Jerk turkey
Try a Caribbean twist on a roast dinner with this jerk turkey. Serve with rice and peas, plus creamy coleslaw to balance the spiciness of the jerk marinade.
- Preparation:
- Cooking:
- Total:
- Serves: 6 persons
Ingredients
- 2turkey legs (about 2kg total weight), cut into leg and thigh portions
- 2tbsp jerk seasoning
- 2tbsp all purpose seasoning (see tip, below)
- 2scotch bonnet chillies (deseeded if you prefer less heat)
- 5spring onions, trimmed and roughly chopped
- 1large onion, roughly chopped
- 20g ginger, peeled
- 7garlic cloves
- 8tbsp white wine vinegar
- ½nutmeg, grated
- 2tsp ground allspice
- 12thyme sprigs, leaves picked
- 1large red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
Instructions
Step 1
Cut a few deep slashes into the meat of the turkey legs, without going all the way down to the bone. Sprinkle over the jerk and all purpose seasonings and set aside while you make the marinade.Step 2
For the marinade, tip the chillies, most of the spring onions, onion and ginger into a food processor. Peel the garlic and add this along with the vinegar, nutmeg, allspice, thyme leaves, red pepper and 1 tsp salt. Blitz to a paste, adding a splash of water if it’s too thick. Pour the marinade over the turkey, turning to coat thoroughly – this is best done with your hands, but wear gloves as the chilli may irritate your skin. Cover and chill for at least 24 hrs.Step 3
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Arrange the turkey pieces in a large roasting tin, with the thigh pieces skin-side down, and roast for 30 mins. Flip the pieces over, reduce the heat to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4 and roast for another 30 mins, basting with the roasting juices once or twice until the turkey pieces are golden brown and the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thighs are pierced with a knife. If you have a meat thermometer, check the internal temperature is 75C. Cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 10 mins before scattering over the remaining spring onions to serve.