Poultry meat, including turkey, is one of the most delicious, healthy and dietary products. But in order to preserve it for the winter, in order to enjoy this food at any convenient time, you need to properly marinate the turkey. Working with it has its own characteristics, which it is time for all practicing chefs to learn about it.

Meat preparation

First of all, you should choose the meat itself. The frozen product will have to be defrosted carefully and without haste. This is taken into account when planning future cooking. Fresh turkey or individual parts of it are simply blotted with a napkin. If you are short on time, it is better to purchase fresh or chilled meat.

When you plan to marinate a whole carcass, it is undesirable to take a bird heavier than 10 kg. Surely such a turkey is either very old, or has been subjected to hormonal pumping. Since the skin of a turkey is denser than that of a chicken, it must be pierced or cut in several places. This technique significantly improves the saturation of meat with sauce or marinade.

There are noticeable differences in handling different parts of the turkey. Thus, thigh fillets are usually washed and dried. Shallow cuts are made on it, placing them along the bone. Then the meat is rubbed with pepper and salt. If you need to treat the whole leg with marinade, and not in pieces, remove the skin from it, as if turning it inside out.

It is pulled back to the beginning of the leg. There is no point in cutting and tearing off the skin. You just need to move it a little so that you can lubricate the meat below with spices, sunflower oil or butter.

If you want to make poultry shoulder chops, you don't have to purchase them separately. Sometimes they buy whole wings and only divide them into a couple of parts, separating the required portion.

Then the shoulders:

• wash under running tap water;
• dry with paper towels;
• cut slightly (not to the bones!);
• transfer to a container where the meat will be marinated.

But how exactly to marinate directly depends on the upcoming culinary processing. So, before baking in the oven, uncut carcasses are marinated in lemon or orange juice, fillets and drumsticks are marinated in kefir. Soy sauce is recommended for thigh parts. Regardless of the composition of the marinade and the concentration of the components in it, marinating should last at least 2 hours. It is impossible to achieve a positive result in less time.

The ingredients for marinating are selected taking into account the desired taste. So, to make the dish spicier:

• rosemary;
• chilli;
• olive oil.

If you want to make the meat more tender and softer, you need to use a combination of lemon juice with mayonnaise and ground black pepper. Those who want to save as much energy as possible can limit themselves to rubbing the turkey with pepper, salt and chopped garlic. But you need to understand that marinating in such a mixture takes quite a long time (usually it takes 3-5 hours). It is not always possible to use such an easy approach for the cook.

Sometimes the turkey is not baked, but fried. This means that richness and flavor are critical to a marinade. The ideal choice, according to professionals, is a combination of garlic, sunflower oil, citrus juice and zest extracted from the same fruit. It will allow:

• make the product juicier;
• avoid burning;
• enhance the aroma of the finished dish.

If you are determined to marinate a whole bird without cutting, classical methods work too slowly or do not work at all. You will have to make more cuts on the carcass with a knife and immerse it completely in the prepared liquid. This method allows you to marinate the turkey both inside and outside. But when working with fillets, you need to choose only marinades that can protect the meat from drying out. It is for this reason that it is recommended to use kefir-based mixtures that can soften meat fibers in a short time and maintain the moisture content of the product.

When preparing a turkey steak for frying, cut it into pieces at least 3 cm thick. This cutting is placed in a composition that includes vegetable oil, randomly selected herbs and wine vinegar. The steak meat will be ready to go in just half an hour. Wings are most often marinated in spicy mixtures with a thick consistency, the main components of which are Russian mustard and low-fat sour cream.

Such processing guarantees both juiciness and a ruddy appearance, and non-standard notes in taste.

But sometimes you need to marinate a portion of turkey for frying in a frying pan. The approach here is slightly different than when preparing for baking in the oven. The batter is made from egg whites or whole eggs according to your choice. It is recommended to cut the fillet into slices no thicker than 1 cm. First, before marinating, it is beaten.

Everyone, of course, wants the bird to be soft and juicy, so that its meat turns out to be tasty and enjoyable. But it is important to understand that achieving such a result will not be possible quickly. Turkey is best marinated using the slow brine recipe. In addition, it allows you to significantly save on spices, which are steadily becoming more expensive.

Frozen meat cannot be used for barbecue, even if it is defrosted according to all the rules. This inevitably causes a disruption in the structure of the product; it loses a significant amount of moisture. No amount of culinary processing, no marinades or sauces will restore the original quality of the product. For kebabs, only an acid-based marinade is suitable. Meat should be processed for 2 to 8 hours, sometimes more; otherwise, after frying, it will turn out to be excessively hard and rough.

But since almost all turkey marinades contain acid, you will have to stop using aluminum containers. It is best to use glass, ceramic or stainless steel utensils. Enameled containers are conditionally suitable. The slightest chips and scratches allow acid access to ferrous metal. Therefore, it will inevitably end up in the finished dish, giving it an irremovable unpleasant aftertaste.

Additionally, the following points are taken into account:

• marinating under pressure occurs somewhat faster;
• Salt the meat being prepared for barbecue only before attaching it to skewers or piercing it on skewers (so as not to dry out the turkey);
• The composition of the marinade only affects the processing time; regardless of it, the basic principles must be strictly observed.

Marinade recipes

Mustard

Mustard-based marinade is one of the most commonly used options. You can use the mustard you like. The specific type and even brand name do not matter. Additionally they take:

• a little garlic;
• salt and ground pepper at your discretion;
• 30 ml sunflower oil.

