Tandoori Style Roasted Whole Turkey Breast Recipes

Steps:

• For tandoori masala:
• Toast spices in a skillet over medium heat, swirling often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Let cool. Working in batches, finely grind mixture in a spice mill. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 month ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
• For garam masala:
• Toast spices in a skillet over medium heat, swirling often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Let cool. Working in batches, finely grind mixture in a spice mill. Sift through a medium-mesh strainer into a small bowl; stir to combine. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 month ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
• For turkey:
• Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Rub inside and out with salt; transfer to roasting bag. Stuff turkey with cardamom pods and cumin seeds, then onion, celery, and garlic.
• For marinade:
• Purée all ingredients in a blender. Pour marinade into roasting bag. Smear all over turkey. Tie bag and arrange turkey, breast side down, in a large heavy roasting pan. Refrigerate overnight.
• Let turkey stand in bag at room temperature for 1 hour. Turn breast side up. Create steam holes in bag if required by manufacturer's instructions.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Roast turkey for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh (puncturing bag with thermometer) registers 160°, about 1 1/2 hours longer. Cut top of bag open, being careful of steam and juices, and pull back over turkey. Roast turkey until breast is deeply browned but not burned and a thermometer inserted into thigh registers 165°F, 15-30 minutes longer.
• Transfer to a platter. Let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
• Meanwhile, strain juices into a large saucepan. Spoon fat from surface. Simmer over medium heat until sauce is reduced to 3 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes.
• Carve turkey. Serve with accompanying gravy.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove necks and giblets and put into a large saucepan. Add onions, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, and the chicken stock. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat and let simmer until reduced to about 2 cups. Strain and reserve; this is the turkey stock that you will use for the gravy.
• Wash the turkeys, inside and out, and dry well. Coat inside and out with half of the olive oil. Season each turkey on the outside generously with the spice rub, pressing it in to adhere. Place 4 rosemary sprigs and 2 lemon halves inside the cavity of each turkey.
• Arrange 4 of the halved carrots and 4 celery stalks on each of 2 half-sheet pans or baking sheets. Position each turkey on top of the carrots and celery so that the turkey does not rest directly on the bottom of the pan. Drizzle turkeys with remaining olive oil.
• Roast until an instant-read thermometer (inserted deep into the thigh but away from the bone) reads 165 degrees F and juices in the thigh run clear when pierced with a fork, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours; begin checking at 2 hours. Remove from the pans and let rest for 15 minutes before carving. Reserve pan juices for gravy.
• While turkeys are resting, make the gravy. In a medium heavy saucepan, cook flour and butter over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until a blond roux is formed. Add pan juices and then reserved turkey stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and let simmer until thickened and ready to serve.
• Carve turkey as desired and serve with gravy.
• Put the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns in a heavy pan over medium heat. Watch carefully, tossing frequently so the seeds toast evenly. When light brown and fragrant, pour the seeds onto a plate to cool. They must be cool before grinding, or they will gum up the blades.
• Pour the seeds into a blender and add the salt. Blend to a fine powder, shaking the blender occasionally to redistribute the seeds. Store in a tightly sealed glass jar in a cool, dry place, or freeze.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Remove neck, giblets and liver from turkey. Wash inside and out with cold water and pat dry.
• Mix 1/2 pound of butter with the chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. With your hands, carefully separate breast skin from the meat and spread rosemary butter in between.
• Rub turkey inside and outside with salt and black pepper. (If desired, stuff with mushroom stuffing)
• Place onion, carrots, celery, garlic, giblets, neck and liver on the bottom of your roasting pan. Place turkey on top of mixture. Rub turkey with 1 cup of olive oil and transfer to preheated oven. Roast for 45 minutes, then baste every 20 minutes. Add chicken stock as needed so that the vegetables don't burn.
• Roast between 15 and 20 minutes per pound until internal temperature is at least 165 and no more than 180 degrees F. in the thickest part of the thigh.
• Remove and let rest in warm place before serving.
• Add the pomegranate juice to the roasting pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain into small saucepan and with a ladle, remove excess fat and reduce until the sauce is slightly thickened.
• Place turkey on serving platter. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Spoon tablespoons of sauce over turkey.
• Render foie gras or chicken liver in saute pan. Remove and pour rendered fat over bread. Dice and reserve. (If you use chicken liver instead or foie gras, add 4 tablespoons of butter).
• Rinse dried porcini and soak in warm water. Drain and chop mushrooms, reserving liquid.
• Heat olive oil in saute pan over medium heat and add onions, celery and pancetta. Cook until vegetables become translucent. Combine dried mushrooms and fresh mushrooms and add reserved mushroom liquid and stock. Cook over medium heat and reduce until almost dry. Set aside.
• Place foie gras or chicken liver and dried bread crumbs in a large bowl. Add herbs, beaten eggs and mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
• Stuff turkey according to recipe (or place stuffing in a buttered gratin dish and bake in preheated 350 degree F. oven for 30 minutes).

