";

Paleo Thanksgiving Turkey and Stuffing

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, can you believe it? Bill and I both have some wonderful family memories from past Thanksgivings, and last year we were able to start making holiday memories together by spending Thanksgiving with Bill’s family.
This year, we will be spending the holiday with my family, and in preparation for the big turkey day, we were able to do a “test run” of a new turkey and stuffing recipe with a delicious turkey from US Wellness Meats. We enjoyed this turkey so much that we just ordered another one for the real Thanksgiving with my family in a few weeks.
We were lucky to share our pre-Thanksgiving meal with some very good friends, as well as my sister who just left to teach english for a year in the Dominican Republic. She will be missing Thanksgiving this year with my family, so we were very grateful that we were able to share this meal with her.
Our “paleo” friendly stuffing turned out to be delicious, and our good friend Diane even whipped up a simple gravy that really completed the meal. You can’t have Thanksgiving dinner without warm gravy drizzled all over everything, and this simple gravy is one you can enjoy guilt free! Our meal turned out fantastic, and I might add that this was my very first time cooking a whole Thanksgiving turkey on my own. Success!
Unfortunately we did not finish the meal with Bill’s famous Chiffon Pumpkin Pie, but we did enjoy some dates and pecans. However, we will definitely be making pumpkin pie for my family. We hope you all enjoy our Thanksgiving recipes, and that your home is filled with laughter, delicious smells, and full bellies. We know ours will be!
—————————————————————

Ingredients For Stuffing:

  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 packs of button mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 cup celery, chopped
  • 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons each, rosemary, thyme, and sage, minced
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tsp each, fennel seeds, anise, and paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
**Note: Adjust stuffing measurements accordingly depending on amount of people being served. This stuffing filled a 16 lb turkey, as well as a 5 qt braising pan.

Process For Stuffing:

  1. Heat coconut oil in a large skillet on medium heat.
  2. Place bell pepper, mushrooms, and celery into skillet and saute.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground pork, onion, garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, fennel seeds, anise, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
  4. Add ground pork mixture to skillet, and cook until pork is browned slightly.
  5. Remove from heat, and discard any liquid in the pan.
—————————————————————
Ingredients for Turkey:

  • 1 pastured turkey
  • Duck fat
  • Salt and pepper

To prep, stuff and cook the turkey:

  1. Preheat oven to 325.
  2. Place turkey in a roasting pan.
  3. Season turkey with salt and pepper, including the body cavity.
  4. Stuff turkey with pork stuffing.
  5. Place any remaining stuffing into a baking dish, cover and place in the fridge.
  6. Rub turkey with duck fat.
  7. Tuck wings under the breast, and tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
  8. Tent turkey with aluminum foil, and place in the oven.
  9. Roast turkey 20 minutes per pound at 325 degrees, this will be about 5 hours for a 16 lb turkey.
  10. Place outside stuffing in the oven, uncovered for the last 20-30 minutes of cooking, or until the stuffing is crispy on the tops, and the pork is cooked through.
—————————————————————

Simple Thanksgiving Gravy Recipe:

  1. Pour all turkey drippings and scraps from the bottom of the roasting pan into a blender or food processor.
  2. Blend until smooth and pour into a gravy boat.
—————————————————————

As always, enjoy!

Primal Palate Spice Blends

Share a recipe

Upload your own recipes to Primal Palate, and help others find great food on our site,, meal planner and app!

Primal Palate Cooking Channel

    COMMENTS

    1. November 5, 2011

      Nice meeting you guys today! The blog looks great, I'm getting pumped for Thanksgiving.

      Dan
      strengthfoodlife.blogspot.com

    2. November 6, 2011

      Your stuffing recipe alone could be the basis of a casserole–just add some more assorted veggies, or maybe some leafy green that have been mulched in the food processor, stir to combine before cooking…and maybe (?) some cheese on top (or bacon bits and cheese)?

    3. Tina_Stewart3
      November 14, 2013

      Is there something we can substitute for the mushrooms? I really do not like the texture of them and neither does my family. Any suggestions of what we could use instead?

      1. November 18, 2013

        Hi Tina: My recommendation would be to simply leave them out and double up on some of the other vegetables in the recipe to take their place. Add more peppers or celery and you should be just fine! Happy cooking!

    Write a Comment

    You need to be registered and logged in to post a comment.