Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner

Lemongrass Turkey 

For Thanksgiving 2022, I wanted to make something different from the typical Canadian turkey dinner. In comes my Lemongrass Turkey dinner.

Don't get me wrong, I love turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing - the whole nine yards. But this year, I wanted to give a little "Eat with Carmen" flair to our Thanksgiving. 

Here is my Nuoc Cham recipe to go with the turkey!

Shiitake Mushroom Fried Rice recipe would be perfect with this!

Ingredients for Lemongrass Turkey

• Turkey - I used a 15 pound turkey
• Lemongrass - please use fresh lemongrass. This is where all the flavor comes from. Do not use lemongrass paste from a tube. Lemongrass can be easily found in most grocery stores in the produce section. 
• Onion & Garlic - holy grail of this marinade. 
• Soy Sauce 
• Fish Sauce 
• Black Pepper 

Equipment

• large bowl to mix the ingredients
• food processor 
• foil or parchment paper
• knife and cutting board
• large container to marinate the turkey - I used my roasting pan with a lid

What to serve with this Lemongrass Turkey

Shiitake Mushroom Fried Rice - this recipe is my favorite fried rice. If you're a mushroom lover, this is the recipe for you. This recipe only takes 20 minutes to make. 

Nuoc Cham - this 5 minute sauce is faster than making gravy. Best part is you can make it ahead of time.  

Shiitake Mushroom Fried Rice

Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce

Carmen Spillette

Lemongrass Turkey - Thanksgiving

5 from 2 votes

A great way to change up your turkey for Thanksgiving 2022. A classic Vietnamese Lemongrass Marinade will this turkey bursting with flavor and will have you going back for seconds.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Servings: 6 - 8

Course: roast

Cuisine: roast

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 15-18 pound turkey - spatchcock*
• 3-4 stalks of lemongrass
• 1 medium onion or 2 shallots
• 8 garlic cloves
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 1 cup avocado oil or canola oil
• 5 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

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Method

 

1. Prep your turkey. Spatchcock it. Get your butcher to do this. It is very hard.
2. Rinse the lemongrass and remove the outer layers to expose the softer interior of the stalk.
3. Mince ONLY the white part of the lemongrass; otherwise, it will be fibrous.
4. Place the lemongrass in the food processor and puree it until it looks like a paste.
5. Prep the rest of your aromatics. Chop the onion and garlic and place them in the food processor, and puree. The finer, the better.
6. In a bowl, place your aromatics and all the ingredients - sugar, oil, fish sauce, and ground pepper.
7. Rub the marinade all over your turkey as well as inside the skin. For best results, marinate overnight.
8. With foil or parchment paper, line your baking tray.
9. Place your turkey skin side up.
10. Bake it at 350 degrees for 2.5 hours. The internal temperature of the bird should be 165 degrees or more.
11. Rest your turkey for 30 minutes before serving.
12. Serve it with nuoc cham, and enjoy!

Notes

*get your butcher to spatchcock your turkey

*marinate overnight for best results.

*internal temperature should be at 165 degrees or more.

*rest your turkey for 30 minutes before serving.

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