I have provided so many Thanksgiving/Holiday side dishes that keep the sugars and grains at a minimum during the time of year that carbs are at maximum velocity. I’ve always overlooked doing a recipe for a Roast Turkey and low carb gravy. I ignorantly thought folks have their turkey in check, why do they need me? Turns out, they don’t, so here I am with solutions.
So now, at long last, I present to you my preferred method for roasting the perfect Thanksgiving Turkey. With a bonus appearance from my easy recipe for low carb gravy (it uses arrowroot powder). Make sure to all the notes in the note section of each recipe,. If you’re new to making a turkey, don’t stress. It’s super easy. But read through the recipe first, and for the love of all that is holy, make sure your bird is fully thawed before cooking it!
This roasting pan from All-Clad is the exact one that I use, FYI.
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Thanksgiving Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 12-15 pound turkey, thawed, giblets removed, cleaned and dried
- 3-5 tablespoons salt
- 1-2 sticks butter (1/2-1 cup) brought to room temperature
- 1 tablespoon anchovy paste
- 1 large onion, quartered
- Fresh thyme, rosemary, sage, bay leaves, and/or parsley, for stuffing
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Low Carb Gravy
- 1 cup gravy
Instructions
- Dry brine the turkey:
- First thing in the morning, or even the night before, place clean turkey on a baking sheet. Pour salt all over the outside and inside cavity of the turkey. Cover turkey with foil, plastic wrap, a paper bag, or paper towels. Place baking sheet with covered turkey in the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight. Remove from fridge and let stand 30 minutes. Shake off excess salt.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place turkey breast-side-up on a rack in a roasting pan. In a small bowl, mix the butter and anchovy paste into an anchovy butter. Gently lift the skin away from the breast meat, and shove several tablespoons of anchovy butter down as far as possible underneath skin. Spread remaining butter all over outside of turkey to make sure entirely of skin is coated. Stuff turkey cavity with onion quarters and a selection of fresh herbs. Truss together legs if not already pre-tied. Tuck wings under the bird if poking out to prevent them from burning. Pour chicken broth onto bottom of roasting pan.
- Place roasting pan with turkey into oven and let cook 30 minutes. Lower heat to 325 degrees. Baste turkey with pan drippings and repeat every 20 minutes until 2.5-3 hours cook time has passed. If skin on the breast looks like it’s starting to burn, tent the breast with foil to prevent overcooking the breast meat. Cook until an internal meat thermometer reads 175 degrees when placed into the thickest part of the thigh, until pre-inserted indicator pops out, or if cutting between thigh and leg, the juices run clear.
- Remove from oven and let stand 20-30 minutes. Drain drippings from roasting pan into gravy separator. Make gravy recipe below while turkey stands. Carve turkey and serve with gravy.
To Make the Low Carb Gravy
- In a medium saucepan, heat drippings, chicken broth, butter, garlic powder, and onion powder until melted and hot but not yet boiling. Remove 1/3 cup of the hot liquid into a smaller bowl and whisk in 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder until dissolved into a slurry, then pour back into sauce pan. Repeat one to two more times with arrowroot powder slurry. Bring to boil, then turn down heat to a simmer and let sauce reduce, until gravy thickens to desired consistency, about 15-20 minutes, whisking frequently. If the gravy still feels too thin, make the arrowroot powder slurry, 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired thickness. Be careful not to over thicken the gravy, lest it become too gooey. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Remove from heat and whisk in heavy cream, if desired, for a thicker, richer gravy. Serve immediately.
Notes
The turkey you choose is based on the people you must feed. This recipe uses a 12 pound turkey, which is fairly average to serve 4-6 people. If you are making a giant bird, then scale up the salt, butter, herbs, and anchovy paste.
For turkey cooking times, I always use the math of 15 minutes per pound of turkey, so a 12 pound turkey would cook for 3 hours at 350 degrees. If your turkey comes with a popup indicator, defer to that device, but also have a meat thermometer on hand.
The anchovy paste is an incredible flavor enhancer that will convert any staunch turkey-refuser. BUT I understand that some folks can’t wrap their brains around using anchovy paste, so you can omit it if you insist.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Low Carb Gravy
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup turkey pan drippings, solids strained out and discarded, fat skimmed
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 stick butter (8 tablespoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 3-5 teaspoons arrowroot powder (depending on desired thickness)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream, optional, for thickening
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat drippings, chicken broth, butter, garlic powder, and onion powder until melted and hot but not yet boiling. Remove 1/3 cup of the hot liquid into a smaller bowl and whisk in 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder until dissolved into a slurry, then pour back into sauce pan. Repeat one to two more times with arrowroot powder slurry. Bring to boil, then turn down heat to a simmer and let sauce reduce, until gravy thickens to desired consistency, about 15-20 minutes, whisking frequently. If the gravy still feels too thin, make the arrowroot powder slurry, 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired thickness. Be careful not to over thicken the gravy, lest it become too gooey. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Remove from heat and whisk in heavy cream, if desired, for a thicker, richer gravy. Serve immediately.
Notes
If you want to make gravy and you have no pan drippings, use chicken or beef broth instead of drippings. You may need additional thickeners, such as additional arrowroot powder or heavy cream, added until desired thickness is achieved.
If you use turkey drippings for the gravy, you will need less salt to flavor the gravy as the pan drippings will be salty from the dry brining of the turkey.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
This recipe created the most delicious turkey ever! We usually do the turkey in the bag recipe, but decided to try this since Anna’s recipes are always delicious. This didn’t disappoint! Our family isn’t crazy about turkey but this year, the kids were begging for the leftovers when they were leaving.
First time trying a turkey and it turned out great thanks to Anna. The skin was crispy and delicious and the gravy had a great flavor. As always, the recipe was easy to follow and made what I thought would be tough really simple. Thanks!