Reviewed: Dec. 1, 2006

This recipe is wonderful...My turkey looked beautifl and tasted moist and yummy. I was afraid of all that garlic, but it wasn't garlicy at all. This recipe is a keeper!

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Michele

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2006

OMYGOSH!!!! This was fantastic!!! My sister made this for Thanksgiving. The aroma was great. After removing the bird from the oven, waiting for the boys to carve the thing we stood around pickin and eating the garlic out of it, it was funny. The meat was great, even the kids ate it, and liked it. A keeper for sure.Very Very good!!!!

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sewoverdrawn

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2006

This was my fourth try at a turkey for Thanksgiving, and my most unfortunate one. I agree with the other reviews that there was too much lemon/citrus taste in the marinade and consequently the gravy and everything you usually pore it on. Unbelievable amount of garlic required - I kept checking the recipe to make sure it really called for 3 heads. I marinated it overnight with all the garlic, but then roasted it with about 1/2 head left on it. I also did not roast it with all of the marinade and added stock for basting it, but it was still extremely lemony. I usually make the best gravy, and everyone was very disappointed in it this year. Live and Learn.

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LoveLee

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2006

This was fantastic! Tender and juicy all the way through, even when you forget to marinate it overnight! *Grin*

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Alicia Lynn

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Des Moines, Iowa, USA

Living In: Augusta, Georgia, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2006

I have made this turkey many times, it is one of my favorite recipes from this site. Since there are only 2 of us, I always cut the marinade in half and use only a turkey breast. I roast it at 325 for 20 minutes per pound. I've also prepared this using chicken, and besides roasting it, cooked it in the crockpot. It's always turned out great! I always stuff it with garlic first, and then pour the marinade over. Good stuff!

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amydoll

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Rockford, Illinois, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 27, 2006

This was my 26 thanksgiving turkey, so I thought a new recipe might be nice for a change. I must admit this recipe requires more work than I usually put in to the bird(s). I was faithful to the recipe, though I questioned the 3 heads of garlic (Too much, and my wife and family are Italian!). The result was okay, not a bird to shout about. Most guests commented that it was an average bird, not up to my usual work of years past.

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rodiology

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Living In: Mukwonago, Wisconsin, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 27, 2006

My family and guests loved this and raved about it. It was so moist and flavorful and tender! I marinated and cooked it in the roasting bag as another reviewer did and I think that helped as well--not that it needed any help, it was yummy. My family is already asking for this recipe for the christmas turkey. Thanks for the great recipe!

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BARBI123

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Uruma, Okinawa, Japan

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Reviewed: Nov. 26, 2006

Not to sound mean but - this recipe was followed exactly (with reservations) using a 22-pound Butterball because I wanted to try something new for the holiday & the reviews were generally very good. It basically ruined Thanksgiving. All you could taste was citrus & garlic. The drippings made a horrible gravy when used even sparingly (were you even supposed to use these drippings?). Very difficult to believe this recipe WON a contest. Maybe if you grew up eating something like this & are used to it - I can possibly see stomaching that. Tried to salvage the gravy by dilluting it with canned gravy and thought it was OK - to no avail. Some people put the gravy on the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes etc. which essentially made it inedible. Ended up throwing a lot of food out. The overall turkey itself was OK once you got past all the garlic & citrus outer coating. For the holidays tradition will always be followed from now on - NO lemons/orange concentrate/massive garlic. Just roast & baste the thing. I also found it difficult understanding the glowing reviews this recipe received??? Unfortunately I had to learn that tradition should rule the hard way.

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CLINTTBF

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Reviewed: Nov. 24, 2006

I didn't make this recipe, but my mother in law did. It was delious!! I am not a white meat fan, but not once did I take any dark meat. Turkey just melted in your mouth. YUM!!

