Do you ever get a feeling that something will turn out perfectly? Even if you can’t explain why you feel that way? Well, that’s the way I feel about 2010. And the best way, for me, to start the year is to be with friends, feeling good about myself, be in good health, drink a cup of tea and cook a good meal. I decided to take on the ever traditional Turkey the way we Salvadoreans do it. We call it pan con chumpe which means bread with turkey. Basically it’s a gigantic turkey sandwich, every family has a different variation and actually made my new “traditional” turkey in the slow cooker (or crock pot). It was the BEST turkey I ever tasted! And that’s saying a lot coming from me! In El Salvador it’s tradition to make this turkey for Christmas eve and/or New Year’s eve dinner, here’s the recipe, according to me. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Pan con Chumpe:
Ingredients:

For the turkey: (Approx. 4-5 pound turkey)
1 cup. mustard
1/2 cup worcestershire sauce
8 ripe tomatoes
3 green peppers (seeded)
7 garlic cloves
3 white onions
*Relajo spice mix, or:
1/8 c. sesame seeds
6 bay leaves
1 guaque or serrano chile
1.5 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
thyme and salt to taste
10 grams peanuts (can be omitted if there’s an allergy)
achiote to taste

Start the night before by mixing the mustard with the worcestershire sauce and salt to make a paste then use the paste to rub the turkey inside and out, then place turkey in the crock and refrigerate overnight, at least 8 hours.

For the Sauce:
Toast the tomatoes, green peppers, onions and garlic on a pan or an indoor grill. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes but keep the juice (you can use a sieve) and blend all toasted vegetables together (in a blender of course!:))
Toast the relajo mix, everything except the achiote, and grind using either a coffee grinder or a blender. Add the spice mix to the sauce and blend again. Then sift the liquid out of the blended ingredients.

Putting it all together:
The turkey has to be in the slow cooker for 6-7 hours so make sure you prepare for that depending on when you want to eat dinner. We ate at 5 p.m. so I put the turkey in at 9:30 a.m.
Set the crock on the heating unit on high for 4 hours. At that time turn the turkey over (it may be awkward, you can use tongs to help) and pour the sauce over it. Then just leave it checking in on it once in a while just to make sure everything looks good.

To make the Panes:
Use large french buns, artisan rolls or portuguese rolls. Cut in half and assemble your sandwich using mayonaise (if desired), lettuce, cucumber, tomato, radishes and curtido (you can make your own or find some at your local latin market, salvadorean market or bodega), add your desired amount of turkey and then pour the sauce over the sandwich. Serve immediately.

Pan con Chumpe

Notes: The recipe seems complicated but it really isn’t, there are just a lot of steps. When you toast the vegetables make sure you are turning them over constantly to avoid burning. *
The relajo mix is actally not hard to find (hey, I was able to find it in Winnipeg!) so I suggest you really try to find it, if you really definitely can’t find any then go ahead and make the spice mix as directed above.
The slow cooker literally makes the meat fall off the bone. It will be the juiciest turkey you have ever tasted!

Verdict: I hate to toot my own horn here… (well, maybe not too much) but this is the BEST pan con chumpe that I have ever tasted, my grandma’s is the only one that surpasses it… and only by a thread! I tell you, if you have the time and patience to take on this Salvadorean treat then I suggest you do it. It brought back very delicious memories of my childhood.
Enjoy, and hope that 2010 brings you more delicious recipes to try!