When a special occasion comes along, be it a holiday or a family get together, you may want to bring a turkey out and roast it in the oven. That’s what we do, anyway. It’s a pretty easy way to feed everyone without too much work going on.
I figured I’d share the turkey we did for Easter so you guys can get an idea of what you can do on special occasions too! The turkey came out great – very garlicly, very moist, and a fantastic gravy on the side. Not to mention I pretty much always do my brussels sprouts with bacon when these occasions happen, so tons of fats go into that to displace the protein from the turkey.
I hope you guys enjoy this one – as always I love hearing your thoughts in the comments!
Yields 9 Servings of Turkey and 12 Servings of Gravy
The Preparation
Oven-Roasted Turkey:
- 80 ounces whole turkey
- 1/2 medium onion
- 45 grams green onion, chopped
- 1 medium lemon
- 1/4 cup fresh garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
Turkey Coating:
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic and herb seasoning
Gravy Base:
- turkey innards, from turkey
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 30 grams green onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 ounces brussels sprouts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Gravy Spices:
- 4 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 2 whole bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
The Execution
1. Preheat the oven to 325F. In a small ramekin combine 3 tbsp. Butter, 1 tsp. Cayenne, and 2 tsp. Chicken Herb Seasoning by microwaving for 15-20 seconds.
2. Pour the coating mixture over the turkey carefully, making sure to coat every part of the turkey. If you need more coating (depending on turkey size) then make more to completely cover turkey.
3. Chunk the medium onion and chop spring onions into large pieces. Stuff the turkey with 1/2 medium Onion (chunked), 1 medium Lemon (halved), 1/4 cup Minced garlic, 1 tsp. Dried Rosemary, and 3 stalks Spring Onions (chopped).
4. Once the turkey is stuffed, put it into the oven for 2 1/2 hours. You may need to cook it more depending on the size of your turkey. You want it to be 165F inside.
5. In a saucepan, bring the innards of the turkey, 1/3 cup Chicken Stock, 3 cups Water, and 1 tsp. Worcestershire to a rolling boil. Once it has started to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and let it simmer for about an hour.
6. After an hour, add 2 spring Onions, 3 Brussels Sprouts, 2 tbsp. Bacon Fat, and Salt and Pepper to taste. Let it simmer for about 30-45 minutes more.
7. Using an immersion blender, blend the gravy together so that everything turns into a thicker sauce.
8. Return the gravy to the saucepan and keep on low heat. This is where I split my gravy in half. My family likes their own version of gravy (by adding a pre-packaged mix into this), but I don’t. If you are going to use the whole thing, make sure you double the spices that go inside.
9. About 20 minutes before the turkey will be ready, add 4 sprigs Fresh Thyme, 1 Bay Leaf, 1/4 tsp. Rosemary, and 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream to the gravy. Bring it to a rolling boil and continuously stir it as it reduces.
10. Once your gravy is almost the consistency you want (about half of it should be reduced), add 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum and mix well. It should thicken up.
11. Remove turkey from the oven and let rest. Pour extra drippings into gravy for a thicker sauce.
12. You can also make brussels sprouts and bacon to serve on the side (they’re delicious).
13. Plate it all and serve it up!
This makes a total of 9 servings of Turkey Dinner with Homemade Gravy. Each serving comes out to be 486 calories, 26.1g fats, 4.1g net carbs, and 55.8g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 80 ounce whole turkey | 3243 | 127.9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 490.8 |
| 1/2 medium onion | 19 | 0.1 | 4.4 | 0.8 | 3.6 | 0.6 |
| 45 gram green onion | 14 | 0.1 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 0.8 |
| 1 medium lemon | 24 | 0.3 | 7.8 | 2.4 | 5.5 | 0.9 |
| 1/4 cup fresh garlic | 51 | 0.2 | 11.2 | 0.7 | 10.5 | 2.2 |
| 1 teaspoon dried rosemary | 4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| 3 tablespoon butter | 305 | 34.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper | 6 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| 2 teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning | 14 | 0.3 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 0.6 |
| — turkey innards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/3 cup chicken broth | 5 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| 3 cup water | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce | 4 | 0 | 1.1 | 0 | 1.1 | 0 |
| 30 gram green onion | 10 | 0.1 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.5 |
| 1 1/2 ounce brussels sprouts | 15 | 0.2 | 3 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 1.1 |
| 2 tablespoon olive oil | 239 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| — salt and pepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 teaspoon fresh thyme | 3 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| 2 whole bay leaf | 6 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.2 |
| 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary | 2 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0 |
| 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum | 8 | 0 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream | 405 | 42.9 | 3.3 | 0 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| Totals | 4377 | 234.4 | 49 | 12.1 | 36.9 | 502.5 |
| Per Serving (/9) | 486 | 26 | 5.4 | 1.3 | 4.1 | 55.8 |
Turkey Dinner with Homemade Gravy
Ingredients
Oven-Roasted Turkey
- 80 ounce whole turkey
- ½ medium onion
- 45 gram green onion chopped
- 1 medium lemon
- ¼ cup fresh garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
Turkey Coating
- 3 tablespoon butter melted
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning
Gravy Base
- turkey innards from turkey
- ⅓ cup chicken broth
- 3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 30 gram green onion chopped
- 1 ½ ounce brussels sprouts
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Gravy Spices
- 4 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 2 whole bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F. In a small ramekin combine butter, cayenne, and chicken herb seasoning and microwave for 15-20 seconds.
- Pour the coating mixture over the turkey carefully, making sure to coat every part of the turkey. If you need more coating (depending on turkey size), then make more to completely cover turkey.
- Chop the medium onion and green onions (listed for turkey) into large pieces. Stuff the turkey with onion, lemon (halved), minced garlic, dried rosemary, and green onions.
- Once the turkey is stuffed, put it into the oven for 2 1/2 hours. You may need to cook it more, depending on the size of your turkey. You want it to be 165F inside.
- In a saucepan, bring the innards of the turkey, chicken stock, water, and Worcestershire to a rolling boil. Once it has started to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and let it simmer for about an hour.
- After an hour, add green onions (listed for gravy), Brussels sprouts, olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Let it simmer for about 30-45 minutes more.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the gravy together so that everything turns into a thicker sauce.
- Return the gravy to the saucepan and keep on low heat. This is where I split my gravy in half. My family likes their own version of gravy (by adding a pre-packaged mix into this), but I don’t. If you are going to use the whole thing, make sure you double the spices that go inside.
- About 20 minutes before the turkey will be ready, add fresh thyme, bay leaf, rosemary, and heavy cream to the gravy. Bring it to a rolling boil and continuously stir it as it reduces.
- Once your gravy is almost the consistency you want (about half of it should be reduced), add xanthan gum and mix well. It should thicken up.
- Remove turkey from the oven and let rest. Pour extra drippings into gravy for a thicker sauce.
- You can also make Brussels sprouts and bacon to serve on the side (they’re delicious).
- Plate it all and serve it up!
