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It's the time of year to talk turkey ... and in Mexico this can inspire quite a bit of talk indeed! More than 30 words for the bird, in languages including the Nahuatl of the Aztec empire, Mayan, and Zapotec, have been used at one time or another. Other variations came from the Caribbean via Veracruz and from Central America via Chiapas.
At times called el ave de los ricos, the bird of the rich, turkey nevertheless has been eaten by all classes of and during all known historical periods by the Mesoamerican people. It is one of only two species of fowl (the other being duck) domesticated before the Span-iards arrived in Mexico. The earliest bones of domesticated turkey found to date were in the Tehuacan valley of Puebla.
Although Central Mexico's plateau was the domesticated turkey's original, natural range, the bird was widespread throughout Mexico and Central America by the time Columbus arrived. Turkey quickly replaced the stringy peacock on European banquet tables, and each ship returning to Spain was ordered to bring five male and five female turkeys as part of the cargo.
The Aztecs had used turkey as a banquet dish for centuries. The bird was held in such high esteem that a festival honoring it took place every 200 days, when the streets were paved with the collected shells of the turkey chicks that had hatched during that time. According to the Spanish chronicler, Motolinia, more than 8,000 turkeys were sold every five days in the Tepeyac market alone, and 100 were sent daily to the court of the poet king Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco.
The Maya, on the other hand, continued to rely on a species of wild turkey commonly found in the Yucatn. Captured in the forest and fattened in pens, all the turkey, including blood, broth and flesh, had extreme ritualistic importance. To this day, turkey cooked in pozole is the food eaten at religious celebrations in the highland Mayan villages.
Whether known as pavo, guajolote, totole, or any other name, turkey is still the food of choice for celebratory occasions in Mexico. Found on holiday tables throughout the country, especially for Christmas and New Year's, turkey adapts well to the local seasonings and cooking techniques of several regions, which makes Mexican-style turkey dishes perfect additions to Latin restaurant holiday menus.
Although stuffing and roasting turkey for holiday dinners is now widespread in Mexico, it is only in recent years that many Mexican kitchens have had ovens. Before that, the bird was either steamed, grilled, pit- barbequed (as in the Yucatán's pibil dishes) or simmered to make broth for the preparation of moles.
Mole de guajolote is the traditional fiesta dish of Puebla and Oaxaca. Whether served in mole poblano or Oaxaca's mole negro, it can be offered at brunch, lunch, or dinner. At country weddings in Puebla, a live turkey is still brought to the wedding feast and the next day killed for the newlyweds' first mole. The same dish, in different presentations, is found on menus in many of Puebla's best restaurants, where it is often served as turkey enchiladas, enmoladas or torta azteca (a lasagna-like dish featuring tortillas, turkey and mole).
Leftover cooked turkey is especially suitable for a regional "sampler" like the one served at the Fonda de Santa Clara in Puebla, where the customer is served three enchiladas, each with a different sauceŠmole poblano, pipian rojo and pipian verdeŠthe region's signature sauces. Garnished with crumbled white cheese, either fresco or añejo, it makes a delicious and colorful dish. The same thing could be done using other regional moles such as coloradito, rojo, verde, and amarillo.
Turkey, like chicken or any meat served in a mole or pipian, is prepared separately from the chile and spice paste, and only when the meat is tender and the broth rich and tasty is the broth combined with the seasoning paste for further simmering. The cooked turkey and the finished sauce only come together on the plate, making this a good choice to prepare ahead. Either white or dark meat (or both, according to your customer's preference) can be sliced and served with the sauce for a Thanksgiving-style presentation. Because the turkey is cooked separately, its rich broth can be used as the basis of a hearty brunch or lunch dish like the turkey soup served at La Parroquia in Veracruz.
In the Yucatán, the favored festival turkey dish is chilmole, made with a dark, delicious spice sauce. Also common is turkey marinated in achiote paste and steamed in banana leaves. This makes a great presentation as part of a holiday buffet, served with salsas and baskets of warm tortillas for diners to prepare their own tacos. (Using small, three- to four-inch corn tortillas lets people taste a variety of dishes.) Steaming the bird is labor efficient, since it requires no basting, no turning, and no worry about dried-out meat or burnt skin.
The Yucatecan seasonings called recados, sold ready-made in markets there, are simple to prepare from scratch and are particularly appreciated with turkey. One of the most popular is recado negro, used to make chil-mole. It is served all over the Yucatán peninsula, especially in Merida's many regional restaurants.
Turkey is also popular on winter menus in Chihuahua. Northern Mexico is home to a large turkey industry, and recent years have seen the increase in birds called doble pechuga (double breasted) that are bred for a greater yield of white meat. Chihuahua's capital, Chihuahua, is famous for its restaurants that feature food prepared on large grills, a classic norteño style of cooking that originated outdoors on the ranches. It is well-suited to the cooking of turkey breasts and breast filets, and one of the most popular ways of serving these is with a sauce that uses apple cider, part of Chihuahua's large apple industry.
Here is turkey recipe that will help attract holiday diners to your restaurant. Since the recipe doesn't require oven-roasting the turkey, it is less labor-intensive than many recipes (which makes it ideal for busy restaurant kitchens). Another benefit: it offers possibilities for using leftover cooked turkey, which may be one of the best venues for showing off Mexican sauces and cooking techniques.
Recipe Reference: Yucatán-Style Steamed Turkey; Spicy Avocado and Shrimp Cocktail
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