Steps:

• ​​Make the tandoori spice blend: Set a medium skillet over medium-low heat and let the pan warm for a few minutes. Working one spice group at a time, toast the cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mace blades (if using), fenugreek seeds, black and green cardamom pods, black peppercorns, and cloves in the warm skillet until each spice is fragrant and lightly browned, a few minutes per spice. Transfer the toasted spices to a plate or small tray while you toast the remaining spices. Let cool to room temperature.
• Set a mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Once all of the whole spices have cooled, transfer to a high-powered blender or spice grinder (working in batches, if needed) and grind the spices into a fine powder. Pour the ground spices into the strainer and sift into the bowl below. Return any larger pieces to the blender and re-grind and sift into the bowl.
• Add the Kashmiri chile powder, ground ginger, garlic powder, and nutmeg to the bowl with the ground spices and mix well to combine (if using ground mace, add here). Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and store in a cool, dry place until ready to use. The spice mixture will keep for up to 2 weeks.
• Make the yogurt marinade: In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, ¾ cup of the tandoori spice blend, the lemon juice, salt, ginger, and garlic until smooth.
• Remove the innards from the turkey and discard (or save for another use). Pat the turkey dry all over with paper towels. Place the turkey in a bowl large enough to fit the bird, then pour the yogurt marinade all over the turkey. Use your fingers to gently loosen the turkey skin, starting from the top of the cavity and working your way toward the breasts and down toward the legs, being careful not to tear the skin. Use your hands to work the marinade underneath the skin and all over the entire bird. Once well-coated, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
• While the turkey is marinating, make the tandoori ghee: Add the ghee to a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until hot. Add 2 tablespoons of the tandoori spice blend (it should sizzle lightly once it touches the ghee), then stir to incorporate and remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the salt. Transfer ¼ cup of the ghee to a small bowl and set aside to use for the gravy. Carefully pour the remaining 1¼ cups of ghee into a heat-proof container.
• After marinating, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 2-3 hours before cooking.
• Arrange a rack in the lower-middle section of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Set a V-shaped rack inside a roasting pan.
• Once ready to cook, remove the turkey from the yogurt marinade and wipe off as much as possible. Squeeze out as much marinade as possible from underneath the turkey skin as well.
• Grab the turkey by the legs and carefully transfer to the prepared roasting pan with the breast side up. With your hands, rub about a third of the tandoori ghee over the bird, then rub another third underneath the skin. Reserve the remaining ghee for basting the turkey.
• Stuff the cavity with the lemons, garlic, ginger, and cilantro. Tuck the wings underneath the turkey, then tie the legs together with kitchen twine, wrapping around the bird to secure. Pour 3 cups of chicken stock into the bottom of the roasting pan.
• Roast the turkey for 30 minutes, rotating halfway, until the skin is mostly golden brown. While the turkey roasts, melt the remaining third of tandoori ghee in a small saucepan over low heat, or in a small bowl in the microwave.
• After roasting for 30 minutes, baste the turkey with the melted ghee. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F (150°C). If the bottom of the pan looks dry, pour in 1-2 more cups of stock. Continue roasting, basting and rotating the turkey every 30 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the leg reaches 165°F (75°C), 120-150 minutes more. The skin should be shiny, crisp, and golden brown-if the skin begins to get too dark, lightly tend the bird with aluminum foil. Remove the turkey from the oven and baste once more. Let rest for 30-60 minutes. Reserve the drippings, discarding the fat, for making the gravy.
• Make the tandoori gravy: Add the reserved ¼ cup tandoori ghee to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking frequently, for 3-5 minutes, until the roux is darker in color and smells fragrant and toasted. Add 1 tablespoon of the tandoori spice blend and whisk to combine, letting toast for another minute, until fragrant. Gradually whisk in the turkey drippings (adding chicken stock as needed for a total of 3 cups). Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until thickened slightly. Remove the gravy from heat.
• To serve, set the whole turkey in the center of a large platter for a classic presentation, or carve the bird and arrange the cut pieces on the platter and garnish with cilantro and quartered limes. Serve immediately with the hot gravy alongside, as well as any traditional tandoori sides of choice.
• Enjoy!