Boneless Stuffed Turkey Recipe

Surprise your family this Thanksgiving with a boneless stuffed turkey. Your guests will never know by looking at it that the turkey has been deboned. Visually, it looks just like a standard stuffed turkey, as you can see by the photo. It is not completely boneless. The leg and wing bones have been left in for aesthetic purposes, as well as for those who love to gnaw on the drumsticks.

You can fit more stuffing in a boneless turkey and have an easier time carving it to boot. Some butchers will debone for you, but it’s really not difficult to do it yourself. (Here’s how to debone it.)

This recipe was designed for use in a counter-top roaster oven but may be prepared in a standard oven as well. Check out my Notes below.

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Keep the stuffing recipe on file to use as a stand-alone side dish for other entrees during the year. It’s much better than the box mixes. Simply bake it in a casserole dish at 375 F. for 30 to 45 minutes.

Fifty-Fifty Stuffing:
1 medium sweet onions, diced
1-1/2 cups (about 3 large stalks) celery, diced
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3-1/2 cups (about 2 14-ounce cans) chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups dry bread cubes
2 cups dry cornbread cubes
Kosher salt to taste
1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce, optional

Poultry Seasoning Blend:
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 Tablespoon paprika

Turkey:
1 (12 to 14 pounds) turkey, deboned (see Note)
1 teaspoon browning sauce (such as Gravy Master® or Kitchen Bouquet®)
1 Tablespoon melted butter

Prepare Stuffing:
Sweat onions and celery in 1/2 cup of butter until limp. Add chicken broth, sage, thyme, and pepper. Stir to combine. Remove from heat. Fold in bread and cornbread. Taste and add salt if necessary. Fold in whole berry cranberry sauce. Let stuffing cool to room temperature.

Poultry Seasoning Blend:
Combine sage, thyme, kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.

Preheat countertop roaster oven to 400 F.

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Stuff the Boneless Turkey:
Open deboned turkey and place meat-side down, skin-side up on the work surface. Combine browning sauce with melted butter and brush over the entire exterior skin of the turkey. Sprinkle two-thirds of poultry seasoning spice mix on the skin of the turkey. Turn turkey over and sprinkle remaining spice mix on meat side.

Mound cooled stuffing on meat side of turkey. Pull skin together over stuffing. Sew closed using cooking twine or secure with a metal skewer.

Place stuffed turkey on rack in the roaster oven, making sure the lifter handles are in the upright position. Turn down temperature to 350 F. Bake for about 2 hours or until meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh meat, not touching bone, registers 165 F. If necessary, turn up temperature to 400 F. during the last half hour of cooking to promote browning.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Boneless Stuffed Turkey Recipe Photo ©2018 Peggy Filippone

Note:
• If you do not have a countertop roaster oven, a regular oven will do just fine. Timing will vary. Start checking after 1-1/2 hours in the oven. Use an instant-read thermometer to test for doneness. The center of the stuffing should read 170 F.