I get hungry every autumn when I see pictures of my friends' Thanksgiving dinners, and it whets my appetite for the fall dishes typically served at these meals. But since I don't live in the U.S., we don’t have Thanksgiving off, so making a full dinner on the same day that everyone else is celebrating isn’t really possible. Instead, I sometimes make a Thanksgiving style dinner for the weekend. My kids don’t have the same associations with Thanksgiving as I do since they were born and raised abroad, so it’s not something I do every year.
This year, though, the weekend after Thanksgiving happened to be when my children were with their dad, and making a Thanksgiving dinner just for myself seemed a bit silly. But I decided that I was worth spending the time and energy on, even if it was just eating alone with a good book. It was a terrific meal, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Since I was just cooking for myself, obviously I wouldn't be using a whole turkey. I vastly prefer dark meat turkey so buying a few turkey legs to use for my meal was a given. I deboned the turkey legs, making sure to also remove the tendons, and then stuffed them.
I'm not sure why it took this long for me to get around to posting this, but you don't have to serve this just for Thanksgiving. Some people eat turkey once a year on Thanksgiving, even though they don't love it, just to "fullfill obligations" but this is a tasty enough recipe for any time of year, Thanksgiving or not. The glaze keeps it very moist, and the ingredients are a wonderful mixture that compliment the taste of the turkey.
This recipe is not only gluten free, it is allergy friendly and pretty frugal as well. And it looks fancy, which just is an extra perk.
I want to try making it with deboned chicken thighs as well.
Turkey Cranberry Rolada with Citrus Glaze -- Gluten Free, Allergy Friendly
Ingredients:
Turkey Roll
3 turkey legs, deboned
2 tablespoons oil of choice
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup packed dried cranberries (craisins)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Citrus Glaze
3/4 cup orange juice (from about 2 oranges)
Zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil (adjust as needed)
Instructions:
1. Dice the onions.
2. Finely chop the rosemary and garlic.
3. Saute together with nutmeg until starting to get golden.
4. Add sugar, salt, and craisins and saute for a few minutes more.
5. Lay your deboned turkey legs flat and fill divide up the filling among the 3 turkey legs.
6. Fold the turkey meat over the filling, then secure it using cooking twine, toothpicks, or wooden skewers to keep it closed.
7. Place the stuffed turkey legs in a pan, seam side down.
8. Mix the ingredients for the glaze and brush it over the turkey, putting the rest in the pan.
9. Bake covered at 350 for an hour, basting it every 15 minutes.
10. Bake uncovered for an additional 30 minutes, basting it after 15 minutes.
11. Remove skewers, toothpicks, or twine before serving.
12. Serve with all of your favorite Thanksgiving fixings. It tastes extra delicious with cranberry sauce, but it is moist and flavorful enough on its own.
Are you a fan of turkey? How often do you make it? Does this look like a recipe you'd try? Have you ever made anything like this before?
