entire turkey on both sides and the inside 

Lightly sprinkle some New Orleans Cajun

Seasoning on both sides and the inside of

the turkey (optional)

Cover  both sides and the inside of the turkey

with some dry parseley

Add 2 -3 tablespoons of green seasoning

Rub  all the seasonings and spices on both

sides

Add 1 tablespoon of green seasoning to the

inside of the turkey and use your hands to rub

it into the inside 

Make sure to stuff the seasonings and spices

into all the spaces and under the skin

Cover the seasoned turkey with either some

saran wrap or foil

Place the bowl into the refrigerator and chill

overnight 

Allow all the seasoning and spices to infuse

into the turkey meat to give it an amazing

flavor on Thanksgiving day.

I have enclosed a video tutorial below:

Thanksgiving Day:

Follow the required temperature and cooking

time that came with your turkey

The temperature and cooking time may vary

according to the weight of your turkey.

You can also use this marinating recipe to

marinate a whole chicken.

Enjoy!

Comments of the day!

Please comment and let me know do you bake

or fry your turkey?

Do you bake a turkey or a whole chicken for

the holidays?