Thanksgiving Game Plan

Is it really November?  Where on earth did this year go??  Thanksgiving is so early this year….. on the 22nd!

Usually this is the time I start planning my Thanksgiving dinner menu.  There are some things I like to make ahead of time – things that can be stored in the fridge or freezer for an extended period of time.  As a result, the actual cooking day turns out to be a little more enjoyable and way less stressful.  Especially if you are like me and don’t like help in the kitchen.  I like to do everything myself.

Let’s talk homemade stock!  Whenever I roast a chicken and cut out the back bone (called spatchcocking), I always like to store them in a ziplock freezer bag.  When I get ready to make my stock, I always have a nice supply of poultry bones to use.  You want to roast the chicken pieces along with some turkey legs and wings before adding to the stock pot(s).  Roasting and browning the poultry pieces in the oven first makes a huge difference in the finished product.  You will always get a richer stock color and flavor, so I highly recommend you try this technique.  Add the browned poultry pieces to a large stock pot or two that’s filled with water, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, herbs, whole peppercorns and a few bay leaves.  Once the ingredients come to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for about 4 hours before straining and cooling.

You can make a lot of stock to store in the freezer because it will last for several months.  Since you’re going to the trouble anyway, why not make extra?  This will also ensure that you’ll be able to make a lot of gravy!  Who hasn’t ever run out of gravy on Thanksgiving Day?  The homemade stock is great for making soups later on.  I come across so many recipes that call for stock or broth and there is nothing better than your homemade!  Save all those Chinese food containers.   I like to keep them to use for storing soups and stocks.  Same goes when I purchase items from the olive bar at the grocery store.  I always keep the containers to use at a later time.  I’ve saved up quite a collection over the years.

Herb butter is another favorite.  Add some fresh herbs to some softened unsalted butter and maybe a few grated garlic cloves if you like.  Try to make about 2-3 logs.  Once the butter and herbs have been well combined, you’ll want  to divide it onto pieces of plastic wrap and roll into logs.  Wrap the logs in foil and store in ziplock freezer bags in the freezer.  These herb butter logs will last for quite some time.  You can use this herb butter for many different recipes.  To prepare my Thanksgiving turkey, I like to soften the herb butter and slather it all over my turkey.  I rub it inside, on the bottom, under the skin and all over the top before adding my seasonings.

I’ve never brined a turkey.  In my opinion this just seems like way to much trouble.  Honestly I just don’t think it’s necessary in order to produce a juicy bird.  I’ve never cooked a dry turkey.  You really must invest in a good meat thermometer!  I have several.  I have a few of the cheap ones that you get from the grocery store, but I also have one that cost me around $60.  The more expensive one is programmable.  You leave the probe in the turkey while it cooks and the alarm will go off when it reaches your desired temperature.  I absolutely love it!  You can remove the turkey when it reaches 160 degrees.  There is always some carry over cooking time.

Once you remove the turkey from the oven, you will be tenting it with foil to keep it warm and to let the juices redistribute.  This has always worked well for me.  One more thing I do is baste baste baste while it’s cooking!  It keeps the skin nice and shiny and I think it helps with keeping your bird moist, not to mention extra tasty from all that herb butter!  I only cover the bird for about half of the cooking time so the skin doesn’t get to brown or burn.

Many years ago one of my girlfriends shared some really special recipes from her mom’s collection with me.  Her mom passed away when she was a teenager.  Every year I make her mom’s homemade cranberry sauce.  This is the best recipe ever.  Actually, I never used to eat cranberry sauce.  In fact, the first time I ever tried it was the first time I made this recipe!  That stuff that comes out of the can just looks so disgusting to me, I would never try it.  But this recipe?  OMG!!!!  AMAZING!!!!  I think one of the reasons I like it so much is because it has a lot of Red Zinfandel Wine in it!  You all know how much I love my wine!

In my kitchen there is a cutting board that says “I like to cook with wine, sometimes I even put it in my food!”  Funny!  A gift from someone.  It also came with a matching kitchen towel.  You can make any homemade cranberry sauce ahead of time!  It keeps for a long time in the fridge.  I am currently trying to put together a little E-Cookbook of some of my favorite holiday recipes.  I am going to try my best to get it out really soon!

The stock, herb butter and cranberry sauce are all things you can make ahead of time and they will keep just fine until Thanksgiving Day and beyond.

One last tip, for the past few years, I’ve become a big fan a spatchcocking.  Not only is the presentation beautiful, but your cooking time is cut down tremendously.  It’s not as difficult as you might think.  If you are not comfortable using a knife, kitchen shears work great!  All you need to do is cut down both sides of the back bone to remove it and lay the bird flat on the rack in your roasting pan.  You can still rub your herb butter all over the top, bottom and underneath the skin.  Try it!  I’ve found that the butcher in any grocery store is always happy to help you.  I bet they love it when they get special requests, because it probably doesn’t happen often.  Don’t be shy!  And don’t forget to save that back bone to store in the freezer for your next batch of homemade stock!  Save that turkey neck bone too!

I hope these little tips and tricks come in handy for you!  Happy Cooking!