Yucatán Dry Spice Rub Recipes

BUTTERFLIED TURKEY WITH YUCATAN RUB

Steps:

• For the turkey: The day before serving, heat 3 quarts of the water with salt and sugar in a large pan, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Remove from heat, add remaining 1 quart cold water, and stir. Set brine aside to cool to room temperature.
• Put turkey in a large container and cover with the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours. (If you want to brine the turkey overnight, use half the amount of salt and sugar.)
• For rub: Crumble annatto paste into a food processor and blend with the garlic, oregano, coriander, black pepper, salt, and allspice. Add the fruit juices and the olive oil and process to make a pasty sauce. Drain and pat the turkey very dry. Smear the rub all over the bird. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Prepare an outdoor grill with a large medium-heat fire for direct and indirect grilling. Position a drip pan under the grate on indirect side of the grill.
• Place turkey, breast side up, over the drip pan and grill, covered, until meat is cooked about halfway through, about 50 minutes. Turn and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 170 degrees F, about 50 minutes more. Move turkey to direct heat and rotate to evenly brown the skin in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Transfer to a carving board, cover, and let rest 10 minutes before carving.
• Shopsmart: Annatto paste is a Mexican flavoring composed of ground annatto, or achiote, seeds mixed with herbs-usually oregano-and spices. The rust-color paste is then pressed into a compact brick. Look for it in the Hispanic section of your grocery.

GRILLED LOBSTER WITH YUCATAN-STYLE RECADO (SPICE RUB)

Steps:

• Blend the first 6 ingredients in a blender until smooth and set aside.
• In a cast iron skillet, toast the peppercorns, cumin, fennel seed, coriander seed, and mustard seed. When the spices begin to smoke, remove, and grind in a coffee mill. When pulverized, add to the pureed habanero mixture.
• Preheat a grill on medium high heat.
• Split the lobster in half, remove the roe if necessary, and then spread the spice, or recado, mixture over the tail portion of each side of lobster.
• Place lobster halves on a hot grill and cook for 6 to 8 minutes on each side. Remove and serve with lemon wedges.

YUCATáN RED SEASONING PASTE

Steps:

• 1. Put the achiote paste in a blender jar. In a dry skillet, toast the garlic cloves, turning frequently, until the skins are flecked with brown spots and the garlic feels slightly tender when pinched, 4 to 5 minutes. Peel the garlic, chop it, and add it to the blender. 2. In the same skillet, toast the oregano, cumin, and peppercorns until aromatic, 10 to 15 seconds. Add to the blender along with the salt, allspice, cloves, and water. Blend to a thick paste as smooth as possible. Add another 1 to 2 teaspoons of water if the mixture is too thick to blend. Scrape the paste into a bowl. The paste is ready to use. If made ahead, cover and refrigerate up to 3 weeks. From "1,000 Mexican Recipes." Copyright 2001 by Marge Poore. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

YUCATáN DRY SPICE RUB

Steps:

• Put all of the ingredients in a spice grinder or a coffee grinder reserved for spices. Grind to a powder. If the mixture seems too grainy, sift it through a fine-mesh strainer. This spice rub can be stored indefinitely in a covered container at room temperature. From "1,000 Mexican Recipes." Copyright 2001 by Marge Poore. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.