First, transfer as much mustard as needed into a deep bowl. There it is mixed with vegetable oil. Only then add salt and peppercorns. Garlic is added last. To make it tastier, special presses are used. By vigorously stirring the sauce, you can use it to prepare the meat for cooking in 1 hour.

A less spicy option is a marinade made from a mixture of mustard and lemon. Important: this composition can be used not only for turkey, but also for fish, seafood, and fresh vegetable salads. Most often, grain mustard is used for work. However, if it is not there or you like something else, you can not doubt your decision. Soy sauce is poured into the same container where the mustard was placed (prepared according to the classic recipe or with flavoring additives - it doesn’t matter).

Next comes the turn of olive oil. If it is not available, any other purified oil can be used. Now wash the lemon and cut it into two parts. Squeeze the juice out of the halves, making sure that no bones fall into the marinade. Add a small amount of salt and mix; ideally, do without salt at all - there will be enough of it thanks to the sauce.

Kefir

If you need to marinate a turkey not for baking in the oven, but for barbecuing outdoors, a kefir-based marinade with a fat content of over 3% is best. A leaner dairy product simply will not “take up” the fiber from turkey. We must take into account in advance that processing in kefir marinade will take a lot of time. Most often, it starts in the evening, so that in the morning you can leave the city calmly.

Attention: you cannot marinate turkey in kefir in an aluminum container; it is not advisable to add salt; you should also avoid using salty spices - all this can lead to drying out of the meat. To make marinade with kefir, take:

• 700 ml fermented milk drink;
• a few grams of curry;
• lemon;
• a little ground paprika;
• 0.3 kg of onions;
• a small amount of dried dill.

Start cooking with lemon. Squeeze the juice into a bowl or small bowl. Important: you will need an additional container where you place the grated zest of the fruit. Then they peel the onion and cut it into small half rings. Curry, dill and paprika are added to the bowl with zest. All this needs to be mixed.

There is also an alternative recipe for kefir marinade. It is prepared with onions and adjika. Mix 0.05 kg of adjika and 0.1 kg of kefir in a bowl and stir them thoroughly. Stirring is repeated after adding the same portion of kefir. Peel the onion, cut it into smaller pieces, add it to the bowl, and mix everything again.

Protein

Sometimes poultry is marinated with protein compounds. Beat 1 egg white a little, add 0.03 kg of starch and the same amount of apple cider vinegar. You need to add another teaspoon of salt there. The preparation of the marinade is completed with a new beating - it lasts about a minute.

Other options

It will be useful to consider the preparation and use of some marinade options for poultry step by step. Before frying in a frying pan, a marinade with the addition of lemon juice is often used. In addition to 40 ml of liquid, it contains:

• 80 ml olive oil;
• a little cumin;
• lemon zest;
• 3 cloves of garlic.

The liquid squeezed from citrus fruits is mixed with oil and fruit zest. Then add crushed garlic and add cumin to it. Treat the turkey fillet with this mixture for 120 minutes in the refrigerator.

The orange composition is also quite widely used. To prepare it use:

• 6.5 liters of boiled water;
• 0.12 kg of salt and the same amount of sugar;
• a little pepper mixture;
• a couple of oranges;
• ginger root;
• garlic (1 piece).

Start by mixing sugar, salt and pepper. Then chop the garlic head and a piece of ginger into smaller pieces. They are filled with 2 liters of water. Add honey and stir everything thoroughly. Now you need to cut the oranges into pieces, squeeze the juice into a common container; It is recommended to put the peel there too.

After:

• add the remaining water;
• place the carcass in a container;
• keep it for about 24 hours.

Using kefir, it is possible to prepare a marinating composition that reliably protects dishes from drying out. In addition to kefir, they use garlic, dried dill, black pepper, and laurel. Garlic and bay are chopped. After adding pepper and dill, pour in the drink. The turkey should be kept thoroughly mixed for 60 minutes.

The preparation of marinade for turkey steaks has its own characteristics. To work you will need:

• 80 ml sunflower oil;
• a little granulated sugar;
• vinegar (only wine will do);
• mustard seeds;
• a set of aromatic seasonings (most often from Provence, although other selections can be used).

First, crush the mustard seeds. When crushed, they must be mixed with seasonings. Add vinegar, then oil. After adding sugar, whisk the marinade until it crystallizes.

Treat the steaks with this mixture for ½ hour (necessarily in the cold).

To marinate turkey medallions you will need the following composition:

• 40 ml vegetable oil;
• 50 ml soy sauce;
• set of peppers;
• a couple of cloves of garlic;
• red bulb.

Quite often, turkey meat is marinated with ginger compounds. Thanks to its pungency and fragrant aroma, it can replace many other spices. In addition to ginger, you can take vinegar, oil and paprika. The aromatic root is grated on a small-mesh grater. After adding pepper and paprika, mix everything thoroughly.

There is another option for preparing marinade based on soy sauce. The peculiarity of this product is that it does not require a large number of additives. The marinating mixture should slightly cover the entire meat when used. Excessive use of the composition often leads to unjustified saltiness of the product. Therefore, it should be placed carefully.

Returning to the use of orange marinade, it is worth noting that it can also be useful for processing steaks. To soak 4 breast steaks, use:

• 60 ml olive oil;
• a couple of large oranges;
• a couple of cloves of garlic (peeled and crushed);
• a small amount of basil leaves.

