When I came to the United States in 1989, I had never eaten turkey.  For the first few years I was here, I had several great Thanksgiving dinners at the houses of American friends.  Then, one year in the early 1990s, I decided to try cooking Thanksgiving dinner myself.  My wife and I had been to a restaurant called the Red Sage, in Washington, D.C., run by Chef Mark Miller.  We loved the restaurant and bought his book Coyote Café. That book had the recipe for a Tex-Mex flavored turkey that was different from any other turkey recipe I had ever eaten.  I decided to try it, and now it’s been my family’s traditional turkey recipe every Thanksgiving.  

Here’s a link to the recipe on the Food and Wine website:

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/coyote-cafes-yucatec-stuffed-turkey

Over the years, I have made a couple of small variations to this recipe:

  1. I use a roasting bag to keep the turkey moist as it cooks.
  2. I use the Chipotle in Adobe sauce (from the Mexican section of the supermarket) instead of the recipe’s recommended Cascabel chilis, hot peppers, and achiote.

Suggested Wine Pairing

The added spice and heat that the peppers give this turkey recipe require an assertive red wine.  I suggest you serve it with a Barbaresco or a Cirò Rose.