If you love Nigerian rice and stew then you will love this turkey stew recipe. Smoked turkey cooked in rich pepper mix until well fried and flavours infused for a delicious result.
Rice and stew in an African home
As a true Nigerian living in the diaspora, there is no way rice and stew won’t make its way to my table at least once a week. If I don’t make this happen, I get pulled by my husband and children, I’m sure it would be the same for many West African homes.
Rice and stew are like okra soup and fufu, no matter how polished and sophisticated you have become, you will always love these food combinations.
Today’s stew is easy and straight forward and it is similar to my popular ofada stew. Same concept but a different choice of protein and I used a mixture of palm oil and vegetable. You can use any of these cooking oil, it would yield delicious stew.
This Nigerian stew is best served with plain boiled rice and you may also serve it with fried yam. This recipe is a good one to have in your fridge at all times, let me show you how to make it in easy steps.
Related post: Are you new to Nigerian cooking, check out my pepper mix post. It is the base for most Nigerian recipes.
Ingredients
Smoked turkey
Red bell peppers: Also known as tatashe in Nigeria
Scotch bonnet chillies
Onions
Palm oil
Vegetable oil
Locust beans; it is also known as Iru (iru woro) in Yoruba. This is optional but recommended if you can find one.
Ground crayfish: this is optional but great for additional depth of flavour
Salt
Chicken bouillon powder
How to make smoked turkey stew that is perfect for rice.
Grill the smoked turkey: rinse the smoked turkey clean and place in your air fryer basket at 180C/365F for 15 minutes turning once. Alternatively, add Smoked turkey on a lined baking sheet or non-stick baking sheet and grill for 15 to 20 minutes turning halfway during the cooking time. Transfer the turkey to a plate and set it aside. Cut the turkey into smaller bite-size if you want, this is optional.
Blend the pepper: to a food processor, add roughly chopped red bell peppers, scotch bonnet chilli and onions and pulse until coarse in texture. (if you blend the pepper mix smooth, you will not achieve the same texture and you may also need to boil the pepper mix so it reduces in size)
Heat up the oil: place a sturdy pan on medium-high heat, add vegetable oil and palm oil and heat until hot (you don’t need to bleach the oil for this but you can if you want) add chopped onions and sauté until soft and fragrant then add washed locust beans and cook for about a minute. Keep an eye so as not to burn it.
Add pepper mix to the pot, stir to combine and cook for 10 minutes, stirring intermittently to avoiding the stew burning. Season the stew with chicken bouillon, hold on to adding salt because smoked turkey can be quite salty so it should be the last thing to add.
Add the grilled smoked turkey to the stew, stir to combine and continue for another 10 to 15 minutes or until you start to see the oil floating on top of the stew. (don’t worry if the oil seems much, you can always decant before you serve)
Add ground crayfish, stir to combine. Taste the stew and adjust salt to taste. Continue to cook the stew for another 3 to 5 minutes. take it off the heat and serve over boiled white rice or ofada rice.
How to store
Smoked turkey stew is a great for meal prep. You can store it in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container and up to 3 months in the freezer.
To reheat from frozen: simply leave to thaw overnight in the fridge or reheat from frozen in the microwave.
More Nigerian recipes
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Smoked Turkey Stew (Rice and stew)
Ingredients
- 12 pieces Smoked turkey or as needed
- 4 large red bell peppers tatashe
- 2 scotch bonnet chillies or use according to heat tolerance
- 2 mediums onions chopped reserve about ½ cup
- ½ cup palm oil
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp locust beans Iru
- ⅓ cup ground crayfish
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder or as needed
Instructions
- Grill the smoked turkey: rinse the smoked turkey clean and place in your air fryer basket at 180C/365F for 15 minutes turning once. Alternatively, add Smoked turkey on a lined baking sheet or non-stick baking sheet and grill for 15 to 20 minutes turning halfway during the cooking time. Transfer the turkey to a plate and set it aside. Cut the turkey into smaller bite-size if you want, this is optional.
- Blend the pepper: to a food processor, add roughly chopped red bell peppers, scotch bonnet chilli and onions and pulse until coarse in texture. (if you blend the pepper mix smooth, you will not achieve the same texture and you may also need to boil the pepper mix so it reduces in size)
- Heat up the oil: place a sturdy pan on medium-high heat, add vegetable oil and palm oil and heat until hot (you don’t need to bleach the oil for this but you can if you want) add chopped onions and sauté until soft and fragrant then add washed locust beans and cook for about a minute. Keep an eye so as not to burn it.
- Add pepper mix to the pot, stir to combine and cook for 10 minutes, stirring intermittently to avoiding the stew burning. Season the stew with chicken bouillon, hold on to adding salt because smoked turkey can be quite salty so it should be the last thing to add.
- Add the grilled smoked turkey to the stew, stir to combine and continue for another 10 to 15 minutes or until you start to see the oil floating on top of the stew. (don’t worry if the oil seems much, you can always decant before you serve)
- Add ground crayfish, stir to combine. Taste the stew and adjust salt to taste. Continue to cook the stew for another 3 to 5 minutes. take it off the heat and serve over boiled white rice or ofada rice.
Notes
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Wow what a delicious I will ever taste