Ready, set … defrost that turkey!
Maybe it was my imagination, but the grocery store seemed busier yesterday and the grocery lists I saw in shoppers’ hands looked a bit longer. And, of course, those aisle displays of Libby’s canned pumpkin, Ocean Spray cranberry sauce, Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix and the like were getting a lot of business.
I’m hosting Thanksgiving at my house this year and will be cooking for five people. That’s not such a big party, but I did spend more than my usual Sunday amount at the store as I tried to remember everything on my list (forgot whipping cream. I always forget *something*).
Since we won’t have a big crowd, I’m doing a simple turkey breast this year. I do plan to brine it, rub it down inside and outside the skin with herbed butter, and roast it in an oven bag to ensure that it is moist. Besides that, I’ll make mashed potatoes, herbed dressing, gravy, and pumpkin pie. Mom’s bringing her famous, secret-recipe broccoli casserole and I’m turning to my good friend Sister Schubert for the rolls. During the time I would have been making homemade rolls, I can drink wine.
The recipes I plan to use for those dishes are linked up in the previous paragraph. I don’t need a recipe for mashed potatoes – I cook the taters in the pressure cooker, then mash them with cream, sour cream, butter, pepper and seasoned salt. I don’t think turkey breasts come with giblets, do they? This will be the first time I cook only a breast. So I’ll start my gravy with chicken broth and add whatever juices come off the bird.
Wednesday’s column will be a 911 Q&A for folks who are preparing Thanksgiving dinner this year (especially if it is their first time). The one thing I would tell everyone NOW, instead of waiting until Wednesday, is don’t forget to thaw out your bird! It should be in the refrigerator now! If you forget, however, there are a couple of tricks I’ll share on Wednesday.
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What are you cooking this week for Thanksgiving? Happy prepping!
November 19, 2012 - 11:10 AM
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One thing I would like to pass along to all first timers is: be careful how you move the turkey to the platter. Put the platter right next to the roaster so you don’t have to travel too far with the turkey. Didn’t know this my first Thanksgiving with guests and been married only 1 week. Luckily I saved enough of the turkey from the floor so we still had dinner. PS the floor had just been scrubbed. One Thanksgiving I will never forget.
Has to be sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving, never mashed potatoes. I know, it’s one of those dividing lines, based on what your mom did when you were young. Has to be dressing, not stuffing. Even when they’re the same ingredients, just don’t put it inside the bird. Since you’ve got a T-breast, no problem there, ha ha.
Wild rice is always good & autumnal. Sister Schubert is hard to beat unless you’re a pro baker. Creamed corn is always a family favorite. Actual cranberries reduced in an orange sauce & brown sugar, though when young, all we had was the tube of cranberry-esque jell with the rings still visible from the can.
We never had any oyster dressing or anything ‘exotic’ (for SW Va) like that, we just had good ole Pepperidge Farm.
Deserts were always all types of pies – pumpkin, pecan, brown sugar (one of my favorites), and coconut cream.
After all, it’s of the utmost importance that after you’ve gorged on turkey & gravy, filled with carbs & starches, that you get your sugar overdose.
Thanksgiving, the ultimate American holiday. I love it. I saw a TV show where some person said their family had a tradition of all coming to Thanksgiving in sweatshirts & sweat pants. For the comfort factor. I had to laugh at the rationality of it. After all, it’s all family, you’re all going to pig out, why not then retire to the LR to fall asleep in recliners & on the sofa in ‘style’. Ha ha, it’s a thought, at least…
Memo to all who aren’t converts – BRINE YOUR TURKEY! It makes a huge difference.
Here’s a different brine recipe from Mario Batali that’s also a good one…
http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Thanksgiving-Mario-Batali-Turkey-Brine
Haha Liz! Didn’t you send that in for our holiday meal disaster stories a couple of years ago? Those were highly entertaining.
CR, I don’t know if I’ve ever had a brown sugar pie. I’ve heard of it, though – isn’t it a custard pie? It could not possibly be bad. And I’m ALL FOR stretchy pants on Thanksgiving.
Chec out this link that I received this morning.
http://www.simplemathbakery.com/blog/2010/02/05/homemade-twinkies
The debate continues, but I don’t brine. I cook the turkey with an onion (quartered), several cloves of garlic, a stick of unsalted butter, and some poultry seasoning inside. Not only does it keep the bird nice and moist, it adds flavor during basting and makes for a wonderful gravy afterwards.
