Cajun Turkey

This is an excellent variation of the traditional Thanksgiving turkey. Instead of seasoning the bird with rosemary, sage and thyme, it is given a cajun flare.
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Course Main Course

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Turkey, 12-16 lbs
  • 2 onions
  • 2 apples
  • 1 bottle Cajun butter injection Tony Chachere's Creole Butter Injection
  • 1/2 cup Creole seasoning Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning
  • 2 gallons Brine mix

Instructions
 

  • Brine the turkey for 12-24 hours. There are many brine mixes, and there is a home-made one on this web site.
  • Remove the turkey from the brine and Inject the turkey with the creole butter injection. There are homemade injections, but I use Tony Chechere's Creole Butter injection. Make sure to pull the needle while injecting so that "pockets" of injection aren't created. A 16 lb turkey will take 8-12 ounces of injection.
  • Pat it dry, and let it sit uncovered in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. This helps the skin to dry out so that it will be crisp.
    I put the turkey in a roasting rack sitting in a full size steam tray.
  • Stuff the cavity with quartered onions and apples. You can add other things too, like celery. The goal is to fill the cavity with some mass.
  • Spray the turkey with an oil, butter, or duck fat. This gives the seasoning something to stick to. Coat the turkey with a cajun rub. I use Tony Chachere's creole seasoning because I know that it will pair well with the injection. Let the seasoning rest on the bird for 30 minutes.
  • Heat the oven to 425. Tent the top with aluminum foil to preven the skin from getting too dark too early. Cook for 1 hour.
  • Reduce heat to 325 and cook until the temp at the deepest part of the breast is 158. Check occassionally to see if the aluminum foil tent can be removed. After 2 hours or so, turn the turkey 180°
  • Let the turkey rest, at least 30 minutes. It can easily rest an hour without cooling much. If it needs to rest longer, just put a piece of foil over the turkey loosely, and then cover with a moving blanket. It will keep it very warm.
  • Carve and serve. I remove the skin for serving.

Notes