Don’t Panic! It’s Only Thanksgiving
A special edition: holiday cooking Q&A
The countdown is on. It’s two days until Turkey Day and if you are hosting, there is a chance that the panic is starting to set in. Is the turkey big enough? Do I still have time to brine? Is Aunt June still gluten free? Should I just do paper plates? If you are like me before a big party, these burning questions hit at the most opportune times, like staring at the ceiling from bed at 3am or staring at my ankles during yoga in a downward dog.
Having fielded a few questions the last week, I’m here to hopefully bring some calm to your next 48 hours so you can sail through hosting like a zen master.
To brine or not to brine? And if I do brine, wet or dry?
I’m definitely in favor of a brine, and if you brine, make it dry. If you live in fear of a dry or tough bird, brining is your ticket to juicy and tasty all the way through.
If you have a particularly large bird, start two days before. 1 Tablespoon per four pounds of bird is the formula (thank you NYT Cooking). Rub it all over. Stick the bird in a bag. Some juices may start to leak out. Day two flip it over. Now the juices start to get sucked back in. If you like crispy skin, on the morning of cooking take it out of the bag and let it air dry (in the refrigerator). If you’ve ever had Peking duck, know that the best restaurants dry their birds out in front of industrial fans before cooking to get that particularly crispy skin.
There are a few reasons I prefer dry over wet. One, wet is messy. Getting a bird into a bag with a bunch of liquid is cumbersome and I don’t want to imagine what would happen if you had a leak. I know some people will do this in giant paint buckets – a good way to prevent leakage but also you need a walk-in fridge to accommodate it. Two, in my experience the wet brine can lead to a mushy texture, an issue I’ve never had with dry brining. Three, something I just learned from listening to the wonderful Kenji Lopez-Alt on a recent episode of Splendid Table, with a wet brine there is an exchange of liquid between the bird and the brine, which means you are losing some of that essential turkey flavor and replacing it with water. The dry brine keeps all that delicious turkey liquid in the turkey.
Finally, you can still brine if you are doing just a breast. Scale down the ratio and start the night before instead of two days.
We are hosting and making everything ourselves, what can I make ahead of time?
Gravy. If you think you are waiting for the bird to deliver the sauce, know that you will never get enough drippings to make more than a child’s cup of gravy. Buy it from the store or make a basic chicken or turkey stock gravy thickened with flour then, just before serving, enhance it with the turkey drippings. If you are making from scratch, you can do this several days in advance. Hot tip: treat this like a custard and refrigerate with plastic wrap touching the surface of the gravy to easily peel off that gummy film that comes with air exposure.
Mashed potatoes. My friend is talking about baking the potatoes in the oven the day before, instead of peeling and boiling. I’ll be curious how that turns out. The potatoes will be drier so will likely need to up the cream/milk/butter to compensate – but a little more of the good stuff on Thanksgiving is never a bad thing. If you are doing it the old-fashioned way in boiling water, you can keep the finished mashed potatoes warm without drying out by placing in a covered bowl over a pot of simmering water. When I was in cooking school, this is how we made our pommes purée at the beginning of a shift, lasting us through the entire dinner three-hour service.
Pies. You can make crusts months in advance and freeze, or a week in advance and refrigerate. Do all the baking the day before. Or… and I am going to say this… outsource dessert. If you are truly taking on the whole menu, dessert is a great place to ask a guest, or a store, to pinch hit.
Stuffing. Chop and assemble everything except the liquid up to a couple of days before, then add liquid and put in the oven 45 min to an hour before serving.
Cranberry sauce. Make days ahead.
Green veggies. Do all your washing, trimming, cutting in advance.
Sweet potatoes. You can cook these ahead of time. Microwave them even. If you are doing the traditional casserole you can prep everything ahead of time, just wait to put the topping on top of the sweet potatoes until just before putting it in the oven.
We are hosting with a lot of people coming over with their own dishes. Logistics are becoming an issue. What can be made or heated on alternative cooktops like barbecue or slow cooker?