One fruit is used to obtain juice. The other is cut into evenly-sized circles. Important: individual basil leaves should be left for later decoration. The bulk of the greens are torn into pieces and mixed with the pickling composition.

The total processing time is at least 20 minutes. Then they take out pieces of fruit and apply them to the already prepared dish.

Many chefs speak positively about pomegranate marinade. It is no less popular than the orange composition. Since pomegranate adds a lot of acid, to process 3 turkey thighs you need to take no more than a third of the fruit. In addition to this, they take a couple of Antonov apples, a couple of cloves of garlic and paprika. The remaining components are:

• celery leaves and stalk;
• lemon juice;
• dry basil;
• balsamic vinegar;
• salt;
• olive oil.

After cleaning, the garlic is crushed with a press. The pomegranate is cleared of seeds. Sour apples without peel are grated on a fine-mesh grater. Marinating turkey thighs begins after rubbing with salt and pepper. Be sure to add apple, basil, garlic and pomegranate. Processing time - no more than 1.5 hours.

In some cases, turkey is marinated with sour cream-based compounds. A classic recipe of this kind includes:

• 0.8 kg drumsticks;
• 50 ml sour cream;
• 0.3 kg potatoes;
• a little mustard and soy sauce;
• pepper and other spices of your choice.

First mix mustard with sour cream and soy sauce. As in other cases, there is no need to add salt separately. This composition, after coating the meat, should last for 6–8 hours. Important: if you have the opportunity to leave it to marinate for a day, you should definitely take advantage of it. The dish marinated in this way can already be sent to the oven.

But you can prepare the turkey for frying or baking faster. To do this, the bird is cut into thin strips. Salt and spices are added to sour cream according to your taste. The turkey should be treated with marinade for at least 20 minutes in a warm place. Stretching cling film over the container will help prevent the product from weathering.

​​​​You can vary this recipe by adding:

• chopped garlic;
• olive oil;
• rosemary;
• honey (but regardless of the component added, the entire composition is thoroughly mixed).

For the recipe for marinade for turkey in the oven, see the following video.

Alexander Gushchin

I can’t vouch for the taste, but it will be hot :)

Content

According to nutritionists around the world, turkey meat is one of the healthiest foods and necessary for the proper development of the body. Turkey meat is low in cholesterol, which gives the product dietary properties. You can cook the meat in the oven or fry it in a pan. The secret to the turkey fillet dish is the marinade.

How to make a delicious marinade for turkey meat

Before you start preparing the marinade, you need to choose the right meat. It's rare to see fresh turkey in the store. It is sold frozen, so make sure to defrost it in advance. If you manage to buy fresh meat, be sure to wet it with a paper towel both outside and inside. To cook a delicious turkey, you can use not only the oven, but also a kitchen appliance such as a slow cooker.

For turkey baked in the oven

In the oven, roasting a turkey can occur either whole or in parts, using drumsticks, thighs, wings, and neck. There are a large number of sauce recipes, which you can familiarize yourself with both in the photo and in the video. Before putting the meat in the oven, you need to give it a little time to marinate. This gives the turkey softness and tenderness. The most popular recipes include the following:

1. To get a slightly spicy taste, you need to combine rosemary, chili pepper, and olive oil.

An alternative marinade for oven-baked turkey adds a delicate flavor to the dish. Combine mayonnaise, salt, lemon juice, pepper.

Shin and thigh

The essence of the marinating process is to imbue the product with new properties. The soaked poultry leg will become soft, and the duration of heat treatment will be noticeably reduced. This method of preparing the sauce involves the use of various spices and seasonings, due to which the dish is imbued with an unsurpassed aroma. For preparation you will need the following ingredients:

• ginger root – 20 g;
• garlic – 4-5 cloves;
• curry – 10 g;
• turmeric, ground white pepper, nutmeg – 5 g each;
• salt – 10 g;
• vegetable oil (for example, sunflower) – 100 ml;
• sour cream – 50 ml;
• water – 100 ml;
• juice of ½ lemon.

Take a piece of ginger, peel it and grate it. Place the garlic in a crusher. Place these ingredients in a separate container. Next, add turmeric and curry, thanks to which the marinade acquires a pleasant yellow tint. Add all remaining ingredients, mix well. Marinating the meat will take 2 hours.

Wings

If you decide to please your family with a fragrant and crispy turkey wing, then try an equally tasty marinade. It is better to cook wings in the oven using a sleeve. Then your dish will turn out soft, juicy and surprisingly aromatic. To prepare a marinade for turkey with soy sauce, you need to combine the following ingredients in a separate container and mix thoroughly:

• soy sauce – 40 ml;
• honey – 30 g;
• curry – 10 g;
• orange;
• salt, ground black pepper - to taste.

Entirely

A whole turkey is often marinated for serving on the Christmas table. The bird needs to be stuffed with apples and vegetables, then it will retain its taste and become juicy and soft. This New Year's dish will pleasantly surprise both you and your guests, becoming a wonderful table decoration. The container in which the marinade will be prepared must be made of glass. You will need the following products:

• salt, paprika – 10 g each;
• wine vinegar – 50 ml;
• black pepper – 10 g;
• soy sauce – 50 ml;
• garlic – 2-3 cloves.

For fillet

This dish will become a real decoration for your holiday or everyday table. Turkey meat is low-calorie and dietary. The microelements present in its composition are perfectly absorbed by the body. But only a properly prepared marinade for turkey fillet can give a dish an excellent aroma and taste. To do this, prepare the following ingredients:

• dry wine – 100 ml;
• vegetable oil – 100 ml;
• honey – 60 g;
• salt, spices.

