PALEO THANKSGIVING!
Brining the Turkey
This
recipe is from allrecipes.com. Brining creates a more
tender, flavorful
turkey.
Approximate cook and preparation time: 5 hours OR 1 hour and
overnight
Ingredients
1 gallon
(16 cups or 4 quarts) vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup sea
salt
1
tablespoon crushed dried rosemary
1
tablespoon dried sage
1
tablespoon dried thyme
1
tablespoon dried savory
1 gallon
ice water
Process
1. In a
large stock pot, combine the vegetable broth, sea salt, rosemary,
sage,
thyme, and savory. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to be sure salt
is
dissolved. Remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature.
2. When
the broth mixture is cool, pour it into a clean 5-gallon bucket or a
brining
bag. Stir in the ice water.
3. Wash
and dry your turkey. Remember to remove the innards and save
them for
later. Place the turkey, breast down, into the brine. Make sure the
cavity
gets filled.
4. Place
the bucket or bag in the refrigerator overnight, or put the bag in a
sink
filled with ice water for 4 hours. The longer you brine it, the more
flavorful
it will be
5. Remove
the turkey carefully, drain off the excess brine and pat dry.
Discard
excess brine.
6. Keep in
mind that brined turkeys cook 20 to 30 minutes faster so watch
the temperature
gauge.
Roasting the Turkey
This recipe was
created by Paleo Plan
Approximate
cook and preparation time: 4 hours or so
Ingredients
12-15 pound turkey
(for lots of leftovers)
roasting pan
2 Tbs coconut oil,
lard, tallow
3 Tbs dried/Fresh,
crushed/chopped rosemary
1 tsp black pepper, to
taste
½ tsp sea salt
(optional)
Process
1. After brining the
turkey, dry it off either by air, with a blow dryer or with a
towel.
2. Pre-heat the oven
to 400 degrees F.
3. Mix the salt,
pepper and rosemary together in a small bowl. Place the oil and
the spice mixture
under the skin of the turkey by carefully pulling up the skin
and using your hands
to massage it in.
4. Place a meat
thermometer in the thickest part of the breast (not touching the
bone, though). Put the
turkey in a large roasting pan in the oven breast side
up and allow it to
cook for 20 minutes uncovered.
5. Lower the heat to
350 degrees F, cover the bird and cook for about 3 hours or
until the temperature
of the bird reaches 165 degrees F. In the last 45
minutes, uncover the
bird and allow it to brown.
Roasting the Turkey Option 2
Ingredients
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Fresh Rosemary, roughly chopped
7 lb Turkey Breast
2 tsp Salt and Pepper, to taste
Process
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Drizzle olive oil over turkey breast, brush to coat.
Separate rosemary from stems, roughly chop and sprinkle liberally on turkey.
Add salt and cracked pepper to taste.
Place turkey in shallow roasting pan.
Cook turkey approximately 25 minutes per pound (turkey is done when a meat thermometer inserted into the breast reads 170°F).
Periodically baste turkey with juices in the pan, especially toward the end of the cooking.
Let rest for 10 minutes, carve, and serve.
Gravy
This
recipe was created by Jim Lytton.
Approximate cook and preparation time: 3 hours
Ingredients
Innards
and neck from turkey
4 cups
water
4 cups (1
quart) chicken stock
drippings
from turkey
5-6 large
carrots
5 stalks
celery
1 medium
onion
2 large
cloves garlic
same herb
mix you used on turkey
salt to
taste (optional)
Process
1. Dice
the carrots, onion, and celery and mince the garlic. Save the innards
and the
neck from the turkey.
2. Combine
the water, stock, vegetables, herbs of choice, innards and neck
in a large
pot and heat on medium high until it starts to boil. Turn it down
to low for
a couple of hours until it starts to thicken and the meat starts to
fall off
the neck.
3. Remove
the neck and cut off the meat from it – discard the cartilage and
bone.
4. Place
the neck meat back in the pot and blend with a submergible blender
until
smooth. Alternatively, you can use a regular blender.
5. When
your turkey is done roasting, place the drippings (skim off the big fat
globules)
into the gravy mixture and incorporate with the blender until
smooth.
6. At the very end, add salt to taste.
Paleo Stuffing
Beef, celery, walnut & apple stuffing
Who says turkey stuffing absolutely has to be made out of bread? This version made with lean ground beef, celery, apples and walnuts tastes amazing and is way, way healthier. The ground beef has to be very lean not because we are scared of the fat in any way, but because the fat changes the taste and texture and creates something much different looking and tasting than a traditional stuffing. With the celery, apples and spices used, the aroma and texture will be very similar to the traditional stuffing. Cooked outside the bird, stuffing was traditionally called dressing, but now the names seem to be interchangeable. The usual spices used in a turkey stuffing are often sold in a mixture called a poultry mix and include rosemary, sage, thyme, and marjoram. Of course, the result will be much better if you chop yourself fresh herbs than if you buy a mix of dried a dried version of them.
Ingredients
1 lb extra lean ground beef;
1 tbsp cooking fat;
4 stalks celery, diced;
1 medium onion, diced;
1 apple, diced;
2 cups finely chopped walnuts;
1 clove garlic, minced;
Generous amount of poultry mix or springs of fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, and marjoram, very finely chopped;
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Process
Preheat your oven to 375 F.
