Gluten Free Thanksgiving at Home
The Best Turkey I’ve Ever Eaten
My husband, took over the kitchen this year — and I’m ready to make it official: Celiac Shack has a Chef.
I have to tell you about this turkey, because I’m still thinking about it. My husband, made the best turkey I have ever eaten in my life. Not “good for a holiday.” Not “good considering it’s gluten-free.” The best. The kind of turkey that had me halfway to the phone, ready to call every neighbor on the street and tell them to bring a fork.
He’d found a recipe that started the night before the big day, with a step I’d never bothered with: an overnight brine. And friends, that one step changed everything.
Secret #1: the overnight brine
The turkey soaked overnight in a simple saltwater bath sweetened with honey and warmed with cloves. By morning it had drunk in all that gentle salt and spice, so every bite came out tender and seasoned clear through — not just on the surface.
Honey-Clove Brine gluten-free
Rough amounts for a 12–14 lb turkey — adjust to match your bird and your hand.
About 1 gallon cold water (enough to cover the turkey)
~1 cup sea salt
~½ cup honey
1–2 tsp whole cloves
Stir until the salt and honey dissolve. Submerge the turkey, cover, and keep it cold (fridge or a cooler on ice) for 12–24 hours. Rinse and pat dry before roasting.
Secret #2: an herb butter… without the butter
Before it went in the oven, he mixed up a fragrant coconut-oil rub — thyme, oregano, a whisper of basil, garlic, and sea salt — and worked it both over the skin and under it, right against the meat. That’s the trick that perfumes the whole bird from the inside out.
Coconut-Oil Herb Rub gluten-free
Enough to coat a 12–14 lb turkey.
~½ cup coconut oil, softened or gently melted
1–2 Tbsp thyme
1–2 Tbsp oregano
1 tsp basil
3–4 cloves garlic, minced
Sea salt to taste
Stir together into a paste. Loosen the skin with your fingers and spread the rub underneath, then rub the rest all over the outside.
A nest of vegetables (and the drippings they make)
Instead of setting the turkey on a bare rack, Shane surrounded it with organic carrots, celery, red potatoes, and onions, with just a little water in the bottom of the pan. As the turkey roasted, all of that goodness melted down into the richest drippings you can imagine — which set us up perfectly for the gravy.
Roasting Bed & Simple Pan Gravy gluten-free
The gravy is naturally gluten-free — cornstarch does the work, no flour needed.
Organic carrots, celery, red potatoes, and onions, roughly chopped, around the turkey
~1 cup water in the bottom of the pan
For the gravy: ~2 Tbsp cornstarch whisked smooth into ~½ cup milk
Sea salt, just a little
Roast the turkey on its vegetable bed (about 13–15 minutes per pound at 325°F, until the thickest part reads 165°F). After it comes out and rests, whisk the cornstarch-and-milk mixture into the hot drippings and simmer until it thickens. Taste, add a pinch of sea salt, and try not to drink it straight from the pan.
Two stuffings (because one never lasts)
For the stuffing, I made up my own on the spot — gluten-free bread crumbs with celery, onion, and that same lovely herb blend. And because stuffing always vanishes first at our table, we made a wild rice version alongside it, so there’d be enough to go around.
My On-the-Spot GF Stuffing gluten-free
A loose, forgiving recipe — go by feel, the way I did.
Gluten-free bread crumbs or dried bread cubes
Celery and onion, diced and softened in a little coconut oil or butter
Thyme, oregano, a touch of basil, garlic, sea salt
Warm broth, added a splash at a time until it just holds together
Wild rice version: fold the same sautéed celery, onion, and herbs into cooked wild rice instead of bread crumbs — nutty, hearty, and naturally gluten-free.
Husband's homemade cranberry sauce (the surprise star)
Here’s the part I never saw coming. He introduced all of us to homemade cranberry sauce, and it stole the show. One of my sons eats it like ice cream — and I, who never put cranberry sauce anywhere near my turkey, have completely come around. I actually look forward to it now. The whole batch disappeared in a single day, thanks in no small part to our oldest son, who sat down and put away an entire bowl of it for dinner that night.
Cranberry Sauce gluten-free
He follows the bag’s water cooking directions, then swaps maple syrup for the sugar.
1 bag (12 oz) organic whole cranberries
Water per the package directions (usually ~1 cup)
Maple Syrup — start around ⅓–½ cup and sweeten to taste
Simmer until the cranberries pop and the sauce thickens, stirring now and then. Cool, and watch it disappear.
Mashed potatoes, the way Mom makes them
And of course, mashed potatoes — with real butter, raw milk, and one little touch I always sneak in to keep them tasting like home: a bit of basil, just the way my mom always made them.
Mom’s Basil Mashed Potatoes gluten-free
Potatoes, boiled until fork-tender
Real butter, to taste
Raw milk (or whole milk), added until creamy
Sea salt, and a little basil — my secret ingredient ♥
The turkey was so good that we ended up sharing leftovers with the neighbors, who could not get over how flavorful it was without a thing added to it. That’s the beauty of real ingredients treated well — they don’t need much help.
So after this feast — and after all the other meals he has spoiled us with (the man is magic with fish) — I’ve decided he needs to quit running his company and come on full-time as the Celiac Shack Chef. He even stood there shaking his head at his own cooking, amazed at how good it all turned out. I’m taking that as a yes.
Next year, I think we’ll just have to have everyone over to taste his turkey for themselves. And in the meantime — I cannot wait to see what this man makes for Christmas dinner.
With love (and a very full plate),
Steffi E.
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