Combine sunflower oil with dry wine. Add honey to them. Mix everything thoroughly until the last component dissolves. Place salt and spices. To obtain this marinade, you can use red or white dry wine. If you don’t have it on hand, you can replace it with fruit juice. But olive oil is an excellent alternative to sunflower oil.

How to marinate meat for barbecue

To prepare shish kebab, you can use the chicken marinade recipe. If breasts are used to make soup and chops, then thighs are best used for frying on skewers. This choice can be explained by the fact that after cooking they will be juicy and soft. For grilling, it is better to use fillets. To prepare the barbecue sauce, you need to mix the following ingredients.

Turkey meat is often recommended for dietary nutrition. It contains many amino acids, vitamins, it is tasty and nutritious. At the same time, its calorie content is relatively low. Turkey meat can be prepared in different ways: frying, boiling, stewing, baking. All these methods have advantages and disadvantages, but baking is recognized as one of the best methods for preparing food. When roasting a turkey, you can ensure that it cooks well and remains juicy, even if you cook it whole. In addition, if desired, you can get a golden brown crust, which is much more appetizing than when frying. However, to do this you need to know how to cook turkey in the oven correctly.

Cooking tips to keep the turkey juicy and soft

It is advisable to study tips for cooking turkey in advance so that you can go shopping prepared. However, they will not hurt those who already have turkey in stock.

• For baking in the oven, especially if you plan to cook the bird whole, only a young turkey weighing up to 4 kg is suitable. It can be recognized not only by its weight, but also by its light, relatively thin skin. If you purchase turkey meat that has already been cut into pieces, pay attention to the cuts: they should be slightly moist and shiny. If the meat is sticky or crusty, then you should not choose it.
• You should purchase a whole turkey for roasting a couple of days before the planned feast. If you buy it earlier, you will have to freeze and defrost, which will not have the best effect on the organoleptic qualities of the finished dish. If you buy it just before cooking, you may not have time to marinate the meat.
• It is better to bake chilled meat in the oven, especially when it comes to dietary turkey meat. Frozen and thawed meat becomes less juicy. To prevent a dish prepared from frozen meat from becoming too dry, it is defrosted without a sharp temperature change, that is, in the refrigerator.
• To prevent the turkey meat from drying out during baking, you can use a sleeve or foil. If foil is used, it is better to wrap the legs and wings of the bird in separate pieces, and then pack the whole carcass in foil. Then it will be possible to remove the layers of foil gradually. This will allow you to get a golden brown crust, but the wings and legs will not burn or dry out. It is recommended to make several punctures in the sleeve before baking. They are needed for steam to escape. Otherwise, the steam may tear the bag.
• To make the turkey juicier, you can remove its skin and place pieces of butter under it. To create an appetizing crust, butter the bird on top.
• Cooking time for turkey in the oven depends on the oven temperature, the size of the bird or pieces, and the recipe. Typically it takes 3 hours to bake a 4kg turkey.

You can bake the turkey with or without minced meat. Whole birds are usually stuffed with fruits, mushrooms, vegetables, and cereals. Prunes are often used as minced meat for turkey rolls. You can bake the turkey right away with potatoes and other vegetables. In this case, you will get a complete dish. Other recipes make cold turkey appetizers.

Whole roasted turkey

• turkey – 4 kg;
• onions – 0.2 kg;
• thyme – 10 sprigs;
• salt – 150 g;
• sugar – 120 g;
• garlic – 7–8 cloves;
• black peppercorns – 20 pcs.;
• water – 4–5 l;
• butter – 0.4 kg.

Cooking method:

• Wash the gutted turkey carcass and remove the neck.
• Pour 4 liters of water into a large container, add salt, sugar, and pepper. Heat to a boil until the bulk ingredients dissolve.
• Peel the onions and cut them into half rings.
• Cut the garlic cloves into thin slices.
• Place onion and garlic in brine. Add thyme there.
• Remove the brine from the stove.
• Once the brine has cooled to room temperature, lower the turkey into it. If the brine does not cover it completely, add boiled water, but no more than a liter. Place in the refrigerator. It should be marinated for at least 6 hours, but it is better if it is in the marinade for 24 hours.
• Remove the carcass from the brine and dry.
• Pull back the skin and place pieces of softened butter underneath, using about 100g. Gently massage the turkey through the skin to distribute the butter evenly.
• Brush the top of the turkey with a small amount of softened butter. You should also grease a large sheet of foil that you place on the oven rack. Make several small holes in the foil so that the juice can flow down, place a baking sheet under the wire rack.
• Make a couple of cuts in the breast area and hide the turkey wings in them. Tie the legs.
• Place the bird, back side up, on a foil-lined rack.
• Turn on the oven and bake the turkey at 180–200 degrees for an hour and a half.
• Brush the back of the turkey with oil, turn it over, and brush the belly. Continue baking for another hour.
• Brush with remaining oil and bake for another half hour. Use a knife to check if the bird is done and remove it from the oven.

A whole roasted turkey can be served whole or cut into pieces for the holiday table. It wouldn’t hurt to prepare a side dish of baked vegetables.

