Yes, that procedure will work, as long as you ensure that the kernel and initramfs have all the drivers the NUC will need as well as all the drivers the VM will need. I suggest you start with a wired network connection because the WiFi is likely to be difficult.
The problem will be that it'll be very hard to debug if something doesn't work. The NUC doesn't even have a serial port. :-(
Probably you'll end up pulling out the hard drive to check the system logs.
However, you should bear in mind that the NUC firmware (BIOS/UEFI) will probably benefit from configuring (especially if it is to work without a keyboard and display), and you will need a keyboard and display to do that.