Chipotle Lime Turkey Tacos

*This turkey tacos post is sponsored by thinkturkey.ca

Not that long ago I was contacted by Canadian Turkey Farmers and asked if I would be interested in working with them on a new promotion they were putting together called Think Turkey. I jumped at the opportunity to help spread the word about how delicious and versatile turkey can be.

As most of you know, I was raised on a small farm. Turkey was one of the animals that we raised for food and so we always had lots of it around. My mom was always finding new and interesting ways to prepare it.

One thing I'm sure we all know is that turkey can be used in the recipes we all use everyday. If you have never had a turkey pasta sauce or chili you don't know what you're missing. But I really wanted to highlight the fact that turkey can take on a lot of different flavours and be used in a lot of different cuisines.

When we think of turkey certain things come to mind. What probably doesn't come to mind is tacos or Mexican food in general. But here's the thing, turkey is a very traditional Mexican protein. Actually, the most traditional Mexican protein. Prior to the arrival of Europeans in Mexico in the 1500's turkey was the main protein in the diet of the region. Even mole, the national dish of Mexico is traditionally made with turkey.

Rather than come up with a brand new way to use turkey, I looked to the past. Using traditional Mexican flavours with a modern twist, I created these Chipotle Lime Turkey Tacos. It's my hope that with one bite you will begin to see what is possible when you Think Turkey.

Jump to Recipe

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The Marinade

The marinade I used actually plays double duty. I used it to marinate the turkey breast, but I also saved about ⅓ of it to use as a sauce for the tacos later. Let's take a look.

To make the marinade I used 3 tablespoon of puréed chipotle in adobo (this is the brand I use. You can probably find it in your grocery store for cheaper than it is on amazon. *I puréed it myself as the chipotles are whole in the can*). To this I added the juice and zest of 1 lime, the juice of 1 navel orange, 2 cloves of garlic, ¼ cup of chopped white onion, ¼ cup chopped cilantro, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon honey.

I puréed all the ingredients with an immersion blender (you can use a regular blender). As I said, I saved about ⅓ of the marinade and the rest I poured over the turkey breast. Finally, I sealed the turkey breast in a ziplock bag making sure it was completely covered in the marinade and then put it in the fridge for two hours (you can leave it over night).

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Orange Pineapple Salsa

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This salsa adds a really nice pop of fresh flavour to the tacos and contrasts beautifully with the chipotle in the marinade. The orange I used is a blood orange. It gets it's name from the deep red colour it has. Feel free to change this out for any other type of orange.

To make the salsa I combined 1 cup of diced fresh pineapple with ¼ cup of thinly sliced red onion, ¼ cup minced jalapeno (take out the seeds for less heat), the juice and zest of 1 lime, 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 blood orange cut into segments, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

After I had this all mixed together, I covered it and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to let all the flavours combine.

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Segmenting an orange

To segment an orange first cut off the top and bottom. Then, cut off the skin and any of the white pith following the curvature of the fruit.

The next step is to use your knife and cut between the membrane holding the segments together. The idea is to free the segments, leaving the membrane behind. Do this until all the segments have been freed.

Squeeze the juice out the remaining orange membrane into the salsa.

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Cumin Lime Sour Cream

The final piece of the puzzle is the cumin and lime sour cream. This is really straight forward but as simple as it may seem it really ties the tacos together.

To make this I combined 1 cup full fat sour cream with the juice and zest of 1 lime, 1 teaspoon cumin and ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika. Mix this really well and let sit, covered in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This time will open up the spices and give you a more flavourful sauce than if you just ate it right away.

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Roasting the turkey breast

Once the Turkey Breast has had time to marinate remove it from the plastic bag, shaking off any excess marinade, and place on a parchment lined sheet pan. Put the turkey in the oven preheated to 375°F and roast for 45 minutes.

Remove the turkey breast from the oven and check the doneness using an instant read thermometer. The temperature should be 165°F when the turkey is done. If it's not done put it back in the oven until it reaches that temperature.

Once the turkey breast is cooked, remove it from the oven and wrap tightly in foil. Let the turkey rest for ten minutes. This resting will prevent the turkey from losing its juices when it is sliced, keeping it nice and moist.

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Putting the turkey tacos together

When I make tacos I prefer homemade corn tortillas, however that is a lot of work. If you don't want to put in that effort that's okay. I do suggest soft corn tortillas for this. They are more traditional, they hold up better, and the flavour really adds to the quality of the taco. Having said that, if you prefer flour tortillas use those. You are the one eating this after all.

Whether you are using corn or flour tortillas you are going to want to warm them up first. Follow the warming instructions on the package.

To put the tacos together I prefer to start with the sour cream, followed by the salsa, then the turkey, the marinade that we reserved for the sauce (this did not come into contact with raw turkey), finally some fresh cilantro.

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Conclusion

The turkey recipe I used here would be just as good with some mashed or roasted sweet potato, corn on the cob, and green beans. The marinade could also just as easily be used on turkey legs or wings as well. And the turkey would be just as good barbecued as it is cooked in the oven.

The marinade not only imparts a delicious flavour to the turkey but it also helps to keep it moist during cooking. So, what you end up with is this really flavourful, really juice turkey.

I hope that you take the time to make this recipe because, honestly, I think that you will absolutely love it. Hopefully, it will change your perspective a bit so that the next time you are craving Mexican, you will Think of Turkey.

Visit thinkturkey.ca for even more delicious turkey recipes.