My family always spends Thanksgiving at my parents’ house every year. My parents, brothers, fiancé, aunts, uncles, and cousins that live in the area (and those that are visiting from out of town) gather together for Thanksgiving dinner. My mom is in charge of making the turkey every year. I never actually paid attention to how she prepares her turkey. I remember one year she almost burnt the house down cooking the turkey. She saved the turkey, but the oven was destroyed and covered in fire extinguisher goop. She got a new oven out of the deal, but we never let her live that one down.
This year I decided to try my hand at making my own turkey. Since my mom handles the turkey for our family dinner I ended up making the turkey, a few weeks early, for me and my fiancé to enjoy. I figured the month of November should be filled with delicious turkey. I was proud of my first attempt because the turkey was moist and delicious.
Low Carb Roasted Turkey and Pan Gravy
1 lemon
1 head garlic
2 ribs celery
1 carrot
1/2 medium onion
1/2 cup melted butter, ghee, or olive oil
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, and Poultry Seasoning, to taste
1 cup chicken broth
For the gravy, add the chicken broth to the roasting pan. Scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour the liquid into a sauce pan and bring the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat. Allow the gravy to reduce by half. Serve over turkey.
Low Carb Pan Gravy: 3 net carbs (for entire recipe)
Cooking a larger turkey? You can figure it takes about 15-20 minutes per lb to cook an unstuffed turkey.
Not sure how large of a turkey you need? If go with 1 lb per person you should have enough to feed everyone plus plenty of leftovers. Also, if you are feeding a large crowd it may be better to get two smaller turkeys and cook them side by side. One large turkey takes longer to defrost and cook. Plus the meat tends to get dry on larger turkeys.