Definitely think of your barbecue as a second oven. This is easier if you have a gas barbecue as you will need to do less to keep the temperature steady. Almost any dish that needs an oven can go on the barbecue as long as you keep in mind a few things. The heat source is the bottom so keep an eye on higher temperature cooking like roasted vegetables to prevent scorching. If you have a big barbecue and can keep the temperature around 350, this would be a great place to do your sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole or stuffing with the top of the barbecue closed to keep the heat in. If your sweet potato casserole is marshmallow topped, while the turkey is resting, just run it under the broiler in the main oven to brown the marshmallows.
You can also think about about reinterpreting the classic side dishes with the barbecue in mind. I love grilled sweet potatoes, for instance. Par-cook them in the microwave them slice crosswise in rounds before grilling. Keep it simple and slather them in butter or brighten things up with a squeeze of lime and crumble of Cotija or Feta cheese.
Also, to free up oven and stove space, consider turning some of your greens into salads. Brussels sprouts are fantastic shaved in a slaw tossed with pomegranate seeds or crisp green apple slices. Green beans are lovely in vinaigrette. Or consider a kale salad, which can even be dressed hours in advance.
If stove space is at a premium, you can use the slow cooker or Instapot for cranberry sauce or gravy. I also love a good soup for people to sip during the lead up to the main event, even better if it can sit on a spare corner of countertop, kept warm by the cooker.
Here is a ringer. Do you have a pizza oven? We have an Ooni with options for gas or wood. Again, this is easier if you can control the heat with the gas but the pizza oven is the place for your rolls, breads, or even, burnishing the top of the sweet potato casserole.
We like to nosh before the big feast. What are some ideas for things nibble on in the hours leading up to the turkey, outside of a cheese board?
When this came up in my college friend group chat, the ideas were wonderfully delicious (as expected, coming from a bunch of people who went to school for hospitality). Tina’s family always does a carrot-ginger soup that their family drinks out of mugs. I love a good soup starter, even formally at the table. But for noshing, I’d keep it light and vegetable forward. In addition to carrot-ginger, consider curried cauliflower, tom yum to wake up the palate, or leek and potato boosted with ample greens.
Joe suggested gougères as a possible carby side dish but sounded to me like a great pre-dinner snack and very Ina Garten. A focaccia is always a crowd pleaser, cut in squares and topped with any manner of toppings, traditional or not. I’d also think about something protein rich but not too heavy that can be served at room temperature, like a crustless quiche or frittata cut into squares. Sometimes, even with the best laid plans, dinner takes longer to get on the table than predicted, and a bit of protein, without the carbs, will keep the hangry at bay.
We are not turkey (or ham) people. What are some alternatives?
My friend Alison and her husband are making crab. They may be in cake form which is fun to make together and feels decadent. You could also upgrade your macaroni and cheese with lump crab mixed in. If you have access to Dungeness, I recommend a big pile of steamed crab on the table with clarified butter and lemon. It’s rich. It’s a treat. It gives you lots to do with your hands while you linger at the table.
For other seafood options, I love the drama of a large fillet of fish. My family will often do a big side of salmon at Christmas, sometimes cooked on cedar planks on the barbecue (thus freeing up the stove and oven for other dishes). Fish also cooks quickly enough that you can put it in the oven while you are resting and carving your turkey, if you are looking for an alternative to serve alongside. Consider this recipe for Roasted Black Cod with Olive Relish.
For non-fish alternatives, my friend Katie loves the Korean banchan and japchae her cousin serves alongside the turkey each Thanksgiving. I could easily gobble up some japchae and very on theme given the noodle dish is a celebration food in Korea and made using, yes, sweet potato noodles. It could also be made vegetarian if you are looking for more veg friendly mains.
Help! My oven broke a week before Thanksgiving and our new one may not get installed before the Big Day.
Oh wait, that’s me. Good thing we have friends who have invited us over and others who will be out of town and offered up their kitchens. We are also not big turkey lovers so there will be duck breast and Wagyu, arugula salad with persimmons and candied nuts, roasted veggies and John’s famous punched potatoes, and pie, of course. What I’m not doing is panicking because the most important thing is that we will sharing food with friends, and in the end, that is what this holiday is all about.
Happy Cooking, Eating and Happy Thanksgiving!
I miss our Thanksgivings together! Next year I'll airmail one to you :)
Amy, i miss you and your pecan pie! It is definitely the best pecan pie I have ever had