Turkey stuffed with vegetables, baked in the oven

• turkey – 3 kg;
• olive oil – 80 ml;
• butter – 100 g;
• onions – 100 g;
• carrots – 100 g;
• hot capsicum (optional) – 1 pc.;
• greens (rosemary or parsley) – 20 g;
• lemon – 1 pc.;

Cooking method:

• Remove the butter from the refrigerator and place in a warm place until it softens.
• Rinse the gutted poultry carcass in running water and dry.
• Pull the skin, push pieces of butter under it, distribute it under the skin with your fingers using massage movements.
• Peel the onion and cut it into half rings.
• Cut the peeled carrots into thin slices or grate.
• Stuff the turkey with vegetables and add herbs. Sew it up so the filling doesn't fall out.
• Rub the salt and pepper mixture all over the turkey. Tie your legs, press your wings.
• Place on a foil-lined baking sheet.
• Squeeze the juice from the lemon and mix with olive oil. Pour this sauce over the turkey.
• Place the turkey in the oven, preheated to 200 degrees, and bake at this temperature for half an hour.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees and continue baking for one and a half hours. Check for doneness. If the juice flowing out of the carcass when it is pierced with a knife has a reddish tint, continue baking for another half hour. If the bird has already baked, it is not worth keeping it in the oven for extra time.

Before serving, be sure to remove the stuffing from the turkey and place it next to it.

Turkey fillet baked in foil

• turkey fillet – 1 kg;
• soy sauce – 120 ml;
• vegetable oil – 20–30 ml;
• herbs, spices - to taste.

Cooking method:

• Wash the fillet. Blot with paper napkins. Make a deep, long cut in each piece and place a mixture of spices and herbs there.
• Marinate turkey fillet in soy sauce for 2 hours.
• Prepare several pieces of foil (according to the number of fillet pieces). Grease them with oil.
• Wrap the fillet in foil. Place on a baking sheet.
• Bake at 200 degrees for 50 minutes. 5 minutes before cooking, unwrap the foil so that the meat is lightly browned.

The fillet can be served hot with a side dish of vegetables and potatoes, or cold, cut crosswise into slices. Stewed vegetables can be prepared as a side dish.

Turkey medallions baked in a sleeve

• turkey medallions – 0.5 kg;
• honey – 35 g;
• pepper mixture – 5 g;
• salt - to taste;
• garlic – 1 clove;
• dried rosemary – 10 g;
• balsamic vinegar – 50 ml;
• cheese – 100 g.

Cooking method:

• Finely grate the cheese to immediately prepare the sauce.
• Pass the garlic clove through a press and add to the cheese.
• Pour a mixture of peppers, rosemary, and add a little salt into a bowl with cheese.
• Melt honey until liquid, mix with vinegar.
• Pour the mixture into the cheese, mix well.
• Wash and dry the medallions with a napkin.
• Place half of the cheese-honey mixture in a baking bag. Place medallions on it, cover them with the remaining mixture.
• Fasten the sleeve on both sides, make narrow punctures in the film with a toothpick.
• Place on a baking sheet and place in an oven preheated to 220 degrees for 40 minutes.

Serve the turkey medallions hot as soon as they are cooked. A potato side dish goes best with them.

Turkey medallions baked in foil

• medallions – 0.5 kg;
• dried basil – 10 g;
• cheese – 100 g;
• tomatoes – 100 g;
• vegetable oil – 10 ml;
• sour cream – 20 ml;
• salt, pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

• Mix sour cream with salt, pepper and basil.
• Wash the tomatoes, cut into slices.
• Finely grate the cheese.
• Wash the turkey medallions and pat dry with a kitchen towel.
• Place each medallion on a piece of foil greased with vegetable oil.
• Brush medallions with sour cream sauce.
• Place a tomato slice on each medallion.
• Sprinkle with cheese.
• Lift the ends of the foil and pin them at the top so that the foil does not crush the cheese.
• Place on a baking sheet and place in an oven preheated to 200 degrees. After half an hour, unwrap the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

If you prepare turkey medallions according to this recipe, you can serve them as a hot appetizer for the holiday table. They look appetizing, the meat is juicy and tender.

"Buzhenina" from turkey

• turkey fillet (breast) – 0.8 kg;
• mustard (sauce) – 40 ml;
• Provençal herbs – 20 g;
• garlic – 3–4 cloves;
• salt, ground black pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

• Wash a large piece of turkey fillet and dry with a towel.
• Peel the garlic, cut the cloves into 3 parts.
• Having made thin deep cuts on different sides of the piece with a knife, stuff the meat with garlic.
• Rub the piece with a mixture of Provençal herbs, pepper and salt. Spread with mustard.
• Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours to marinate the turkey.
• Wrap the turkey fillet in foil to make an envelope. Place in an oven preheated to 220 degrees for 35–40.
• Leave the turkey in the foil until it cools.

After the meat has cooled to room temperature, it should be transferred to the refrigerator. Before serving, cut it into thin slices and place on a platter. It would be a good idea to prepare turkey boiled pork for the holiday table.

Turkey with prunes

• turkey fillet – 0.8 kg;
• prunes – 0.2 kg;
• vegetable oil – 50 ml;
• salt, pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

• Soak dried pitted prunes in warm water for 15 minutes. Remove, squeeze, cut into strips.
• Wash the turkey fillet, dry it and cut it into escalopes. Beat with a culinary hammer.
• Mix salt and pepper and rub on both sides of the turkey breasts.
• Place a spoonful of chopped prunes on each piece, roll it up and tie it with thread.
• Grease a baking dish or baking sheet with high sides generously, place the rolls on it, and sprinkle with the remaining oil.
• Bake turkey rolls with prunes at 200 degrees for 35–40 minutes.

