Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner for 8

Then prep

• Set out a roasting pan or 9x13 dish for the turkey, the Instant Pot, a stainless skillet, a heatproof bowl for the brown butter, a second 9x13 dish for the stuffing, a pot and a whisk for the gravy, a large measuring cup, a meat thermometer, foil and a cutting board.
• Set the 5 tbsp butter and 5 tbsp flour by the stove for the gravy.
• Measure the 2 tsp soy sauce and 1 tsp cider vinegar into a small cup. This is the gravy finish.
• Cut the zested lemon in half. Keep one half for the stuffing. Put the other half back in the fridge.
• Everything is ready. Clear the counter so you have room for the turkey.

Ingredients

• 2boneless turkey breast roasts, about 3 lb each
• 4 tbspbutter, soft (turkey)
• 3 tbspwhite miso (turkey)
• 1 tbspreal maple syrup (turkey)
• 1 tbspchopped fresh sage and thyme (turkey)
• 1lemon, zest for the turkey and half the juice for the stuffing
• 1 tspblack pepper (turkey)
• 1 cupchicken broth (roasting pan)
• 4 lbYukon Gold potatoes
• 8 tbspbutter (potatoes)
• 1 cupsour cream (potatoes)
• 1 1/2 tspsalt (potatoes)
• 1 splashmilk (potatoes)
• chives, chopped (potatoes)
• 1 bagstuffing mix, 12 to 14 oz
• 1/2 lbbulk sausage (stuffing)
• 2 tbspbutter (stuffing), plus more for the dish
• 1onion, diced (stuffing)
• 2celery stalks, diced (stuffing)
• 1 tspfennel seed (stuffing)
• 1 tbspchopped fresh sage (stuffing)
• about 2 1/2 cupschicken broth (stuffing), or the amount the bag calls for
• parsley, chopped (stuffing)
• 5 tbspbutter (gravy)
• 5 tbspflour (gravy)
• 4 cupspan liquid topped up with chicken broth (gravy)
• 2 tspsoy sauce (gravy)
• 1 tspcider vinegar (gravy)
• 1 can or jarcranberry sauce
• 1 jarturkey gravy, as a backup

Steps

1. Unwrap the 2 turkey roasts. Leave the string netting on.
2. Pat the roasts dry.
3. Set the roasts in the roasting pan, not touching.
4. Rub the roasts with the miso butter. Add no salt.
5. Pour the 1 cup broth into the pan.
6. 5:00. Put the turkey in the oven. It is done when the thickest part reads 165°F, usually about 2 hours. Go by the thermometer, not the clock. Set a timer for 6:30 to check it.
7. While it roasts: at 5:30, peel the 4 lb potatoes.
8. Cut the potatoes into 1 1/2-inch chunks.
9. 6:00. Put the potatoes in the Instant Pot with 1 1/2 cups water. Cook at high pressure for 8 minutes. The Instant Pot needs nothing from you now.
10. 6:05. Put the 8 tbsp butter in the stainless skillet over medium heat.
11. Brown the butter 5 to 7 minutes, swirling, until it is brown and smells nutty. Watch only the butter.
12. Pour the brown butter into the heatproof bowl right away so it stops cooking.
13. 6:25. Quick-release the Instant Pot.
14. Drain the potatoes.
15. Put the potatoes back in the pot.
16. Mash the potatoes with the brown butter, the 1 cup sour cream and the 1 1/2 tsp salt.
17. Loosen the mash with a splash of milk.
18. Put the lid on and set the Instant Pot to Keep Warm. The potatoes are done.
19. 6:30. Check the turkey temperature. If the top is getting dark, lay foil loosely over it. If the pan is dry, add 1/2 cup broth. Set a timer for 15 minutes and check again each time it goes.
20. 6:40. Butter the stuffing dish.
21. Put the dry stuffing, the sausage base and the broth the bag calls for (about 2 1/2 cups) in the dish.
22. Mix the stuffing. Set it by the oven.
23. About 7:00. Take the turkey out when it reads 165°F. If it is not there by 7:10, see the fix at the bottom.
24. Move the roasts to the cutting board. Cover them with foil. Leave the pan liquid in the pan.
25. Turn the oven up to 375°F.
26. Put the stuffing in the oven, uncovered. Set a timer for 35 minutes. While it bakes: make the gravy (next steps).
27. 7:10. Pour the pan liquid into the measuring cup.
28. Top the pan liquid up with broth to 4 cups.
29. Melt the 5 tbsp butter in the gravy pot over medium heat.
30. Whisk in the 5 tbsp flour. Cook 1 minute, whisking.
31. Whisk in the 4 cups liquid slowly.
32. Simmer the gravy 5 minutes, whisking now and then, until it thickens.
33. Stir in the gravy finish (soy sauce and vinegar).
34. Taste the gravy before adding salt. Turn the heat to low and leave it.
35. 7:35. When the timer goes, take the stuffing out.
36. Top the stuffing with the parsley and a squeeze of the half lemon.
37. Cut the netting off the turkey.
38. Slice the turkey 1/2 inch thick.
39. 7:40. Put the potatoes in a bowl with the chives on top.
40. Pour the gravy into a jug.
41. Put the cranberry sauce out.
42. 7:45. Eat.

Notes

The clock times are for guests at 7:00 and food on the table at 7:45. For a different dinner time, shift every time by the same amount. The day-before jobs take about 30 minutes and can move to the afternoon of the dinner. In total you need about 2 1/2 sticks of butter and 8 cups of broth. The miso and most packaged roasts are already salty, so the turkey gets no added salt. The maple syrup makes the turkey brown faster, so watch for the foil step at 6:30. A disposable foil roaster works. Set it on a sheet pan, lift it by the sheet pan, and scrape the browned bits with a wooden spoon so the foil does not tear. These are our own versions in the Milk Street style, not recipes from the book. Written for Canadian Thanksgiving on Monday, October 12, 2026, in Detroit, before the dinner was cooked.