How to Make a Traditional Puerto Rican Thanksgiving Dinner

Although Thanksgiving was not always a traditional holiday on the island, many Puerto Rican families who call the United States home began to celebrate it by adding a touch of Sabor Latino. A traditional Puerto Rican Thanksgiving menu will likely consist of Pavochon, Stuffed Mofongo, Arroz con Gandules (rice with pigeon peas), Tostones, and Tembleque or dulce de leche. I serve a green bean casserole with my meal, and for an appetizer, I fry up some plantains versus the tostones. I season mine with garlic, black pepper and salt and serve them with Mojo Criollo.

I’m usually cooking enough food to feed at least five Marines, so I buy a 12- to 15-pound turkey and call it a day. My mom always taught me to start preparing my turkey the day before Thanksgiving so my seasonings have time to soak into that bird.

Two days or one day before:
To slowly thaw your bird, you can put it in the refrigerator two days ahead of time or to quickly thaw it, submerge it in its wrapper (DO NOT remove the wrapper) in your bathtub or deep sink of cold water. Make sure the entire bird is submerged. The larger the bird, the longer it will take to thaw. A large turkey like the ones I cook usually takes 2 days to thaw in the fridge.

The day before:
Season your bird with Adobo, inside and out. Be generous. Your guests will appreciate it. Nobody wants a soft turkey. Gather the black pepper, garlic salt, oregano, and paprika and rub all over the bird. Poke holes in your bird with a fork so the seasonings soak into its skin. Return the bird to the fridge.

THANKSGIVING MORNING:
I usually start cooking my bird around 4 am, which just leaves me room to do other things like take out the tree and decorations and prepare other dishes. Start by preparing your mofongo filling.

Mofongo filling.
You will need to:
6 large green plantains,
1/3 cup chicken broth
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 pound of bacon chopped into small pieces and cooked. Throw away the fat.
3 sweet chilies, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil

Mix the bacon, garlic, peppers and olive oil. Crush the mixture of bananas and olive oil in your mortar. Repeat until all the ingredients are gone. Mix the mofongo and broth and if the mofongo is not wet enough, add more broth. Stuff the bird with the mofongo and cook. and follow the instructions that came with your bird.

NOW FOR THE BIRD:

Heat your oven to 375º.

Rinse the turkey well. Rinse the interior once you remove the bag from the turkey cavity. Be sure to remove the bag from your turkey BEFORE you start cooking it! Very important!

Place the bird in a deep, sturdy aluminum or tin roaster. cover it first with aluminum foil.
Place chunks of butter on top and around the turkey. Place a full stick of butter inside the cavity of the turkey. Be generous. You will have a juicy turkey in the end.

Now start stuffing your turkey with the mofongo. If you’re a novice cook, skip the mofongo and just scoop out the Stove Top Stuffing and follow the directions on the box. Alright. We are all beginners at the same time.

Cover the turkey with aluminum foil and put it in the oven.

TURKEY SIZE AND COOKING TIME:

4 to 6 pounds of turkey = 3 to 3 ¾ hours.

6 to 8 pounds of turkey = 3 ¾ to 4 ½ hours.

8 to 12 pounds of turkey = 4 to 5 hours.

12 pounds and up = 5½ to 6 hours.

Always be sure to read the side of the turkey wrapper for the exact cooking time. It is better to be safe than raw. Yuck! About 45 minutes before the bird is done, remove the foil from the top and continue cooking uncovered until the bird is crisp on top.

12 turkish pounds
a lot of marinade
Peppers
2 teaspoons of Black Pepper
4 garlic cloves (puréed in a mortar)
2 teaspoons of orange (leaf)
4 sticks of butter

To start preparing your Arroz con Gandules:

YOU WILL NEED TO:
2 packets of Sazon
3 cans of pigeon peas
6 cups of water
4 cups of rice
2 cups chopped bacon, cooked
2 cups of stir-fry
2 Tablespoons of Goya Olive Oil

Heat the olive oil in a cauldron or large pot.
Drain and rinse the cans of Pigeon Peas
Sauté the sauce and the chopped ham for about a minute and a half
Add rice, water, pigeon peas and Sazón
Once it starts to boil, let it continue for about 3 minutes.
Cover pot tightly and reduce heat to medium-low. Let it cook for 35 to 40 minutes.

*** DO NOT use a lid with those vent holes and DO NOT lift the lid to check the rice!
When ready, stir the rice once or twice before serving and serve HOT.

PREPARING YOUR GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE:

2 pounds green beans, washed and trimmed
2 garlic cloves, cut in half
3 tablespoons chopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ package of Sazón and ham seasoning
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup boiling water

Cut the green beans in half. Heat oil and butter in a skillet. Add seasoning and ham seasoning, then sauté both with onion and garlic until soft. Remove the garlic, and then add the green beans, salt, pepper, and boiling water. Cover and cook for 25 minutes over medium heat until tender. You can add a little more water, if necessary.

PREPARATION OF FRIED PLATANOS (Amarillo’s):
I like to wait until my bananas are yellow with a few black spots. To me, they taste better…sweeter. No Puerto Rican dish (to me) is complete without rice, pigeon peas, beans, and plantains! To start preparing the plantains. Use 4 plantains to make enough to serve several people, and get a bottle of mojo criolla for the sauce.

Cut about an inch from each end of the banana with a sharp knife.

Cut them in half and then horizontally to fry like chips, but make them a bit thicker.

Place the chopped pieces in very hot water and leave to soak for a few minutes.
Take your knife and place it under the skin of the cut piece and start removing the skin. Something like if you were peeling the skin of a potato. Sometimes I just use a potato peeler.

Drain on a paper towel, then sprinkle slices with black pepper, a pinch of salt or garlic, then fry each slice in the olive oil-vegetable oil mixture over medium heat until tender and golden. Flip them once.

And for the cut of fat: DESSERT
We have Trembling! This is a traditional Puerto Rican dessert for the holidays.

YOU WILL NEED TO:
4 cups of coconut milk and ground cinnamon
½ cup cornstarch and ½ tsp. salt
2/3 cup sugar
A medium saucepan, a serving plate and a square saucepan.

Dissolve the cornstarch in a saucepan with 1/4 cup of the coconut milk. Once it has dissolved, add the rest of the coconut milk, followed by the sugar and salt. Cook over medium-high heat and stir continuously!
As the mixture thickens, lower the heat to a boil. Immediately stop in your pan. Allow to cool, then cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Carefully separate the temple from the mold with a knife. Turn onto a serving plate and sprinkle with cinnamon. I serve this with latte or the men usually just want another beer.
READY! You just made your first Thanksgiving Puerto Rican meal! Enjoy!

Now if you dare… go one step further and add Coquito to the menu. This is a Puerto Rican favorite especially popular during Christmas and New Years. No one makes Coquito like my Grandma!

YOU WILL NEED TO:
40 ounces of coconut milk
14 ounces evaporated milk (condensed)
1½ cup of water
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups of Bacardi rum
Salt to taste
Mix all the ingredients in a blender. Taste and add more rum if you like it stronger. You need to add the water because it will thicken once you refrigerate it. Pour into a bottle and refrigerate well. Collect pint-sized bottles of Coquito pouring for guests to take home as party favors.