Before serving, the threads must be removed and the rolls cut into rings. They look very appetizing. If you want the meat even juicier, these rolls can be made with bacon by wrapping thin slices of pork around each roll before wrapping it with string. However, the calorie content of the finished dish will increase greatly due to this.

You can cook the turkey in the oven whole or in pieces, with or without stuffing. Roast turkey can be served as a cold appetizer or as a main course, depending on the recipe. If everything is done correctly, the meat will be tender and juicy.

Product Matrix: 🥄

Good day, dear friends and readers of my blog! Well, the long-awaited spring has arrived. Summer is just around the corner, and therefore dietary food is especially relevant now. This is what turkey meat is like. You can prepare a large number of different, delicious dishes from it. So, the topic of our article today: delicious turkey marinade and recipes.

According to nutritionists, such meat is very healthy and easily digestible by the body. For those who want to lose weight, low-calorie turkey is the best option. Turkey meat contains only 114 kcal, 23.7 grams of protein, and 1.5 grams of fat. In addition to being a valuable source of protein, it contains the following nutrients:

• B vitamins including niacin and pyridoxine. Niacin aids digestion and converts food into energy. And vitamin B6 is important for the development of the child’s brain during pregnancy, maintaining immunity and metabolism.
• Selenium, which plays an important role in the metabolism of thyroid hormones and acts as an antioxidant. If you eat 100 grams of meat, you will get 40% of your daily requirement.
• Phosphorus – This mineral is used in building healthy bones and teeth. Turkey contains about 25% of the recommended amount per day.

Turkey thigh baked in orange marinade

Believe me, it is very tasty and aromatic. I had never worked with orange before, but now I started adding it to poultry meat.

Take the following ingredients:

• 1 kg turkey thighs;
• orange juice and zest (can be replaced with lemon);
• 120 ml sour cream or yogurt;
• 1 teaspoon mustard;
• small head of garlic
• 50 g butter (chilled);
• 50 ml olive oil;
• a little thyme and rosemary;
• salt and spices to taste (for example, black pepper and a little chili).

Wash turkey thighs and dry. We make a shallow cut along the thigh bone. Rub with salt and pepper. Grind the spices (you can do this in a mortar). And mix thoroughly with orange juice, olive oil and mustard. Rub the resulting marinade over the turkey meat. Place hermetically in a bag and refrigerate. We forget about it for at least an hour, ideally 4-5 hours.

Then, we get rid of the package. We make punctures in the thigh with a knife and coat them with sour cream or yogurt. We make cuts so that the turkey is well saturated with the marinade. If this is not done, the fibrous structure of the bird will not be saturated from the inside.

Push small pieces of cold butter into the slits. This will give the meat even more juiciness. Place the meat in the baking sleeve. I used to make such dishes in foil, but now I prefer the sleeve :) We also put rosemary, zest, thyme and garlic there. I wanted to add some vegetables, so I added eggplant and yellow bell pepper.

Close the sleeve and place in a preheated oven at 200°C. After 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 160°C. Bake for another 35-50 minutes, depending on the size of the thigh. Ten minutes before readiness, open the sleeve to form a golden brown crust.

The side dish can be whatever you like: mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes, rice, baked vegetables. I just had boiled potatoes. Be prepared to be patient while waiting for the dish to finish cooking - throughout the baking process. A simply divine aroma wafts through the house :)

Marinate turkey fillet for barbecue

If it’s frosty outside, but you really want to cook kebabs, make them at home. By the way, we will not add salt to this marinade. Let's add soy sauce instead. For a kilo of fillet you will need the following components:

• large head of onion;
• 5 cloves of garlic;
• 2 tbsp vinegar 9%;
• 100 ml water;
• 1 tbsp. smoked smoke;
• 3 tbsp. soy sauce.

First of all, cut the meat into equal pieces and place in a pan. Grate the onion on a coarse grater. This way the juice will be released much more than if it were chopped. Add onion and chopped garlic to the meat.

Dilute the vinegar with water and pour it over the turkey. Leave for 30 minutes. Once marinated, add a spoonful of liquid smoke and soy sauce. Leave for another half hour.

Thread 3-4 pieces of meat onto each skewer. Heat the oil and place the skewers in the pan. Once browned, turn it over to the other side.

If you barbecue outdoors, make pickled onion salad. Take 1.5 large onions, chop them into half rings. Place in a deep bowl, add salt and remember well with your hands. Then chop the green onions and add to the onions. Mix well with a spoon. From the spices, add another 1 tablespoon of sugar and 9% vinegar. While the kebab is cooking, the salad will marinate. And before serving, add a little olive oil.

Fillet on kefir with mint for the oven

I found this recipe on a culinary forum. The girls praised me very much and it turned out that it was not in vain. I slightly changed the composition to suit my taste, it turned out incredibly tasty!

Required ingredients:

• 300-400 g turkey fillet;
• 250 ml kefir (2.5% fat);
• lemon;
• a small handful of fresh chopped mint;
• salt.

Divide the turkey fillet into four parts, beat it a little and add salt. Squeeze the juice from the lemon and remove the zest. Mix juice, zest, mint and kefir. Generously coat the fillets with this marinade and leave in the refrigerator for several hours.

Place in a baking dish, pour in the remaining marinade. Place in an oven preheated to 180°C for 40 minutes. The fillet turns out very tender, and the mint adds a piquant flavor. Bon appetit!

