WHAT IS A TURKEY TENDERLOIN?

A turkey tenderloin is a boneless, skinless portion of the turkey breast, and a perfect replacement when it’s not practical to roast a whole turkey. There always seems to be too much leftover meat when we roast an entire turkey, and many of us don’t like the flavor of day-old turkey. This recipe serves 6–8 people, is much easier to prepare than a whole turkey, and delivers a tasty, tender, and moist piece of turkey breast meat with very little fuss. Unlike a whole turkey, our tenderloin medallions make for fantastic leftovers with no warmed-over flavors, and no food waste! These medallions will definitely be on our Thanksgiving table this year, but with this easy recipe, you don’t have to wait for a special occasion.

WHAT DOES THIS TURKEY TENDERLOIN TASTE LIKE?

Thanks to the popularity of our Sage Butter Pork Chops, we’ve received several requests for another meat dish that’s smothered in a sage and butter sauce. We couldn’t agree more! We can’t resist the savory flavors of crispy, fresh sage and sweet shallots swimming in browned butter. Our Keto Turkey Tenderloin with Sage Butter uses the same basic ingredients, but changes up the cooking method to best compliment the turkey. The result: a tender and juicy tenderloin, made from the meat of turkey breasts, drenched in a melt-in-your-mouth, buttery sage sauce.

It’s November and our herb garden has slowed down its production a bit, but we still have plenty of fresh herbs – sage, oregano, rosemary, thyme, chives, mint, and basil. As long as we can harvest fresh herbs, we’re happy. We love the savory, minty, peppery flavors from sage, rounded out with the sweet flavor of shallots and browned in butter.

WHERE DO I FIND A TURKEY TENDERLOIN?

We found several nice turkey tenderloins at our local grocery store: Honeysuckle White, Jenny O, Butterball, and Shady Brook Farm. We used both of the 12 ounce loins bundled together in one package. That gave us enough for 6-8 portions. If you prefer to cook only one of the loins, make sure you half the rest of the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

24 oz Turkey Tenderloin – We use 2 – 12 ounce loins, usually found packaged together.

1 tsp Kosher Salt 

1 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper 

10 tbsp butter – Salted or Unsalted

1 Cup Fresh Sage Leaves – Coarsely Chopped. The amount is after chopping.

1 Medium Shallot, Minced

1/2 Cup White Wine or Chicken Broth

INSTRUCTIONS

Season: Rub sides of loins with salt and pepper and place in a shallow baking dish or roasting pan.

Place: Fresh rosemary or your favorite herbs on top of the loins.

Bake: In middle rack of oven. The baking time can be tricky as ovens vary, as well as the density of the meat. Take temperatures at 40 minutes, and every few minutes thereafter.

Remove: Pan from oven when it reaches 160 degrees and cover with foil. Tenderloin continues to cook to 165 degrees while resting.

Prepare Sage Butter Sauce: Using a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the coarsely chopped sage leaves, stirring continuously until the butter is golden-brown and  sage leaves begin to crisp.

Add: Minced shallots and continue cooking 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir: (Optional) Add 1/2 cup of white wine to the skillet and simmer until reduced. Adds complexity to the sauce for only 0 .5 net carbs per serving.

Slice: Tenderloin crosswise into 6 thick or 12 thin medallions and return to the skillet, turning over to coat both sides in the brown butter sauce.

Serve: Place on a serving tray and spoon the remaining sauce on top of the turkey medallions.

TIPS

We’ve baked the same weight turkey tenderloin many times and the cook times have varied quite a bit. Whatever you do, don’t overcook the meat!

For a zero carb replacement for the 1/2 cup of wine, use chicken broth.

WHAT SIDES SHOULD I SERVE WITH THIS TURKEY TENDERLOIN?

Serve with Cheesy Sour Cream Cauliflower Rice, cooked fresh broccoli with Keto Cheese Sauce, Keto Roasted Parmesan Asparagus, or a crisp, green salad.

STORAGE

Store covered leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat turkey and sauce in skillet until hot.