General Tso's Whole Turkey

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 small dried red chiles , or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 greens onions , chopped
• 0.25 cups light sesame oil
• 1 small shallot , chopped
• 0.5 cans whole berry cranberry sauce , 16 ounce
• 1 cup turkey broth
• 0.5 cups soy sauce
• 0.25 cups orange juice
• 0.25 cups white vinegar
• 0.25 cups plum wine
• 0.25 cups white sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger root
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 1 whole turkey , 12 pound
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Toast dried red chiles in the hot oil until they turn dark red, about 2 minutes. Toss black pepper, 2 chopped green onions, light sesame oil, and 1 small chopped shallot into the hot oil; remove from heat.

2. 2

   Blend cranberry sauce, turkey broth, soy sauce, orange juice, white vinegar, plum wine, ginger, garlic, and orange zest in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Stir toasted red pepper mixture into glaze. Divide glaze in half.

3. 3

   Place turkey into a large basting bag and pour half the glaze over the turkey and into the cavity. Seal the bag and refrigerate turkey overnight.

4. 4

   Dissolve cornstarch in the remaining half of the glaze and refrigerate in a covered container.

5. 5

   Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

6. 6

   Remove turkey from marinade; discard the used marinade. Set turkey onto a rack inside a roasting pan.

7. 7

   Mix white rice, wild rice, dried cranberries, walnuts, 2 small chopped green onions, 1 chopped shallot, and 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a bowl. Lightly stuff the turkey cavity with the rice mixture. Combine 1/3 cup vegetable oil with 1/3 cup sesame oil in a bowl and set aside.

8. 8

   Roast turkey in the preheated oven, basting with vegetable and sesame oil mixture every 15 minutes, until skin is browned and crisp, about 2 hours. Stir reserved glaze containing cornstarch thoroughly and baste turkey every 15 minutes until glaze has baked onto turkey and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh reads 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), 1 1/2 to 2 more hours.