In a large pan, sauté to ground beef and celery with the cooking fat for about 3 minutes. Make sure to crumble the ground beef to small pieces.
Add the diced apple and onion and continue sautéing for another 2 minutes.
Add the fresh herbs or poultry mix, minced garlic, walnuts and season with salt and pepper. Mix well. The meat should still be somewhat pink, it’ll finish cooking in the oven.
Put the mixture in a baking dish and bake uncovered for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven.
Comfort
Foods Stuffing
1 pound ground pork
2 teaspoons fresh sage leaves, freshly chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
¼ teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil
3 cups celery, chopped
2 cups onion, chopped
3 granny smith apples, cored and chopped
1 pound mushrooms, chopped
1-2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
¼ cup turkey stock or drippings from turkey
Process
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large skillet, brown pork along with sage, thyme, rosemary, cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes. Mix well and remove to bowl when cooked through.
3. In the same skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add in celery, onion, apples and mushrooms, and cook until onions are translucent and celery and mushrooms somewhat softened. Mix in the poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and turkey stock. Set aside.
5. Combine the pork with the sautéed vegetables in a large baking dish, and pour the egg/stock mixture over.
6. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes, uncovering for last 10 minutes to brown the stuffing on top.
(you can – if preferred – stuff your turkey with some of this goodness as well!)
Yields about 6 cups cooked stuffing
Everyday Paleo Stuffing
Ingredients
1 lb mild Italian pork or chicken sausage, casing removed (I used chicken
sausages from my local butcher)
4 ½ cups mushrooms, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
6 celery stalks, diced
4 carrots, diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon diced fresh
sage
½ tsp minced fresh thyme
leaves
½ cup dried cherries, finely
chopped
½ cup slivered almonds
½ tablespoon garlic powder
4 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper to
taste
Process
Preheat oven to 350. In a large soup pot, sauté onions in olive oil until
translucent. Add the sausage and brown. Add the carrots, celery,
mushrooms, chicken broth, cherries, almonds, sage, thyme, garlic powder, salt
and pepper. Mix well, bring to a simmer, and cook for 5-10 minutes or
until the veggies begin to absorb the chicken broth. Transfer to a large
glass baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 45
minutes.
Roasted sweet potatoes with rosemary
Ingredients
1 lb sweet potatoes or yams, cut into 1 inch cubes;
1 large sprig of picked rosemary leaves;
3 tbsp lard, duck or goose fat;
5 cloves garlic, skin still on, but smashed;
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;
Process
Preheat your oven to 425 F.
In a pot filled with salted cold water, place the sweet potato cubes and bring to a roiling boil. As soon as it boils, drain the potatoes in a colander and let steam and dry a bit in it.
Meanwhile, using a mortar and pestle, grind the rosemary leaves somewhat.
Heat a roasting pan on the stove top of medium-low heat, add the fat, rosemary, sweet potato cubes and season with salt and pepper. Without cooking anything, mix everything well together.
Place the roasting pan in the oven and roast for about 20 to 25 minutes, until crispy and tender. Stir the potatoes occasionally during the cooking process for an even cooking.
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients 15 -20 white button mushrooms, wiped clean with a paper towel and stems and gills removed
2 cups cooked crab (claw) meat, canned or fresh and finely chopped (I used canned and it was surprisingly good!)
½ cup jarred roasted red peppers, finely diced
3 tablespoons minced chives
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ cup paleo mayo (Paleo Mayo 2 – 1 egg, 2tbls lemon Juice, 1/2 tea dry mustard, ¼ cup light olive oil)
black pepper to taste
Mix together the crab and all remaining ingredients. Stuff each mushroom with heaping tablespoons of the crab mixture. Bake on a baking sheet greased with olive oil for 15 minutes @ 350.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil, Organic, melted
6 cloves Garlic, minced
8 cup Brussels Sprouts
2 tsp Salt and Pepper, to taste
Process
Preheat oven to roast at 400°F.
Rinse Brussels sprouts and cut off ends.
Place in glass baking dish and toss with 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Roast at 400°F for 20 minutes, stirring once after 10 minutes.
Add minced garlic, give a final stir, and roast sprouts for 10 more minutes.
Paleodietlifestyle Pumpkin Pie
Crust
1 cup pecans;
1/2 cup hazelnuts;
4 tbsp melted grass fed butter, ghee or coconut oil (room temperature);
A pinch of sea salt;
Filling
1 can fresh or canned pumpkin puree, nothing added (about 1 3/4 cups or 1-14oz can);
2 eggs;
1/2 cup local raw honey;
1/2 cup coconut milk;
2 tsp cinnamon;
1/4 tsp ground cloves;
1/4 tsp fresh grated ginger;
Process
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Process the nuts in a food processor to almost a flower consistency. Be careful not to process too much and get a butter instead.
In a bowl, mix the ground nuts with the butter or coconut oil into a thick dough, spread the crust mixture in a pie pan and bake for 10 minutes.
While the crust bakes, mix all the filling ingredients together in a bowl.
Add the filling evenly on the baked crust and bake for an additional 45 minutes.
