Pavo Relleno Conventual Poblano

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Dry comal or heavy cast iron skillet for toasting chiles
• •Molcajete or spice grinder
• •High-powered blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Wide cazuela or heavy skillet for the picadillo
• •Large roasting pan with rack
• •Cheesecloth or clean manta de cielo
• •Kitchen twine
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Large Puebla Talavera platter for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the turkey

   Pat the turkey dry inside and out. Mix the kosher salt, black pepper, and dried marjoram, then rub it over the skin and inside the cavity. Set the turkey on a rack over a sheet pan and refrigerate uncovered for 12 hours. This is not a trick. It seasons the meat all the way through and dries the skin so the manteca can do its work the next day.

2. 2

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile ancho and chile guajillo one at a time, about 20 to 30 seconds per side, just until they darken slightly and smell deep and sweet. Do not blacken them. Cover with hot water and let them soften for 20 minutes. Ancho is the Poblano chile here, sweet and dark, not a source of reckless heat.

   If the chile snaps like old paper, it is stale. Good dried chile bends before it breaks. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado.
3. 3

   Blend the adobo

   Toast the canela stick, whole cloves, and peppercorns on the same comal for 30 seconds, then grind them in a molcajete or spice grinder. Peel the roasted garlic. Drain the softened chiles and blend them with the roasted jitomates, roasted half onion, roasted garlic, ground spices, vinagre de manzana, 1 cup broth, and the saffron broth. Blend until completely smooth. Strain it if your blender leaves skins behind. A convent sauce should be deep, not gritty.

4. 4

   Fry the adobo

   Melt 2 tablespoons manteca in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the blended adobo carefully because it will jump. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the color darkens and the fat begins to separate at the edge. This frying is where the chile changes from raw paste to sauce. Skip it and the turkey will taste unfinished. Así se hace y punto.

5. 5

   Cook the picadillo

   Melt 2 tablespoons manteca in a wide cazuela or skillet. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent, then add the minced garlic and ground pork shoulder. Cook until the pork loses its raw color and the fat begins to sizzle clearly in the pan. Add the diced apples, raisins, almonds, olives, capers, sherry, ground canela, ground clove, candied chilacayote if using, and 1/2 cup of broth. Cook 12 to 15 minutes, stirring, until the mixture is moist but not soupy. Cool completely before stuffing the turkey.

   Old recipes may call for acitrón from biznaga. Do not buy it. Biznaga cactus is protected. Candied chilacayote or candied xoconostle gives you the sweet convent note without damaging the plant.
6. 6

   Prepare the bird

   Take the turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting. Heat the oven to 425F. Mix 4 tablespoons softened manteca with half of the fried adobo. Loosen the skin over the breast and thighs with your fingers, then rub some of the adobo manteca under the skin and the rest over the outside. Work carefully. Torn skin dries out. La manteca es el sabor.

7. 7

   Stuff and tie

   Spoon the cooled picadillo loosely into the neck and body cavities. Do not pack it like cement. The heat has to move through the filling, and the center of the stuffing must reach 165F before it is served. Tie the legs with kitchen twine and tuck the wings under the body. Put any extra picadillo in a small larded cazuela, cover it, and bake it during the last hour of roasting.

8. 8

   Roast patiently

   Set the reserved turkey neck, remaining half onion, bay leaf, 1 1/2 cups broth, and any remaining plain sherry splash in the roasting pan. Place the turkey breast side up on a rack. Lay a piece of clean cheesecloth or manta de cielo soaked with a little melted manteca over the breast. Roast 25 minutes at 425F, then lower the oven to 325F. Baste every 35 to 40 minutes with pan juices, not every ten minutes. Opening the oven constantly is how impatient cooks dry out good birds.

9. 9

   Finish the skin

   After about 3 hours total roasting time, start checking temperature. Remove the cloth, brush the turkey with more reserved adobo, and continue roasting until the skin turns glossy mahogany. The breast should reach 160F before resting, the thigh should reach at least 170F, and the stuffing must reach 165F. If the turkey is done before the stuffing is, spoon the stuffing into a cazuela and bake it until it reaches 165F. No me vengas con atajos when safety is involved.

10. 10

    Rest and sauce

    Transfer the turkey to a board and rest it for 30 minutes. Strain the pan juices into a saucepan, skim only the excess fat, and leave enough for shine and flavor. Add the remaining fried adobo and simmer 8 to 10 minutes until the sauce coats a spoon. Taste for salt and a small splash of vinagre de manzana if it needs lift. The sauce should taste of chile ancho, pork fat, roasted bird, and the old spice box.

11. 11

    Serve Poblano style

    Carve the turkey and arrange it on a large Talavera platter with spoonfuls of picadillo beside it. Nap the meat with the chile ancho pan sauce and scatter toasted sliced almonds over the top. Serve with warm corn tortillas or arroz blanco. This is Puebla's Nochebuena table, baroque but practical, sweet and savory in the same bite. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •Buy a plain turkey, not a self-basting supermarket bird injected with broth and salt. You are building the seasoning yourself with salt, chile ancho, and manteca. Let the factory keep its tricks.
• •For the chile ancho, look for skins that are flexible, dark brick-red to almost mahogany, and smell sweet. If the vendor cannot tell you when the sack arrived, find another vendor. Si no conoces el mercado, no conoces la cocina.
• •Use clean rendered pork lard from a butcher or a Mexican market. The shelf-stable hydrogenated blocks taste flat. A convent kitchen used manteca because it worked, not because anyone was trying to be delicate.
• •This is not a hot dish. The chile ancho gives depth, color, and a quiet dried-fruit sweetness. People who think all Mexican food has to burn the mouth have not paid attention.
• •The stuffing must be cooked before it goes into the bird and must reach 165F before serving. Tradition does not mean carelessness. The señoras who taught these dishes knew how to keep a family alive.

Advance Preparation

• •Salt the turkey 12 to 24 hours ahead and leave it uncovered in the refrigerator. This gives you better seasoning and better skin.
• •The adobo can be made up to 3 days ahead. Refrigerate it in a covered container and bring it to room temperature before mixing with the manteca.
• •The picadillo can be cooked 1 day ahead. Cool it completely, refrigerate it, and do not stuff the turkey until just before roasting.
• •Leftover turkey and picadillo make serious tortas the next day with a little warm adobo sauce. That is not a compromise. That is household economy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 355g)