Smoked Red Turkey (Pavo Rojo)

Since the combination of guajillo marinade and achiote marinade worked so well for smoked chicken leg quarters, I decided to try the same thing for an entire turkey for the July 4 weekend. This was a trial run for Thanksgiving so if it works, I will be serving up smoked Red Turkey for Thanksgiving this year.

The recipe is below. In the video I cooked it a bit too long so it is best to cook it breast side down for an hour and then breast side up for another hour and a half. At that point check the temperature with a meat thermometer and cook longer if needed.

Oh, and the picture of the turkey in the thumbnail and in the introduction has NOT been tinted. Since it is hard to see the true color of the turkey in the shade, I moved it over to the part of my patio where there was some sunlight and took some shots so you could see just how red it was.

Brine:

2 tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp crushed thyme
lime zest from 2 limes

After brining keep turkey in sealed oven bag 2-3 days in refrigerator.

Guajillo marinade:

8 dried guajillo chiles
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp crushed peppercorn
3 cloves crushed garlic

Achiote marinade:

3.5 oz achiote paste
6 oranges squeezed
4 limes squeezed
6 cloves crushed garlic
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp crushed peppercorn
2 tsp cumin

Blend the guajillo and achiote marinades together.

Smoke 1 hour breast side down and 1 1/2 hours breast side up at 250 to 300 degrees. 16 oz chicken broth in the turkey pan.