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Smoked Cilantro Lime Turkey Breast Tacos

By Mattison Stanton, 2021 Winner of the Grill Outside The Lines Contest

These Smoked Cilantro Lime Tacos are made with the Shady Brook Farms Turkey Cutlets. They come 4 in a pack, which is the perfect amount of protein for this recipe. Starting off with a 2 hour long cilantro lime marinade and then stacking the turkey cutlets on a rotisserie spike allows us to get a nice, even smoke. This recipe comes with the delicate taste of turkey, followed by a nice hint of cilantro lime, topped with pickled cabbage and a tasty avocado crema.

  • 8 Servings
  • 2 hrs and 30 mins Prep Time
  • 6 hrs and 30 mins Total Time

Ingredients

Cilantro Lime Marinade

  • ¼ cup lime juice
  • ½ cup honey
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 tbsp. soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp. oil (avocado or olive oil)
  • 2 garlic gloves minced
  • ½ cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 tbsp. paprika
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. pepper
  • ½ jalapeño, diced (if you want added heat)

Rotisserie Mop

  • Save ¼ cup of the marinade

Quick Pickle Cabbage

  • 6 ½ cups water
  • ½ red cabbage
  • ½ cup white vinegar
  • 1 ½ tbsp white sugar
  • 1 large jar

Avocado Crema

  • 1 avocado
  • ⅔ cup cilantro
  • ⅔ cup parsley
  • ½ jalapeño, diced (add more if extra heat is needed)
  • ½ pistachios
  • Juice of one lime
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ olive oil
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. pepper
  • ½ tsp. chipotle or cayenne powder

Other Ingredients

  • Tortilla shells
  • Cotija cheese
  • White crema
  • Cilantro

  • Step 1

    To make the cilantro lime marinade for the Turkey Breast Cutlets, start off by chopping and mixing all the ingredients in a bowl. Save ¼ cup of this for the mop sauce when turkey is smoking.

    Next, place the turkey cutlets in a large zip lock bag. The turkey cutlets come with four evenly sliced cutlets. We used two packages of this which gave us a total of 8 cutlets. Once the turkey is in the bag, pour marinade on top. Seal the bag up and evenly coat the turkey. Place this in the fridge for about two hours.

  • Step 2

    While the turkey is marinating, it’s time to start pickling the cabbage. Start by boiling 6 cups of water and chopping up half of red cabbage. Place your cabbage slices in a strainer and pour the boiling water on top. Now transfer the cabbage into a large jar. Mix the remaining ½ cup of water, ½ cup of white vinegar, and 1 ½ tbsp of white sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Pour this into the jar, close the jar up and place in the fridge.

  • Step 3

    About an hour and a half into the marinating time, start to get the smoker ready. Set the temp to 235° F and load your smoker with apple wood.

  • Step 4

    Once the smoker reaches its temperature, the Turkey Cutlets should be done marinating. Get your rotisserie spike ready and start neatly layering Turkey Cutlets on top of each other. You may have to fold some over so nothing hangs out of place. Once all 8 pieces are placed on the rotisserie spike, it’s time to start smoking.

    Note: You can use a rotisserie for this recipe, since it gives a nice even cook and smoky flavor. An alternative would be to do this Al Pastor style and use a vertical spike.

  • Step 5

    Now that the turkey is cooking, it's time to start the avocado crema. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until you have a nice, smooth consistency.

  • Step 6

    While the turkey is smoking, baste every 30-45 minutes. After about 4 hours of smoking or a reached temperature of 165° F, it’s time to take the turkey off the smoker. Leave everything on the spike and wrap the turkey in tin foil so it has a little time to rest.

  • Step 7

    Pan fry the tortilla shells, so you have a brown color and a great looking texture.

  • Step 8

    Now, it’s time to slice the turkey and layer some delicious tacos. Hold your rotisserie spike up vertically and start cutting the turkey off. You should see a beautiful, moist interior.

    Tip: You may need to use a glove just in case the spike is still hot.

    Layer the moist turkey slices on top of the tortillas, then add some pickled cabbage. Drizzle on the avocado crema and white crema. The white crema adds a great cooling flavor. Crumble up some cotija cheese and garnish with some cilantro. You should now have some beautifully delicious tacos.

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