Peru de Natal: Brazilian Christmas Turkey
Peru de natal is the turkey of the Brazilian ceia on the night of the 24th: marinated from the day before in white wine with garlic and herbs, and roasted covered almost the whole way. The two things that decide the outcome: the twelve-hour marinade, the only thing that keeps the breast from drying out, and uncovering it only for the last half hour so it browns without losing its juices.
Ingredients
- 1 turkey, 4 to 5 kg, fully thawed
- For the marinade: 750 ml dry white wine
- 1 onion and 6 cloves garlic, blended
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig rosemary and 1 sprig sage
- 1 tbsp coarse salt and black pepper
- For roasting: 150 g soft butter
- 1 tbsp paprika
- For the stuffing: 200 g pitted prunes
- 100 g walnuts
- Optional: 1 glass of stock for the roasting tin
Method
- 1
The day before, mix all the marinade ingredients and submerge the turkey in a large dish. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours, turning once.
- 2
⚠️ Thaw it completely before marinating. A turkey frozen at the centre cooks unevenly: the breast dries out while the legs are still raw.
- 3
Take it out of the fridge 1 hour before roasting, so the chill leaves the centre.
- 4
Drain and pat the outside dry with paper. Wet skin will not brown.
- 5
Mix the soft butter with the paprika and spread it over the outside and under the skin of the breast, sliding your fingers in carefully so as not to tear it. That butter between skin and meat is what protects the breast.
- 6
Fill the cavity with the prunes and walnuts and tie the legs together.
- 7
Set in the tin with a glass of strained marinade and the stock. Cover with foil.
- 8
Roast covered at 180 °C for about 2 and a half hours, allowing 35 minutes per kilo, basting with its own juices every 40 minutes.
- 9
Uncover for the last 30 minutes and raise to 200 °C to brown the skin.
- 10
It is done when the juices run clear at the thickest part of the thigh. Rest it 20 minutes before carving: cut straight away, it loses all its juice on the board.