Grilled turkey fillet

This marinating option will be useful if you have a grill pan. For one fillet weighing 400 grams you will need the following ingredients:

• half a lemon
• 3 tbsp. olive oil (or sunflower);
• 2-3 cloves of garlic;
• ¼ tsp. cumin;
• ¼ tsp. dry oregano;
• salt (or 2 tbsp soy sauce);
• pepper to taste.

The meat will marinate for only 2 hours. First, remove the tendons and cut the fillets into portions for grilling. Then lightly beat each portion. In a deep bowl, mix the marinade from the juice of half a lemon, chopped garlic, oregano, cumin and salt and pepper. Place the fillet pieces in the marinade and leave in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Set the heat to medium and heat the grill pan. No additional oil is needed, because it is in the marinade. Place the steaks. Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes. Although look at the appearance of the meat to determine the degree of roasting.

New Year drumstick with soy sauce

Very soft and juicy legs. They will become a decoration for any holiday table!

For 2 turkey drumsticks you will need:

• 130 ml soy sauce;
• 1 liter of white wine (you can use the simplest one);
• 1 small head of garlic;
• red pepper or adjika - to taste;
• salt and allspice - to taste.

Wash the turkey drumsticks and pat dry. Make punctures over the entire surface. Coat with garlic passed through a garlic press (try to get it into the holes).

Heat the wine (do not bring to a boil). Add half of the prepared amount: peppercorns, adjika, salt, 130 ml soy sauce. Cool.

Soak the turkey in the resulting mixture for 6-10 hours and leave in the refrigerator. The longer the better. To reduce wine consumption, you can put the drumsticks in a bag, pour marinade over them and tie them up. Turn over periodically.

After the time has passed, remove from the marinade and rub with the remaining salt, adjika, and pepper. Bake in an oven preheated to 200˚C for about an hour. We check readiness like this: if, when pierced (with a knife or fork), clear juice comes out - it’s ready. Turn over once during baking to ensure golden brown on both sides.

Breast for baking in a sleeve

The recipe, although it seems complicated, is simple to prepare. Any housewife can do it! For a breast weighing 1 kilogram, the following ingredients are needed:

• 2-3 tbsp. l. olive oil;
• 1 PC. onions (chopped);
• 2 tbsp. l. balsamic vinegar;
• 2 l. Art. cream 30% fat;
• 1 tsp. salt;
• pepper, dry garlic, chili - to taste;
• 1 tbsp. l. dry spices (for example, “Italian herbs”);
• bouillon cube;
• 300 ml water;
• 1 tbsp. l. potato starch.

Wash the turkey and dry it with a paper towel or napkin. In a container, mix: olive oil, herbs, salt, pepper, chili, garlic and chopped onion. Coat the breast well with the resulting mixture.

Place it in the sleeve and fill it with a bouillon cube dissolved in water. Tie the sleeve and make a couple of small punctures. Place in an oven preheated to 180˚C for 50 minutes.

After removing the turkey from the sleeve, strain the broth. Add balsamic vinegar, cream and starch to it. Learn a very tasty addition. Serve the breast with prepared vegetable cream sauce. Delicious!

How to cook Christmas turkey

How to cook turkey. Turkey baked in the oven. Turkey fillet and breast. Turkey in the sleeve. Marinated (soaked) turkey is the juiciest!

Turkey is the main dish on the Christmas table. How to properly prepare, bake and serve a holiday turkey roast? Try the 3 best recipes for cooking juicy turkey meat (our recipes are tested on numerous guests!)

The tradition of cooking poultry for Christmas (along with pork and roast beef) dates back many thousands of years and originates from pagan sacrifice rituals. In some families, in accordance with ancient aristocratic traditions, they cook pheasant, swan or partridge for Christmas, but the most popular Christmas birds today are turkey(which will be discussed in this article), duck and goose. If whole turkey too big for your family, you can buy and bake turkey breast(with bone or fillet). Around Christmas and New Year, a large selection of such pieces of turkey appear in stores, weighing from 1 to 5 kg. If you do not have the opportunity to prepare any of the above, then you can festively bake and serve the most ordinary chicken.

Turkey baked with bacon

Prepare the turkey for baking the evening before the holiday - this will help you save time on the day of the feast. Place turkey on a plastic cutting board. Make deep cuts across the entire surface with a knife and place flat halves of garlic heads there, as well as frozen chicken fat cut into pieces (this fat is usually found inside each chicken; I collected it in advance and stored it in the freezer). Brush the turkey with goose fat or olive oil and your favorite spices (I used a steak mixture Montreal Steak companies McCormick, whole grain mustard and my mother’s homemade adjika). Cover the coated bird with sage and rosemary leaves on the outside and inside (they give the roast an extraordinary aroma). Inside the turkey (or under the breast, if it is only breast) you can put lemon, apple or orange cut into quarters. Place the turkey in a heatproof dish (preferably breast side down to get the juiciness from the bird's juices collecting underneath), and top it with chunks of raw chicken fat, then coat it nicely with fatty bacon. Wrap the turkey platter in foil and refrigerate overnight. On the morning of the feast, remove the turkey from the refrigerator in advance to let it sit at room temperature for several hours before the oven.

Turkey, soaked (marinated) is the juiciest and without extra calories!

Way cooking turkey with marinating became widely known relatively recently. It is said to have been inspired by the process used to produce kosher products (by soaking the bird in water to remove all the blood). It was noticed that kosher turkeys, which are widely available in many countries today, are more tender and juicy than regular ones.

