Asian Turkey

Holiday season is coming! Want to try different roasted whole turkey recipes. Check out this Asian style marinated or brined turkey recipe. Amazing aroma of Asian spices, different ways to roast this tender and juicy Asian spiced turkey like baked whole chicken and roast duck recipes.

Ready for your feast? Check out these dinner rolls, ham fried rice, chicken gnocchi soup, vegetable chow mein, orange chicken, caramel popcorn and California rolls recipes for your next meal, feast and gathering event too!

How to cook a whole turkey?

A large roasted turkey is a centerpiece for traditional Thanksgiving feast in the United States and Canada. Also, turkey is big and most people will brine the whole turkey, then roast it in the oven.

How to season a whole turkey?

Traditionally, people like to brine the whole turkey a day in salty water with herbs such as parsley, rosemary, bay leaves and sage.

What are the ingredients for Asian turkey marinated?

I like to use Asian spices to brine or marinade the whole turkey for a day or two before baking it.

This Asian style turkey recipe, I use star anise, clove, ginger, garlic, green onion, onion, cinnamon sticks, salt and soy sauce to make the brine water. The aroma of Asian spices not only smells great, but also makes the turkey delicious.

How to cook a turkey in the oven to be moist?

There are different ways to roast a whole turkey in an oven. Most people use high temperatures to seal the breast and back first. Then, drop the temperature and slowly roast it until it’s golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165F.

For the past few years, I have tried other methods to cook a whole turkey like a homemade rotisserie chicken and roast duck that bake a whole turkey up straight using an angel fruit cake stand. In this way, the turkey can be roasted evenly and the meat is very moist and juicy.

However, there is a limitation for using the angel fruit cake stand to roast a turkey, it cannot be too big. From my experience, the turkey is around 11-12 pounds that fit in the cake stand and sit up. Unless, you buy a sturdy and bigger rack for a bigger size of turkey. Personally, I prefer a smaller turkey because it takes less time to bake it and easier to handle.

Cooking tips for how to roast an Asian style turkey:

• Clean the guts and take out the neck and rinse the turkey well
• Boil a pot of water. Then, add kosher salt, soy sauce and Asian spices. Wait until it’s boiling and turn the fire small. Then, let it simmer for 15-30 minutes, so it helps to release the Asian spices aroma.
• Add ice to the hot brine water in order to speed up the process of cooling off the brine water.
• Wait until the brine water completely cools off and immerses the whole turkey. Start with the breast side first for a day and flip the other side.
• Use paper towels to dry off the turkey.
• Add vegetables and water on the side of the tray.
• Bake at 425 F for an hour, then drop the temperature at 350 F for the rest of the time.
• After roasting the whole turkey, cover it with foil for about 5-10 minutes before cutting it up.

FAQs:

Instructions for how to roast a whole Asian brine turkey in an oven:

Preparation:

1. Peel off one whole garlic and mash it a little bit.

2. Cut a piece of ginger (2 oz) into 8 slices.

3. Peel and cut a medium sized onion into half.

4. Wash and cut 4 sticks of green onion into strips.

5. Pour 12 cups of water into a big pot. Then, add 1 cup of kosher salt, 1 onion, 4 sticks of green onion, 8 slices of ginger, 2 sticks of cinnamon sticks, 10 pieces of star anise, 1 teaspoon of clove, 1 whole garlic and ½ cup of soy sauce. Next, turn on medium to high fire to boil them, until it's boiling. Then, turn to a small fire and simmer for 15-30 minutes.

6. After that, add 6 cups of ice into the brine water and let it cool off. Remember to let the liquid completely cool down. Then, immerse the whole turkey ( I used 11.62 pounds) starting with the breast side for a few hours and turn the other side. Brine the turkey for a day and overnight in the refrigerator. 

7. Take the brined turkey out of the pot, use a paper towel to dry it and put it through the angel fruit cake stand. Cut up 3 potatoes, 4 carrots, 3 sticks of celery and mix them with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, ⅛ teaspoon of salt and ⅛ teaspoon of black pepper. Then, lay the mixed vegetables around the tray.

Baking:

8. Preheat the oven for 425 F. Add one cup of water around the tray and vegetables. Bake the whole turkey at 425 F for an hour. Then, change the temperature to 350 F and bake around 1.5 hours until it reaches 165 F internal temperature.

***(The baking time depends on the size of the turkey. Most of the time for non-stuffing turkey is every 13 minutes per pound and stuffing turkey is 15 minutes per pound. In this Asian turkey recipe, the turkey is 11.62 pounds. (11.62 pounds x 13 minutes)/60 minutes = 2.52 hours. I round up to 2.5 hours total baking time. Usually I roast it until the last 30 minutes. Then, I keep checking if it reaches 165 F internal temperature. Remember don’t over bake the turkey because it will be very dry.)

9. Next, cover the whole turkey and rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting up.

Enjoy this Asian style marinade whole turkey recipe! Also, check out these Chinese BBQ pork char siu, mouth watering chicken, spicy lemon shrimp, kung pao chicken, papaya milk, BBQ ribs recipes.

You May Also Like These Recipes:

• EASY HOT CHOCOLATE BALLS
• HONG KONG BORSCHT SOUP
• CINNAMON HONEY BUTTER
• NO KNEAD ROSEMARY GARLIC BREAD

Subscribe Oh My Food Recipes to get our new recipes delivered straight to your inbox! Follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all the latest updates.