Holiday turkey with keto stuffing and gravy
Ingredients
- 5 oz. 140 g low-carb Holiday bread or any other low carb bread
- ½ cup 120 ml heavy whipping cream
- 1 lb 450 g ground pork or ground turkey
- 7 oz. 200 g bacon, diced
- 3 tbsp 3 tbsp butter
- 1 (4 oz.) 1 (110 g) yellow onion, finely choppedyellow onions, finely chopped
- ½ lb (2¼ cups) 220 g (500 ml) celery stalk, dicedcelery stalks, diced
- 4 oz. 110 g pecans, chopped
- 2 2 garlic clove, mincedgarlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp ½ tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 10 oz. 280 g butter, softened
- 2 (2 oz.) 2 (60 g) shallot, finely choppedshallots, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp 1 tbsp dried sage, finely chopped
- 1 1 orange, zestoranges, zest
- 1 tsp 1 tsp kosher or ground sea salt
- ¼ tsp ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 12 lbs 5.5 kg whole turkey
- 10 oz. 280 g rutabaga, diced
- 2 (41⁄3 oz.) 2 (120 g) carrot, roughly choppedcarrots, roughly chopped
- 2 (8 oz.) 2 (220 g) yellow onion, wedgesyellow onions, wedges
- giblets from the turkey
- 2 tbsp 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1 orangeoranges
- 2 tsp 2 tsp kosher or ground sea salt
- 1 tsp 1 tsp ground black pepper
- drippings from the turkey
- 2 cups 475 ml heavy whipping cream
- 4 oz. (½ cup) 110 g (110 ml) cream cheese
- salt or ground black pepper
Instructions
Stuffing instructions
- Crumble or tear the bread into pieces in a large bowl, and pour the cream on top. Let the bread absorb the cream for a few minutes.
- Fry the ground pork with bacon in half of the butter on medium-high heat in a large frying pan until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add onion, celery, pecan nuts, and garlic to the pan. Cook until vegetables are softened, about 5-7 minutes. Season with nutmeg, salt, pepper.
- Stir bread into the mixture. Set aside and let cool.
- Butter a baking dish with remaining butter. Reserve about a third of the stuffing mixture to stuff the turkey. Place the rest in the prepared baking dish, and refrigerate until the turkey is done in the oven.
- Bake until browned and crunchy, about 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine all of the orange butter ingredients.
- Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Remove the giblets and reserve.
- Using your fingers, gently loosen the breast skin and push in the orange butter. A good place to start is around the neck and thighs. Spread butter under the turkey breast and thighs. Reserve a third of the seasoned butter.
- Stuff the stuffing mix into the turkey. Tie together the thighs with cotton cooking string. Place the turkey in a big roasting pan, breast up. Tuck the wings under the turkey so that they won’t dry out during roasting.
- Place root vegetables, onion, and giblets around the turkey. Salt and pepper the turkey and vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Smear the rest of the orange butter on top of the turkey. Squeezed the orange juice over the turkey and place them in the pan together with the vegetables.
- Cover the breast part with aluminum foil to protect it from drying out. Place on lower rack in the oven and roast the turkey for 3-4 hours depending on the size, about 30 minutes per 2 lbs (1 kg). Baste the turkey every hour with pan juices. One hour before the turkey is done, remove the aluminum foil to allow the breast skin to roast.
A turkey should reach an inner temperature of 160°F (72°C) to be thoroughly cooked. It’s a good idea to use an oven-safe thermometer, and insert the probe into the middle of the inner side of the thigh, without hitting the bone. - Remove from the oven. Transfer the turkey to a large cutting board or serving plate. Tent with aluminum foil for 15–20 minutes, before serving.
- While the turkey is cooling, remove the vegetables and giblets from the baking pan. Pour the cooking juices through a strainer into a saucepan.
- Add heavy cream and cream cheese. Bring to a boil and lower the heat. Let simmer until desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Butter and turkey
Gravy
Tips
The best way to thaw a frozen turkey is to let it thaw slowly in the refrigerator. This will take 2–3 days, depending on weight. Remember that the turkey should not be refrigerated when you place it in the oven. It should almost be at room temperature, or there’s a risk that it won’t be thoroughly cooked.
For easier holiday prep, you can make the orange butter and the stuffing the day before baking the turkey. You can prepare the turkey up to 1 day before, or just a few hours before roasting.
Recommended special equipment
A large roasting pan and a zester.
Check out our Thanksgiving recipe collection page for more inspiration.
You can use a whisk or mash up the cream cheese bits with a spatula.