Soak the whole turkey in the following mixture for 2-3 days (depending on the size and weight of the bird) and keep it in the refrigerator or cold room during the entire marinating process. You can use sleeve bags to marinate turkey breast (see below). If you don't have one or two ingredients, it's not a big deal; the turkey will still turn out juicy if it sits in the brine solution.

For the marinade (for a turkey weighing 4-5 kg):

3 tbsp. l. black peppercorns

1 cinnamon stick, broken into several pieces

1 tbsp. l. cumin seeds

several sticks of cloves

120 g sugar

2 onions, cut lengthwise into several pieces

4 large cloves of garlic, pressed

6 cm ginger root, grated (or powder)

1 orange with peel, cut into slices (squeeze the juice into the solution, throw in the slices)

chopped parsley or celery

The night before the holiday, bring the marinating turkey into the room to bring it to room temperature. Before cooking, remove the turkey from the marinade, rinse in cold water, pat dry inside and out with paper towels, and place in a heatproof dish, breast side up. To bake a soaked (marinated) turkey, I do not use any spices, fat, or bag sleeve. I place just a handful of fresh sage and rosemary under the turkey on a heatproof dish, and brush the top of the bird with vegetable oil to help brown the skin.

Turkey: process and baking time in the oven

Begin roasting the turkey at high temperature (about 240°C) for about 30 minutes until the top and sides of the bird are browned. After this, tightly cover the turkey with foil on top and sides, reduce the temperature to 180°C (ovens with a fan) - 200°C (ovens without a fan) and continue baking the bird, occasionally basting it with juices and fat that accumulate at the bottom of the dish (This is not necessary for a soaked turkey). During the last 20-30 minutes of baking, remove the foil again and be sure to make sure the turkey does not burn. If this happens, you can reduce the oven temperature to 180°C.

Oven roasting time for turkey varies depending on the weight of the turkey, roasting temperature, your oven, whether the turkey is stuffed, and other factors. Therefore, be sure to monitor the cooking process and use a roast thermometer as a guide (see below). The approximate cooking time for turkey in the oven is 30-40 minutes per kilogram of weight.

If you are baking stuffing or sides on the same platter as the turkey, add them only 30-50 minutes before the bird is expected to be done.

To make sure that turkey is ready, it is recommended to pierce it in the widest place. The juice that flows out should be clean and transparent, free of blood. However, when the turkey is completely ready, it is already a little too late to remove it from the oven, since the process of increasing the temperature inside the bird by inertia will continue for about half an hour. This is one of the reasons why many people dry out their turkey. To avoid this, it is better to get a special oven thermometer.

How to use an oven thermometer

Special roast thermometers equipped with a long needle that measures the temperature inside the turkey. The thermometer should be inserted into the widest part of the turkey (usually the middle of the thigh) before placing the bird in the oven, and leave it there for the entire roasting time (the most convenient thermometers have a thin cord and a sensor; the sensor is located outside and you do not need to open the oven every time, to check the temperature inside the turkey).

Remove the turkey from the oven when the internal temperature at the widest part of the bird reaches 70°C and leave, covered with foil and a towel, in a warm place to “rest” for 20 to 25 minutes or until the temperature reaches 74°C. The thermometer can now be removed and the turkey can be cut, served and eaten.

Turkey baked in a bag/sleeve

Prepare the turkey for roasting as for the "traditional method" with bacon (see above), but you can reduce the amount of fat. Carefully, so as not to shake off the spices, transfer the turkey into a special plastic sleeve bag (see photo) so that the side seams of the bag are at the top and bottom, and not at the sides. Twist the opening of the bag and secure it with a special fastener (sold with bags). For whole turkeys there are special large bags, and for the breast you can use smaller “sleeves” (for chicken). Fill the bag with air to prevent it from sticking to the turkey. Carefully cut the top corner of the bag at an angle to create a 2-3 cm hole. Extra steam will escape through it so that the turkey bakes and browns rather than stews.

Bake the turkey in a sleeve-bag at a temperature of 200°C. Calculation of baking time: about 30 minutes per kilogram of weight (or as recommended by the package manufacturer). There is no need to cut the bag at the end; the turkey should be browned on all sides.

I've baked turkey in a bag several times and I have to say, the roast always turned out very well. In the bag, the bird is baked faster and at a lower temperature (saving time and energy), perfectly browned on all sides, while the oven remains absolutely clean. All the juices from the roast turkey are collected at the bottom of the bag, where it can be easily poured and then used in other dishes (for example, to make traditional gravy for a roast).

However, since I tried pre-soaking (marinating) turkey a couple of years ago, I have given up on sleeve bags as unnecessary. Marinating makes the turkey juicy and delicious without the extra fat (and calories!) even when roasting it in the oven.

How to serve turkey

Baked bird is the main dish of the Christmas table. Therefore, it is served solemnly, brought out last on a large, beautiful platter, when all other dishes have already been served and the guests, having refreshed themselves with a glass of champagne or warmed up with mulled wine, have gathered at the table. The host or hostess cuts the bird into thin pieces, usually starting with the breast, and serves it to guests. Sliced ​​turkey meat dries out quite quickly, so it is better to cut off pieces as needed and store the rest as a whole piece, wrapped in foil.

Leftover turkey makes great sandwiches and sandwiches, and can also be used in salads and pies.

Material and photos: Oksana Jeter, CountrysideLiving.net