Remember that the rule of thumb for defrosting a turkey in the fridge is 4 hours for every pound.
Lindsey, a brown sugar pie can be similar to a custard pie, depending on the recipe. They’re super easy. Here’s a recipe that shows how simple & inexpensive to prepare…
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Brown-Sugar-Pie-I/
Jeff, that recipe sounds good, too. The important thing is to not overcook it, as you know.
CR, that really does look ridiculously easy. It doesn’t say whether to use light or dark brown sugar but I would think dark.
Oh, I always use dark brown sugar. It’s all personal preference. I prefer the look of pecan pie filling to that of caramel color filling. The flavor differential is negligible.
Jeff, the great thing about brining is that you can do it without impacting the seasoned flavorings. Just do a gallon of water, a cup of kosher salt, and a cup of sugar. Bring to a boil, then cool. That doesn’t bring any herbs/spices into the equation, but really, really imparts moisture.
One other nice effect is to stuff the inside of the bird with herbs if you’re roasting it. Thyme, rosemary, sage. Even mint works.
Jeff, I didn’t think to add, but my point was to say that you can brine, then do whatever seasonings you desire, like the great ones you mentioned.
I avoided the brining for probably five years, then finally tried it and was shocked at how much juicier it made the turkey, even when the turkey was already extremely moist.
Cross your fingers for me, all you great cooks out there! I’m hosting for the first time this year (the hazards of having recently acquired my first home)…got my fam plus the in-laws on the way. Turkey’s already in the fridge and I’m following a few Martha recipes from an Everyday Food magazine that look pretty good for stuffing, gravy, and a veggie casserole. Mom’s bringing pies and a sweet potato casserole…
I’m hoping if I start with enough wine with apps, no one will notice if I make a mistake!!
i understand that the difference between light and dark brown sugar is the amount of molasses. If that is right, is it enough to make a major difference? Lindsaey, Baker’s Joy did work well.
I’m glad it worked for you, David.
AJ, you will do fine! Just make sure you have a good meat thermometer. Congrats on your new house.
david, the dark brown sugar does not have a measurably more perceptible taste of molasses. The difference in flavor is not noticeable in baked goods, IMO.
Best wishes, AJ! I’m sure everything will turn out well.
Liz’s story reminds me of the first Thanksgiving my wife and I cooked for, and we had a similar tale to tell. We didn’t have a full-sized bird, it was one of the 3-pound turkey breasts. As we were transferring it, it rolled and smacked the floor. Horrified, we picked it up, gave it a thorough rinsing, re-seasoned it, and popped it back in the oven for a bit. The floors had also been freshly cleaned, and no one except the two of us was any the wiser. My in-laws still say that was the best thanksgiving turkey they’ve had!
We’re hosting again this year…we somehow wind up doing that every year…despite the fact that after the previous year, we vow never to do it again. My how 364 days between helps someone forget!
We’re cooking for 5, and started thatwing the turkey Sunday. It’s making very good progress. We actually cook our bird in the oven almost exactly the same way Jeff does, except we also pour in some chicken broth in addition to the onion, garlic, and butter. We also rub the bird down with butter and sprinkle on a nice herb/spice blend.
As for our spread this year, it’s smaller than previous years since we have a smaller crowd (we actually hosted for 30 once…thankfully, it was a combination of us cooking a few dishes and everyone else bringing something pot-luck style). We’ll have turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, veggie stir fry, salad, real cranberry sauce, and some gluten free baked goods, including biscuits, a pumpkin pie, and a Kentucky chess pie.
I am going off the grid this year. Picked up a buffalo roast in Paint Bank and will roast in the crockpot with the usual veggies for Thanksgiving. Would like to hear if anyone has any brining recipies though. I have one, but would love to hear others.
AJ, my best advice for cooking a big meal for the first time in an unfamiliar kitchen is to get an oven thermometer. Even brand new ovens can have temperature variances.
