Turkey Dinner with Homemade Gravy

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

• 5 pounds whole turkey
• ½ medium onion
• 1 medium lemon
• ¼ cup minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 3 stalks spring onions, chopped

Turkey Coating

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 teaspoons chicken herb seasoning

Gravy Base

• Leftover Innards of Turkey
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire
• 2 stalks green onions
• 3 whole Brussels sprouts
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons bacon fat

Gravy Spices

You will need to double these if you did not half the amount of gravy you are using.

• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 full bay leaf
• ¼ teaspoon rosemary
• ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
• ¼ cup heavy 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 will make 9 servings of turkey and 12 servings of gravy. Each serving together will be 349 Calories, 22.3g Fats, 3.3g Net Carbs, and 32g Protein. You can easily pair this with some fatty bacon and brussels sprouts to make give it more fats!

Turkey Dinner with Homemade Gravy

This will make 9 servings of turkey and 12 servings of gravy. Each serving together will be 349 Calories, 22.3g Fats, 3.3g Net Carbs, and 32g Protein. You can easily pair this with some fatty bacon and brussels sprouts to make give it more fats!

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Ingredients

  

Oven-Roasted Turkey

• 5 lb. Whole Turkey or something in similar size
• ½ medium Onion
• 1 medium Lemon
• ¼ cup Minced Garlic
• 1 tsp. Dried Rosemary
• 3 stalks Spring Onions chopped

Turkey Coating

• 3 tbsp. Butter melted
• 1 tsp. Cayenne
• 2 tsp. Chicken Herb Seasoning

Gravy Base

• Leftover Innards of Turkey
• ⅓ cup Chicken Stock
• 3 cups Water
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire
• 2 spring Onions
• 3 Brussels Sprouts
• Salt + Pepper
• 2 tbsp. Bacon Fat

Gravy Spices

• You will need to double these if you did not half the amount of gravy you are using.
• 4 sprigs Fresh Thyme
• 1 Bay Leaf
• ¼ tsp. Rosemary
• ¼ tsp. Xanthan Gum
• ¼ Cup Heavy Cream

Instructions

 

• Preheat your oven to 325F. Stuff the turkey with all of the ingredients listed.
• Mix together the coating ingredients and then pour over the entire outside of the turkey. Make sure everything is coated (make more if needed).
• Bake turkey for 2 1/2 hours (you may need to cook it longer depending on the size - you want 165F internal temperature) . In the meantime, boil the turkey innards in 3 cups water and 1/3 cup chicken broth. Bring to a rolling boil and then reduce heat down to medium-low so it continues to simmer for about an hour.
• Add a few brussels sprouts, spring onion, Worcestershire and salt and pepper to the gravy. Boil for 30-45 minutes more and then blend with an immersion blender.
• At this point, you can split the gravy in half (I have non-keto family that wanted it their way) or keep it the same. If you keep it as a whole serving, double the spices that go into the gravy.
• Before the turkey is going to come out of the oven, add spices (except xanthan gum) and cream to gravy and bring to a full boil. Continuously stir and let it reduce over the next 15-20 minutes. Once it gets to a good consistency (relatively thick), add the xanthan gum and mix it all well.
• Let turkey rest and then pour pan drippings into gravy for a richer sauce.