Gluten-Free Sweet & Tangy Turkey Stuffing

This is my gluten-free version of my Mom’s delicious fruit-filled turkey stuffing. I’ve replaced the bread crumbs with naturally gluten-free whole buckwheat and the results are delicious and healthier too (sorry Mom!). You can buy buckwheat in most grocery stores. I use Bob’s Red Mill because it seems to be available everywhere. The recipe is on the back of the package and it’s dead easy, just like cooking rice but even faster – 10 minutes on your stovetop.

This is such an easy recipe but the results will make you look like a professional chef!  Everything is approximate so feel free to adjust the ingredients you add to the cooked buckwheat to suit your own taste. You can also substitute the raisins for currents or dried cranberries. Or sprinkle in some walnuts or cashews. It’s hard to mess this recipe up! 

Ingredients

• 1 BOW RIVER free-range turkey 
• 3C of whole buckwheat + 6 C water and 1t salt 
• 4 celery stalks
• 2 small onion or 1 large clove of garlic
• 2 sticks ( 1 Cup) of butter
• 1C raisins
• 1C dried apricots
• 2 Apples
• 2/3 C orange juice
• 1/4 C lemon juice concentrate or juice of 1 lemon 
• 1/2 C honey or brown sugar
• 2 t salt, 1t savoury, and 1t thyme (or 3t poultry seasoning)
• 1t paprika

Instructions

1- Pour buckwheat into a large pot along with 6 cups water and 1t salt. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes or until water is absorbed – just like cooking the rice! Stir to loosen any kernels stuck to the bottom and allow it to cool. 

2- Chop celery onion and garlic into small pieces 

3- Sauté celery,  onion, and garlic over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

4- Add onion, celery and garlic to the bowl of cooked buckwheat.

5- Chop up the apple and dry apricots and add to the bowl along with the raisins, salt, and spices. 

6- Add orange juice, lemon juice, and honey and/or brown sugar. Adjust the salt or spices to taste.

7- Pat the turkey cavity dry with a paper towel and then loosely fill the bird with the stuffing mixture. Place a whole apple or peeled onion in the opening of the cavity and then fold any loose skin over it to seal in the juices.

8- Cook turkey covered at 350F for 2 hours then remove the foil or lid and insert a meat thermometer into the middle of the breast or thigh.

9- Cook until the thermometer reads 160 (about 20 minutes per pound). Then remove from oven and cover again for about 10 – 20 minutes before removing stuffing and carving. 

What’s a roast turkey without gravy? In my next post, I’ll show you how to make your gravy well ahead of time so that while the Bow River turkey is out of the oven and resting you can be kicking back with a glass of wine and visiting with your friends and family rather than slaving over the gravy pan!