Pavo’chon Boricua Recipe

Pavo’chon Boricua is the recipe my mother used when I was a kid for our Thanksgiving dinner. I remember going grocery shopping with mom the weekend before Thanksgiving and then getting the ingredients ready a few days before the holiday to marinate the turkey. Finally, we’d wake up early Thursday morning to prepare the feast.

The turkey turns out so tender that it falls off the bone, so be very mindful when turning it around to brown the breast. The stuffing recipe is the best I‘ve ever had. You can omit the sausage or add additional ingredients like rosemary or raisins as well. The corn bread can be store bought or you may make it from scratch. If you decide to make it from scratch, I suggest finding the recipe for easy buttermilk corn bread from Cafe Delites; it’s the best corn bread I have ever had!

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!

Turkey

Ingredients per pound of turkey

• 1 to 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 crushed pepper corn
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of oregano
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar

Mix ingredients together.

Poke a few holes in the breast of the turkey. Rub the mix of ingredients in the holes of the breast as well as under and over the skin.  Marinate for 2 days with the breast side down.

On Thanksgiving Day, preheat the oven to 325⁰F.

Cook turkey with breast down for 20 minutes per pound for a turkey that is 10-15 pounds, or 15 minutes per pound for a turkey that is 16 pounds or larger.

When there are 40 minutes left on the turkey carefully turn the turkey breast side up to brown the skin.

Gravy

• Turkey drippings
• Chicken stock UNSALTED
• Corn starch

Take the drippings left in the pan after cooking the turkey and put them in a measuring cup. Allow them to sit until the fat separates to the top and remove the fat. What is left will have a high salt content, therefore, pour chicken stock into the drippings to taste until the salt content is acceptable and place in a pan.

Take corn starch and mix small amounts with a bit of chicken stock until you create a paste that is not too thick (you just have to eyeball it).

As the chicken stock and drippings are heating up slowly stir the corn starch mixture until the drippings reach the consistency of gravy.

Stuffing

• 1 pound or pan of corn bread
• 3 onions diced
• 2 carrots sliced or shredded
• 1 stalk of celery diced
• 2 sausage links
• 1/4 stick of butter
• Chicken stock
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350⁰F.

Dice onions, celery and carrots and sauté them in the butter.

Remove the casing of the sausages and add the sausages to the pan and cook them with the veggies.

Take the cornbread and cut it into small squares and mix it with the veggies and sausage and place the mixture in a glass pan. Add a few tablespoons of chicken stock so the mixture, so that is not too dry, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Place the pan in the oven for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

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