Starting to get a little freaked out about Turkey Day?
I hear you. It can be daunting to prepare a Paleo Thanksgiving feast for a crowd—especially one that’s expected to hit all the traditional notes: turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed something-or-other, football on TV, elastic waistbands, and a big helping of family drama.
I can’t broker peace between Uncle Frank and your sister-in-law, but I can help with the food. This year, I’m partnering with Whole Foods Market to hold your hand through each step of the process.
This year’s holiday menu? THE SAME AS LAST YEAR’S. Why? Because Thanksgiving’s not the time to experiment with new recipes. We can’t afford a spectacular fail in front of our family and friends, am I right? That’s why I always return to my list of tried-and-true Turkey Day recipes.
Ready to get started? I’ll even show you a fun video (featuring me!) to help conquer your fear of cooking turkey!
Step One: Order a turkey—soon. Like, this week. If you’re getting a pastured turkey from your local farmer, that’s ideal. Alternatively, if you’re thinking about picking up a big bird from the store, check out the Global Animal Partnership’s (GAP) 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating on the turkeys sold at Whole Foods Market, which offers information about how store-bought birds were raised. For example, I see that my local (Northern California) Whole Foods locations carry birds from Diestel Family Turkey Ranch in Sonora—and turkeys from its original ranch got a 5+ rating! (SoCal folks can order their choice of Mary’s Free Range Turkeys, raised by the Pittman family in Fresno.)
Step Two: Review my recipe for Spatchcocked Turkey—a.k.a. Butterflied Big Bird. And watch this brand-spankin’-new video (shot in my kitchen!), in which I demonstrate how to roast a butterflied turkey in just a few easy steps:
Pro tip: You can request that the meat department spatchcock your turkey when you pre-order it at Whole Foods Market. Simply ask ’em to remove the backbone in the special instructions and it’ll be done for free!
Step Three: Stay tuned! I’ll be posting more Thanksgiving-themed videos in the coming days, along with a handy-dandy Turkey Day prep timeline and a shopping list, too. Trust me: Thanksgiving will be a breeze this year!
Looking for more recipes? Head on over to my Recipe Index! You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPad® app, and in my New York Times bestselling cookbook, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel 2013).
