Longtime readers might know our family doesn’t eat turkey on Thanksgiving. I’ve slipped a few years giving way to baking a bird but still feel the dissatisfaction of dealing with the bones and rest of the remains. But my weekly trip to Trader Joe’s revealed a new holiday item: Turkey & Stuffing En Croute.
I’m a fan of anything en croute which translates to “in pastry crust.” I’ve had salmon en croute and filet mignon en croute and couldn’t pass it up the Thanksgiving version when I saw it in the freezer aisle at Trader Joe’s. Lucky you, I made it for lunch a week before Thanksgiving. Here are my thoughts.
It comes frozen and requires a 24-hour defrost in the refrigerator before it’s baked. Along with the pastry-wrapped turkey and cornbread stuffing is a small plastic package of gravy and one of cranberry sauce.
Directions call for it being baked for an hour and resting for several minutes before being served. While it’s resting, the gravy pouch is heated up in boiling water. Silly me, I opened the package gravy into the water thus forfeiting gravy goodness and left with only the cranberry packet.
Unlike roasted turkey of Thanksgivings past, the marinated turkey loin is kept moist surrounded with a savory cornbread stuffing and flaky crust. (I blame the soggy bottom crust on defrosting for more than 24 hours.) It’s like getting everything you love all wrapped up in a big hot pocket you cut into and serve with gravy and cranberry sauce. The only thing missing is green beans or some other veggie side.
Next chance I get, I’m buying one to keep in the freezer when I know craving for turkey and stuffing hits. (It retails for $13 and realistically feed four people.) As for Thanksgiving, I’m looking forward to our regular seafood-laden meal like Paul’s famous S.S. Spud.
My Burning Kitchen... on the road 
Yum, I’ve never heard of en croute before. Have you heard the radio commercial for Trader Joe’s Thanksgiving Dinner kettle chips? Apparently they’re the bees’ knees!
What? I thought Trader Joe’s never advertised anywhere including the radio. Insane. I have tried the kettle chip and it tastes just like stuffing!
Yeah I was surprised too! I’m not sure if it was a third party advertising for Trader Joe’s, but they were emphasizing that they were gluten free and they’re 7oz etc etc 😝 here’s a little blurb: https://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/turkey-and-stuffing-chips
Oh Darlene, I had no idea such a delicacy existed! I’m high-tailing it to Trader Joes. All it needs is a side of my ghetto-green casserole. BAMN!
We just tried this for our small Thanksgiving dinner, and not only was it delicious but looked exactly like yours. So our bottom crust was soggy too, though we defrosted for almost exactly 24 hours — just shy of it actually. The rest was awesome, but the soggy bottom (undercooked actually despite the outer bottom crust browning nicely) keeps it from perfection. Pretty darn close though. Probably the more ideal version of this would have less of the puff pastry on the bottom and maybe more stuffing there…
Will you have Turkey En Crout this year?
For the soggy bottom issue: Try covering a baking sheet with foil. Place a wire baking rack on the foil and the turkey on top of the rack. This will allow heat to circulate around the turkey.
Thank you for posting the directions!👍
The flavor is good but the portions are lacking.
Not much meat and cornbread especially in the ends.