Chinese Style Turkey with Hoisin Gravy

I was never a turkey person. Growing up in Manila, I didn’t eat turkey and neither did we celebrate Thanksgiving. When September hits, the official “-ber” months start. The cooler weather settles in and signals everyone to put up Christmas decorations and blast Jose Mari Chan’s classic: “Christmas in our Hearts”.

After I moved to the US, prior to kids, I never cared for turkey. For some reason, it was always bland, dry and needed copious amounts of gravy to make it palatable for me. My dad would always take out all the meat from the bones the next day and make it into Macaroni Soup- the one with cream and fish sauce in it. Now that- I looked forward to eating.

After having my oldest daughter, I decided it was time to adapt. We hosted our first thanksgiving the year we purchased our first house and of course, people were expecting turkey. So I wrapped the entire thing in bacon, stuck it in the oven for the recommended amount of time and made one. To my surprise, it was actually quite flavorful and tender.

I’ve made that turkey every year without fail; but this year, I decided to take it further and add more bursts of Asian flavors. With aromatics such as garlic, shallot, ginger and scallions, plus spices such as Chinese Five Spice and white pepper, the drippings for this turkey makes for a perfectly seasoned gravy. I still kept the bacon (low sodium) to make sure that my turkey stays moist and tender, but decided against adding any additional salt.

Any leftovers for this turkey makes an awesome filling for Bao a la 北京烤鸭 (Beijing Peking Duck) the day after Thanksgiving.

Chinese Style Turkey

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: ~2 hours

Resting Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: ~2 hours 45 minutes

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

Turkey:

6-7 slices bacon, low sodium

1- 10 lb turkey

½ garlic, peeled and cracked

½ shallot, peeled

1 large thumb ginger, peeled

1 bunch green onions, ends trimmed to fit cavity of turkey

¾ tsp white pepper

1 ½ tsp five spice

Glaze:

2 tbsp Honey

2 tbsp water

Hoisin Gravy:

½ cup flour

½ tsp ground sichuan peppercorns

2 tbsp hoisin

½ cup butter

Drippings from Turkey

Instructions:

Stuff turkey with garlic, shallot, ginger, green onions.

Combine white pepper and five spice and generously rub turkey.

Place turkey in a roasting pan, and cover the surface of the turkey with bacon.

Place lid on the roasting pan.

Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 2- 2 ½ hours or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees fahrenheit (breast) and 175 degrees fahrenheit (thigh).

Remove bacon slices, and brush with honey-water glaze. Return turkey to oven without the roasting pan lid and broil for 5 minutes or until skin turns a golden brown.

Remove from oven, and allow to rest for 20 minutes before serving.

While turkey is resting, make the gravy.

In a saucepan, combine drippings from the turkey, peppercorns, hoisin and butter.

When thoroughly combined, whisk flour in a little at a time until there are no visible lumps.

Inspired by: The Woks of Life