Happy Thanksgiving Friends and Followers,

It’s turkey time again! This year, we get the feeling more friends and family will be gathering together for the holiday compared to the last couple of years. With that in mind, what size turkey will you be needing? As a general rule of thumb, you should figure on 1 lb. per person for a whole turkey. Buy a larger turkey if you really like leftovers or plan to send guests home with some.

The two safest ways to defrost a turkey are; 1) in the refrigerator, or 2) submerged in cold water.

To defrost in the refrigerator, leave in the original wrapper and place breast-side-up on a tray or shallow pan. Allow 24 hours for every 5 lbs. of turkey.

To defrost in cold water, leave in the original wrapper, place in the sink breast-side-down. Cover completely with cold tap water, change water every 30 minutes to keep the surface of the turkey cold. Allow 30 minutes for every 1 lb. of turkey.

Here is our Thanksgiving Day Menu and a timeline to take some of the stress out of trying to get everything on the table together.

Deviled Eggs Relish Tray

Turkey (14 lb) Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes Gravy

Brussels Sprouts Sweet Potato Casserole

Pumpkin Pie

Monday:

Take the turkey out of the freezer, put on a pan, place in the refrigerator.

Cut slices of bread into 1/2–3/4 in cubes, spread in a single layer on cookie sheets and dry in 250-degree oven. Stir every 10 minutes, rotating cookie sheets. This should take 30-40 minutes. The cubes should not be browned. (I have found that trying to season the cubes during this drying process does not work as well as seasoning during the mixing process.)

Tuesday:

Hard-cook eggs and refrigerate.

Make relish tray, cover, and refrigerate.

Cut onions and celery for stuffing, put in a zipper bag, and refrigerate.

Wednesday:

Make Pumpkin Pie, let cool completely, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate.

Cook sweet potatoes. If they are large, peel and cut into uniform size chunks before covering with water and boiling till fork tender. Smaller potatoes can be cooked whole and peeled after they cool enough to handle. Put together the casserole, cover and refrigerate. (Be sure to let the casserole sit out at room temperature at least 30 minutes before placing in a hot oven.)

Make Deviled Eggs and refrigerate. (Deviled Eggs are always better the next day, just like potato salad.)

Thanksgiving Day:

Remove giblets from turkey cavity(s). The heart, liver and gizzard are usually in the neck cavity, while the neck is in the body cavity. Place in a medium size saucepan, cover with water and season with salt, pepper, garlic, poultry seasoning, and a touch of thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer for about an hour.

Cover the turkey with damp paper towels and return to the refrigerator.

Cook celery and onions in 1 cube of melted butter till onions are softened.

Place dried bread cubes in a large bowl, add celery and onions with all the butter, remove giblets from pan and use the liquid to moisten stuffing. Season to taste. You may chop giblets and add to stuffing, save for the gravy, or discard if you don’t like them.

Once the stuffing is all put together, get the turkey back out and rinse well inside and out. Season inside with salt and pepper. At this point, Doug likes to rub softened butter inside. Stuff the neck cavity of the turkey first, take care not to pack the stuffing too tightly as it will swell some while cooking. Pull flap of skin (if there is one) up and over stuffing and secure with a skewer. Next stuff the body cavity and secure the drumsticks. Some turkeys have a flat of skin to tuck the ends of the drumsticks in, others come with a plastic thingy meant to leave in the turkey during roasting or you can run a skewer through the ends of the drumstick and secure with kitchen twine.

To roast the turkey, preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Place the turkey breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan and rub with cooking oil or cooking spray. We prefer butter and Doug bastes it with more butter every hour. When the turkey is about 2/3 done, cover it loosely with a foil tent to prevent over-browning and to help preserve breast moistness.

Roasting times vary by the weight of the turkey and whether you choose to stuff it or not. A 14 lb. stuffed turkey will take approx. 4 hrs. Most turkeys have defrosting and roasting instruction on the back of the wrapper however, you will need to use a thermometer to make sure the turkey is done and the stuffing inside is hot enough. We don’t rely on the pop-up timers some turkeys have but use it as an indication that it’s getting close to done. A thermometer inserted in the inside center of the thigh (away from the bone) should read 180 degrees and the center of the stuffing should read 165 degrees. When the turkey is done, remove from oven, cover, and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

While the turkey is roasting, get your side dishes ready to go. Get out serving dishes and utensils and set the table. The gravy can be made while the turkey is resting.

There are many ways to carve a turkey but here’s our way: We get out two knives, a long semi-flexible filet knife, and a slicing knife. Using the filet knife, Doug cuts along the breastbone and down around the rib cage to remove one side of the breast in a whole piece. Using the slicing knife, I slice the breast meat thin enough it will make a great sandwich yet thick enough it will hold some gravy on your plate. Doug continues removing the dark meat and arranging it on the serving platter while I get everything ready for the table.

Enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner! Cover and refrigerate leftovers and the turkey carcass.

Friday:

Get out the turkey carcass and a good size stock pot or Dutch oven. Remove as much meat as possible and save for sandwiches, casseroles, or soup. Break bones down at the joints and place in pot. Cover with water and season to your liking. Bring to a slow boil, reduce heat and simmer for a couple of hours, stirring every half hour or so.

Strain bones in a large colander over another large pot or bowl. When thoroughly drained, transfer to a smaller and deeper saucepan, cover and refrigerate overnight. On Saturday morning, all fat will have risen to the top and will be easy to remove with a spoon. Your turkey broth is ready to make soup, add to casseroles or freeze for a later use.

We hope you find this helpful and welcome your comments and suggestions as always.