And don’t be afraid to make a mistake. Some of my best moments in the kitchen have come as a result of screwing something up and having to fix it on the fly. A few years ago, I was preparing the turkey when I made the deadly mistake of leaving it unattended for a few minutes with two very resourceful dogs. I came back to find that they had taken it off the counter and were happily working on getting the legs off. Fortunately, they hadn’t gotten to the rest of the bird. Thinking quickly, I deboned the rest of the turkey, pounded out the breast to a uniform thickness, covered it with some of the oyster dressing, and made a roulade. Everyone thought it was wonderful and unique, and no one was ever the wiser. So no matter what happens in the kitchen, as the saying goes, “keep calm and carry on.”
Everyday Food has great recipes, it’s a really good magazine. AJ, here’s the MOST important tip for preparing your first Thanksgiving ‘feast’. This is FAR more critical than anything else you need to know.
Here it is…
It will be fine. Even if you mess up, it will be fine. If you drop the turkey, undercook it, overcook it, forget it, it will be fine. Burn the rolls? It will be fine. You can’t do anything to the food that won’t be fine.
The important thing is that you’ve got people (family, friends, hitchhikers) all together and the fellowship shared is the main course. It’s the time together that makes the laughter and the pleasant feelings.
Sure, you might have some disaster story to tell for the next decade or so, but even that is fine. So, don’t sweat it too much trying to make it all perfect. Enjoy the journey of preparing the meal, and don’t focus too much on the destination.
Best wishes, and Happy Thanksgiving!
AJ, you’re going to be great!
Every year I think I want to add new and different things to the table, then we realize that we don’t want to let go of anything in exchange. So we’re up to about 10 “must haves” at this point, which is ridiculous but I’ve developed a few left-over strategies. The best thing we added lately was a turkey prep involving a spicy brine, then draping the bird all over in pancetta before putting it in the oven. The crispy pancetta bits are more coveted than the turkey and the bird has no chance of drying out at all.
Hi Lindsey, Happy Thanksgiving! And the same to all of you blog readers! Lindsey, I really giggled when you said “my good friend Sister Schubert!” My mom has a good friend, too, but her name is Mrs. Smith. I started teasing her years ago about her friend…
CR, we have mashed potatoes & gravy w/ our meal, then sweet potato casserole as one of our dessert offerings.
Gosh, I have the best blog readers. Around the holidays, when you guys are all giving each other advice about cooking, it really makes me more aware of that.
Tami, you sprung a new one on me, gal. A brined buffalo roast for Thanksgiving! That sounds really fun. I googled “brining buffalo” and got one good hit. This is a recipe for brine and the roast:
http://www.food.com/recipe/zaar-chat-buffalo-roast-71327
While I don’t know much about cooking buffalo, this brine does look like you couldn’t go wrong with it. It’s fairly basic, but lighter on the salt and sugar than most brines I’ve seen. Good luck! I would be interested to hear how it turns out.
Thanks Lindsey. I am going to share leftovers with my coworkers so they will let me know if it is good or not. I have done buffalo burger many times, but this is my first roast!
One bit of added advice for AJ…if you can cook some of the dishes the day before…DO IT! The day of, the only thing we’re cooking is the turkey, the biscuits, and the veggie stir fry. The pies, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, beverages…all getting prepared the night before. That way, we heat up a few dishes after the turkey is done and resting, and it makes clean-up afterward so much easier…because half of it’s already done.
The one thing we’re doing differently this year: disposable/recyclable plates, cups, etc. We had 3 loads of dishes after last years, so this year we’ll just have to rinse off some plates and toss them in the recycle bin…and hopefully can keep it to a single load of pots, pans, and serving platters.
For anyone still searching for that ‘perfect’ cranberry sauce recipe, this is a really simple one that comes out looking like you’re an Iron Chef. It can be done the day before, or whenever, and is easy enough for even a novice to accomplish…
http://www.marthastewart.com/338276/orange-scented-cranberry-sauce?xsc=shine_cranberry
An interesting recipe from Chef Michael Symon for cooking a turkey.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe/michael-symons-turkey-101-17761654
He’s on Facebook, advising people to cook the stuffing/dressing separately, not in the bird. He said for the stuffing to be safe it has to register 165 degrees which means you would have to cook the turkey to 190 degrees, which is 25 to 30 degrees higher than it should be.
Debbie, that is exactly what I say in my column tomorrow and that’s why I always make my dressing on the side. Nobody wants a dry turkey OR food poisoning!