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Nicole

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Reviewed: Nov. 24, 2006

I followed the recipe exactly, and it was absolutely delicious. Incredibly moist, flavorful, with a heavenly aroma--best smelling/tasting turkey I've made in 15 years. I left the marinade in the bottom of my roasting pan and used it to baste the turkey every 30-45 minutes. After the turkey was cooked, I made a pan gravy with the drippings/marinade mixture by whisking in about a 1/4 cup of white all-purpose flour. Let that darken, whisked constantly to prevent lumps, then added about 2 cups reduced sodium/fat chicken broth, and some whipping cream (maybe 2-3 Tbsp., and one grated carrot (optional-lemon zest would be nice, too). Whisked misture constantly, letting it get to the desired color and thickness. Served the gravy with the turkey and the combination was out of this world!

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ROBYNLEIGH

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Dallas, Texas, USA

Living In: Frisco, Texas, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 24, 2006

AMAZING! This was my first turkey roating experience and what an experience. I had 22lbs turkey for 23 people and there was nothing left at the end. I followed the recipe except adding quatered lemons and oranges into the turkey cavity to keep the citrus aroma and basting it about every one hour with mixture of olive oil, cumin, ground pepper, and salt. I was impressed with the color of the finished bird and how juicy it was when we started carving it. And as soon as you put it in your mouth, it melts. People who hate white meat went for a second serving! This is a keeper.

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Pistachiogrn

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Reviewed: Nov. 24, 2006

I am going to try this (scaled down of course) on chicken. But for turkey, it didn't add much flavor considering all the work peeling garlic. It made the house smell GREAT, but the drippings had a citrus-y flavor, which crossed over into the gravy, and that wasn't so great. If you can get mojo criollo marinade where you live, just buy a bottle of that and use it.

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CBARBUSCA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bradenton, Florida, USA

Living In: Bucharest, Bucuresti, Romania

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Reviewed: Nov. 23, 2006

Good marinade.

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Tricia

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Nov. 23, 2006

An outstanding recipe! I made this for Thankgiving dinner and it was a huge hit! I'm only disappointed that I bought a 21-lb turkey for 9 people and don't have enough left over for sandwiches! I used a jar of minced garlic and substituted fresh OJ (double the amount) for the OJ concentrate. After marinating overnight, I strained the marinade and used a flavor injector to add more. The meat was very tender with a mild lemon flavor, and the skin had a wonderful "flavor bite"!

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Gretchenlynne

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Reviewed: Nov. 23, 2006

This recipe was so awesome! We loved it, the ease of making it and the wonderful and different flavors! We will make it again definitely!

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RLR12473

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Princeton, Minnesota, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 23, 2006

This was delicious, so moist and flavorful! We just finished it a few hours ago for Thanksgiving dinner and it really came out fantastic. We'll be making this again for Christmas dinner!

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STERPH116

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Nov. 23, 2006

What a great recipe! My family and I just enjoyed Turkey Mercedes and it was wonderful. Very moist and flavorful. Thank you so much Anel for sharing this recipe. Turkey Mercedes, a new Thanksgiving tradition!!

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Gark

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Reviewed: Nov. 22, 2006

I usually cook my turkeys in a Reynolds bag, so I used the bag to hold the turkey while marinating. I think it made it much easier (but I didn't try it without the bag). This way I could turn to turkey in the bag as it marinated. Update: It was good, but I wouldn't make it again for Thanksgiving. (I'll go back to a simple brined turkey.) As a change of pace, the flavor was too mild for the extra trouble.

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Karen in DE

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Living In: Long Island, New York, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 19, 2006

Since it's not my turn to make the turkey this year, I decided to try this on a chicken instead. I made it exactly as stated but didn't find the flavors to be noticeable at all. Is it because I used chicken instead of turkey? I would guess them to be similar. Sorry.

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BABSKITCHEN

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Cleveland, Ohio, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 9, 2006

Since I was making a turkey breast rather than a whole turkey, I used the servings calculator to cut the recipe by a quarter. We enjoyed the turkey, but I left off a star because I thought it was too lemony. Perhaps that was a result of tampering with the amounts. If I was to make it again, I would cut the lemon by half.

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