Thanksgiving Meal Prep

trailhugger

trailhugger

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Mar 19, 2005
Location
Raleigh
We're hosting my family for the third year in a row and I'm getting my game plan together. Turkey is thawing and I've got the short list written up for the next four days. Today's agenda includes making the cranberry sauce and a sour cream crust for the pumpkin pie. Pics and recipes to follow.

What about y'all?
 
We are hosting again this year. We bought two 20 lb turkeys from Costco last weekend. They have been slowly thawing in the fridge since Friday. My wife made homemade apple cider yesterday. I'm not sure what she is preparing today. I'm getting ready to go on leaf duty.
 
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My family is spread out so this year it’s just me and my better half. A neighbor of ours is a single mom with MS and we invited her for dinner. Have a turkey breast ready for an apple cider, autumn spiced brine then cooked on my Traeger over apple wood pellets with a butter/apple cider baste. My better half has more side dishes planned than we could ever hope to eat.
 
I am hosting my extended family this year. Luckily that means only preparing the turkey and dressing for 50ppl.

I am not a huge turkey fan, but will appease the traditionalists. ~15lb bird, pork shoulder, and maybe some brisket. Turkey will likely be smoked for a while over Apple, and finished off in the fryer.

I'm currently out of homemade BBQ sauce, so trying to determine what recipe to use for that and the dressing.
 
Our old house was tiny -- two guests over for dinner, and we were full up. We've never hosted a big crowd. So, this year, in the new house, we have room for all the family. Got 10 coming so far. It'll be a learning experience. We are doing the turkey (grilled) and a ham, and family is bringing all the other fixings.

TGFC (Thank God for Chinet).
 
This year's prep is gassing up the family truckster. Not hosting for the first time in like 5+ years! Thank goodness - we needed it this year. Jury's out on whether driving across NC around the holiday will be less nerve-wracking though.
 
Same as usual...do a couple canned hams for the kids (and me, I don't like turkey and love canned ham). Depending on free time, make/buy a half dozen pies. Take that to my mom's to supplement her buffet. In laws, we generally do bread/stuffing/pies.
 
Cranberry Sauce:

1 bag of cranberries
Juice of 2 oranges
1/2 cup sugar
Up to 2 T honey
Dash of ginger
Splash of bourbon

Bring first 4 ingredients to a simmer over medium heat, covered & stirring occasionally. Once most of the cranberries have popped and the liquid is starting to cook down, check flavor/sweetness (I prefer it to be just a little tart at this point but you could add sweetener) & add ginger and bourbon. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring more frequently, until sauce is thickened. Remove to glass jar or container to cool and then refrigerate until ready to use, at least a day.

You could use any sweetener as long as it adds up to about 3/4 cup. Maple syrup, honey, granulated or brown sugar, all work. I prefer the simplicity of white or brown sugar with a little bit of honey for flavor. I drizzle in about a tablespoon (from a jar with comb in it) but another wouldn't hurt it. Also, the ginger and bourbon. You could leave those out and it would still taste fine.
 
drkelly said:
I'm getting ready to go on leaf duty.
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Rookie move. That is always the last thing done because by Thursday you'll need to do it again.

For family, I just show up. For the work potluck last Friday I made stuffing/dressing, Nothing crazy to the recipe other than the usual celery, onion, herb mix but the catch is to use Kings Hawaiian rolls as the bread cubes and add some dried cranberries to the mix. Cube the rolls and either dry them in the oven or let them dry in a bowl on the counter for a few days.
 
StretchASU said:
Rookie move. That is always the last thing done because by Thursday you'll need to do it again.

For family, I just show up. For the work potluck last Friday I made stuffing/dressing, Nothing crazy to the recipe other than the usual celery, onion, herb mix but the catch is to use Kings Hawaiian rolls as the bread cubes and add some dried cranberries to the mix. Cube the rolls and either dry them in the oven or let them dry in a bowl on the counter for a few days.
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I know, but I won't have time to do it Wednesday or Thursday morning. I shouldn't have done it yesterday. It was still too soggy.
 
Been prepping since Saturday because i'm pulling double duty this Thanksgiving Day.
Two 16 pound birds are thawing before the 24 hour bath in @mommucked 's brine recipe.
Then on the Big Easy infrared fryer til 165 degrees.
Two 10 pound spiral sliced hams are going on the smoker with a dijon mustard and brown sugar glaze. Spritzed with pineapple juice.
Since i despise canned cranberry sauce, i'm gonna try @trailhugger 's recipe.
I wonder if moonshine will work in place of the bourbon...
:beer:
 
Pumpkin Pie w/ Sour Cream Crust
(makes 1 10" pie)

Crust
1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/4 sticks (10 T) salted butter, cubed
1/4 cup + 1 T (5 T) sour cream

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add cold butter cubes and mash with a fork to distribute until mixture is crumbly. You can do this in a food processor, if your arms aren't up to the task or you're in a hurry. You want the butter to stay cold. Stir in sour cream until the mix forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator at least 1 hr or overnight. When ready to assemble, roll out (I use a floured silicone baking sheet) & transfer to 10" pie pan.

Filling
2 cans pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1/2t salt
1t cinnamon
1/2t ginger
1/4t cloves
1 12oz can evaporated milk
3 large eggs

Combine all but the milk and eggs in a medium saucepan and stir to dissolve sugar over medium-high heat. Heat until mixture is steamy and starts to 'plop', no more than 5 minutes. Beat the eggs while the pumpkin mixture cools for 5 minutes. Temper the eggs and then stir eggs and milk into pumpkin. Place pie crust on baking pan and pour filling into crust. Bake at 375° for 50-60 minutes, until filling is no longer jiggly. Watch crust during baking and make sure it doesn't brown. Cover edges with foil, if needed.

Serve cooled with sweetened whipped cream.
 
Ok @Paul...tell me about your brine, please. I usually do something very similar to what's below, but am open to new things for sure. Bird gets dunked tonight...
  • 2 gallons Water
  • 2 cups Kosher Salt
  • 1 cup Brown Sugar ( light)
  • 1/4 cup Paprika
  • 1/4 cup Chili Powder
  • 2 Tbsp Onion Powder
  • 2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
  • 2 tsp Cayenne
  • 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
 
This is mine... Boil to dissolve salt & sugar and to release flavors. Then cool and add water to cover the bird.

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I also made chicken broth in the crockpot to use for the gravy, etc.

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@92_SquareEye, here ya go.
Boil the apple juice, sugar and salt to dissolve. Cool and add other ingredients.
Soak and smoke!
 
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StretchASU said:
Rookie move. That is always the last thing done because by Thursday you'll need to do it again.
Click to expand...

Nah, I did it on Sunday, too. There was a lot on the ground due to the weather, and it was wet and heavy. It took a while to clean up. What we get between now and Thursday will be easy to pick up with the bagger.
 
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