Thanks to Topsy Turkey for sponsoring this post!
While I was making dinner last month, I made up a keto-friendly recipe for a lemon-garlic roasted chicken stuffed with veggies. It turned out so delicious that I knew right away that I wanted to replicate it on a turkey, since I’ll be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the first time ever this year as a keto-friendly “Ketosgiving” feast! I’ve only made a turkey once before, for Christmas dinner last year – which is when us Brits eat our turkey dinners! – so I thought it would be wise to do a test run before the big day. So when Topsy Turkey reached out to be part of our Keto Christmas Gift Guide, it caught my attention right away. Topsy Turkey is a one-of-a-kind roasting rack that creates a moister, tastier turkey which also cooks faster. Now that I’ve tried it, I’m confident that my Thanksgiving meal will be a huge hit – and whether you follow a ketogenic diet or not, you are going to love this recipe! And three lucky MomStart readers will also win a Topsy Turkey for their own table, so make sure you read to the end of the post for your chance to enter!
Keto Lemon Garlic Turkey Recipe
Loosely inspired by this recipe and this post!
Ingredients:
12.5 lb whole turkey
2 sticks of butter
2 1/2 lemons, cleaned with fruit and veggie wash – I used this one
1 carrot, peeled & sliced thin
1 stalk of celery, chopped
6 halved Brussels sprouts
1/4 of an onion, chopped
4 whole cloves of garlic
Garlic salt
Black pepper
Paprika
Directions:
Step one:
In a medium bowl, combine the carrot, celery, Brussels sprouts, onion, and garlic. Toss with salad tongs to combine.
Step two:
Line a large roasting pan with foil and place the turkey in the pan, removing the neck and giblets. (I personally set these aside to use later for soup, but you can throw them away if you don’t want to use them.) Melt 1/2 stick of butter and use a basting brush to paint the cavity of the turkey with the butter. Take the vegetable mixture and stuff it into the cavity – protip: I use disposable plastic gloves when I handle turkey and stuffing! Take 1/2 of a lemon and chop it into quarters, placing it on top of the stuffing mixture inside the cavity. Use kitchen twine to truss the stuffed turkey – we referred to this video tutorial from Alton Brown when we trussed ours for this recipe.
Step three:
Once you have trussed the turkey, flip it breast side down in the pan. Melt 1 stick of butter and use your brush to generously coat the turkey with butter, taking care to work the brush into the various nooks and crannies on the bird. (You can use less or more butter depending on the size of the bird and your preference – just make sure you coat it generously!) Once the butter has been thoroughly worked into the side of the turkey that is facing up, take 1 lemon and use a zester to sprinkle the zest from the lemon rind all over the turkey. Cut the lemon in half and use a lemon squeezer to squeeze the juice from both halves over the turkey. Season with garlic salt, black pepper, and paprika.
Step four:
Flip the turkey again so the breast is facing up. Melt an additional 1/2 stick of butter and repeat the basting process on this side. Take 1 lemon and repeat the process of zesting and juicing on the breast, followed by seasoning.
Step five:
Place the pan in the oven on the lowest rack position and broil the turkey at 460 degrees for 20 minutes, or until the turkey is nicely browned.
Step six:
This is where Topsy Turkey comes in! Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Flip the turkey so that it is breast side down and place it on top of the Topsy Turkey rack, which should be positioned in the center of the roasting pan. Topsy Turkey is designed in a teardrop shape, and can be used in either direction – the smaller side works better for smaller turkeys, and the larger side is ideal for bigger birds. You’ll want to position the breast towards the larger end of the teardrop at a 20 degree angle. Most of the fat and juices are located in the lower back of a turkey or chicken, so by “Flipping the bird” and using this inverse cooking position, Topsy Turkey uses gravity to pull moisture down into the breast meat to saturate it, along with all the other benefits of using a rack to elevate the meat.
Step seven:
Once you have the bird situated in the Topsy Turkey frame, add 1 cup of water to the pan and cover the turkey with foil, leaving the sides slightly vented. Set the oven to 350 degrees and put the turkey back into the oven. Cook until both the turkey and center of the stuffing reach 165 degrees. Remove the foil during the last 45 minutes of cooking time in order to brown the entire bird – I used my MEATER meat thermometer on the turkey, and as soon as the app let me know there was 45 minutes remaining, I popped the foil off. Once the turkey is ready to remove from the oven, let it rest on the Topsy Turkey frame for 20 minutes.
Then you’re ready to serve and enjoy!
Bonus Thanksgiving life hack: After we finish eating, I like to carve the bird completely and package all of the leftover meat in freezer bags while putting the bones directly into my Instant Pot. I use bird bones to make a keto version of this turkey soup recipe, so I like to pressure cook them immediately to make the broth. Since the soup uses many of the same ingredients as this stuffing – celery, carrot, and onion – you could even chop extra ahead of time while making the stuffing, and you’ll be ready to roll with your soup. To do a keto version of his recipe, I just omit the egg noodles and corn starch; I also add garlic while sauteing the veggies, because if you couldn’t tell from this recipe, I really like garlic. 😉
This recipe turned out fantastic – my husband said “This is as good as turkey gets!” I’m so delighted to have found Topsy Turkey. I’ve only made two attempts at cooking a whole chicken or turkey before this, and any time I’ve looked up the best cooking practices, I inevitably find complicated directions about balancing the bird on top of multiple racks and trays in order to allow the air to circulate around it. This makes my eyes glaze over, so each time I’ve gone for the easier route of just placing my bird on a bed of chopped veggies to give it some elevation without the hassle. Now that I have Topsy Turkey – a small roasting rack that is easy to use AND store! – I save time on both the preparation and the actual cooking time of the bird, with the added bonus of making the most juicy and delicious turkey possible! If a Thanksgiving beginner like me can avoid dry turkey and knock it out of the park, you know that any kitchen can benefit – I highly recommend picking one up for Thanksgiving, and keeping Topsy Turkey in mind as a great wedding gift or Christmas present for the chef on your list!
Enter to Win a Topsy Turkey For Your Kitchen!
Three MomStart readers will win a Topsy Turkey, ARV $19.95! Giveaway is open to US residents, 18+ – sorry, no PO boxes – and ends on November 30th, 2019 at 11:00 PM PST. Please see the Rafflecopter widget below for full details, and click here to read our giveaway rules.
Remove poultry from packaging 12-24 hours prior to cooking, leaving uncovered in the refrigerator. This will dramatically reduce the moisture on the skin and allow it to brown easier and quicker.
I am definitely going to try this.
I learned If you’re not using a meat thermometer, you are just guessing!
I like that you can use it in a smoker also.
I learned that fir grills and smokers you just place poultry breast side down on frame and cook!
We actually cook our turkey upside down, but we have nothing to hold it in place other than gravity. They key to this device is that it hold it at a 20 degree angle, which is something we do not do.
I learned that this method of cooking makes for moist, juicy breast meat!
I learned: The approximate 20° angle is key as the juices and fat on the lower back of the bird are now positioned on top to allow for self- basting INTERNALLY which is the secret to juicy, moist white meat.
I learned that using a meat thermometer is important to cook the turkey at 165 degrees.