I’m as adamant as Alton Brown about NEVER putting stuffing in the bird. When I say ‘It’s always dressing, not stuffing’, that’s what I mean. Other than a Norman Rockwell photo, there is no reason for stuffing. Dressing only!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZZ8gv150W8
I always cook mine on the side too, Lindsey, for safety reasons.
Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions everyone! Lindsey, I agree…you DO have the very best blog readers
Thanks for all that offered thermometer advice…I bought myself one of the nifty probe-variety where the probe stays in the meat in the oven and then it has a display that you set on the counter(a la Alton Brown from Good Eats) as a gift to myself for Christmas last year…so I’m good there.
And Kristen…boy that pancetta thing sounds AWESOME. I’m half Italian, so I’m of the belief that pancetta can make just about anything better
.
Good idea about the advance prep, Other John, my mom suggested that as well…so I’m definitely going to do some of that.
Thanks again for all the advice everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!
I have a meat thermometer just like that and I love it, AJ. It went nutso on me once and said something was, like, 300 degrees. But I changed the battery and it was fine.
So, I’m freaking out a bit that my turkey hasn’t completely defrosted quite yet (I do have the cold water thing going on). I’m going to brine it overnight tonight. Will it be okay to complete defrosting while brining should it not be completely there?
Hey Jason!
How big is your bird and about how far along is the defrosting?
I think if you have time today to do the cold water thawing method, changing out the water about every half-hour, it should probably be thawed enough by tonight. I plan to start my brining tonight after I get home from work, say about 8 p.m. If it is nearly defrosted by then, you could go ahead and brine it. I always put a bag of ice in the cooler with my brining turkey, but I have seen many recipes that just say to put it in the fridge. So if you have a big enough container to brine and set it in the fridge, do that.
Thanks, Lindsey! We’re fixing up a 17-pounder, so it’s quite large. I moved it from the freezer to the fridge on Saturday thinking that was plent of time to thaw. I can think of no better way to describe it than when you ‘poke’ the bird it does have give for a bit, but you can still feel that it’s frozen solid more deeply. I’m thinking it should be okay by the time I brine it this evening.
It’s times like these that I know why I always cooked boneless turkey breasts for Thanksgiving….
Again, thanks for the help and I hope you and Howard have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
A couple of years ago I brined my turkey in a cooler and added ice to it. I had a dream that night that when I got up on Thanksgiving morning and checked the cooler, all of the ice had melted and the turkey was room temperature and I freaked out because I knew I couldn’t serve it, or my guests would get sick.
Luckily that dream did not come true.
I think your bird will be fine, Jason. But if you aren’t doing the cold water thaw method, you might want to do that for a bit, too.
Hope you have a great holiday, too! I’m sure anything you cook will be delish.
Debbie, I freaked out one year because I got a freshly killed bird in Floyd and then galavanted around Floyd all afternoon. When I got home a few hours later, I suddenly was afraid the bird had been at the wrong temperature in my trunk for too long. But we cooked it and ate it and it was all good.
Happy Thanksgiving to all! Enjoy your feasts and your time with family and friends.
Susan Stamberg’s cranberry relish recipe is great on turkey sandwiches.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=844268
Thanks for the Martha Stewart recipe, Crooked Road. I’m cooking it now and it’s delicious. I only added 3/4 cup of sugar to mine though and it’s sweet enough.
Debbie, I got my turkey out in Floyd yesterday and ended up with a 25 pounder. I have it brining in the back room in acooler…if would take up darn near my entire fridge if I kept it in there.
Tonight I’m researching turkey leftover recipes to get some ideas. We are going to have a lot of leftover turkey.
Kristen, I recently rediscovered a comfort food my mom used to make after Thanksgiving. Chopped up turkey, diced cooked potatoes, mixed veggies (like a freezer bag of soup veg or something) in leftover gravy served over hot, split biscuits. It will make your tongue want to smack your face.
Whoa Kristen, that is one big bird! I just cooked a turkey breast this year and sent some leftovers home with my mom and one of my brothers. I cooked some wild rice today, and added chopped up turkey and leftover gravy to it, then topped it with crumbled leftover dressing sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese. I baked it for about 30 minutes, until the dressing was crispy. It was pretty tasty.