General Tso's Whole Turkey
Description
Marinate a whole turkey in a sweet and spicy combination of Asian-inspired ingredients like garlic, ginger, and plum wine, then stuff with cranberry and rice stuffing. The magnificent bird is basted with Asian glaze until roasted to perfection.
Ingredients
•
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
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3 small dried red chiles, or more to taste
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1 teaspoon ground black pepper
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2 green onions, chopped
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1/4 cup light sesame oil
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1 small shallot, chopped
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1/2 (16 ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce
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1 cup turkey broth
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1/2 cup soy sauce
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1/4 cup orange juice
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1/4 cup white vinegar
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1/4 cup plum wine
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1/4 cup white sugar
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2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger root
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2 tablespoons chopped garlic
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2 teaspoons grated orange zest
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1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
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3 tablespoons cornstarch
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2 cups cooked white rice
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1/2 cup cooked wild rice
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1/3 cup dried cranberries
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1/4 cup chopped walnuts
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2 small green onions, chopped
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1 small shallot, chopped
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1 tablespoon sesame oil
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1/3 cup vegetable oil
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1/3 cup sesame oil
Directions
1
Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Toast dried red chiles in the hot oil until they turn dark red, about 2 minutes. Toss black pepper, 2 chopped green onions, light sesame oil, and 1 small chopped shallot into the hot oil; remove from heat.
2
Blend cranberry sauce, turkey broth, soy sauce, orange juice, white vinegar, plum wine, ginger, garlic, and orange zest in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Stir toasted red pepper mixture into glaze. Divide glaze in half.
3
Place turkey into a large basting bag and pour half the glaze over the turkey and into the cavity. Seal the bag and refrigerate turkey overnight.
4
Dissolve cornstarch in the remaining half of the glaze and refrigerate in a covered container.
5
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
6
Remove turkey from marinade; discard the used marinade. Set turkey onto a rack inside a roasting pan.
7
Mix white rice, wild rice, dried cranberries, walnuts, 2 small chopped green onions, 1 chopped shallot, and 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a bowl. Lightly stuff the turkey cavity with the rice mixture. Combine 1/3 cup vegetable oil with 1/3 cup sesame oil in a bowl and set aside.
8
Roast turkey in the preheated oven, basting with vegetable and sesame oil mixture every 15 minutes, until skin is browned and crisp, about 2 hours. Stir reserved glaze containing cornstarch thoroughly and baste turkey every 15 minutes until glaze has baked onto turkey and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh reads 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), 1 1/2 to 2 more hours.