The 2020 abnormalities continue, as we gear-up for a big American holiday: Thanksgiving. While some are “business as usual,” others are choosing to stay socially distant from their families, in order to hopefully avoid contracting COVID-19. When it comes to preparing the grand meal for this holiday, it’s usually abundant. So many people are asking, “how do we cook for 2 or even 1?” Supporting local restaurants and their Thanksgiving bundles is a great idea, but if you’re like me and enjoy cooking for this holiday, let me give you some tips.
As a chef, I’m really big into avoiding food waste, and I find that most of the time people waste things like parsley stems because most recipes don’t call for them and it’s not common to have recipes share how to avoid wasting food like this. So here we go…
- No matter where you shop, it will be more cost-effective to buy a whole turkey compared to a turkey breast. Not to mention, many people enjoy the dark meat. My suggestion is that you butcher or fabricate the meat into pieces. For example, a 20 pound turkey usually seres 12-16 people, so even if you enjoy leftovers, you could cut that turkey in half and freeze the rest. Turkey shouldn’t only be reserved for this holiday – there are many great recipes using turkey as the protein. I cut my turkey into separate parts, but you could just go down the middle. When I freeze proteins, I typically only freeze portions, so I don’t have too much to cook in one sitting. After fabricating my 20-pound turkey this year, I ended up with the two wings, two leg quarters, and two breast pieces. The other bones, neck, giblets, etc were reserved for stock.
- Speaking of stock – Most people buy chicken stock for their stuffing and gravy recipes, but the truth is…turkey stock would make it even better. Turkey stock is now available in stores, but it’s more cost effective and reduces food waste to make it yourself. I take the bones listed above and roast them. Then, I toss them in the biggest stock pot that I have and add onions, garlic, rosemary, thyme, carrots, celery, bay leaves, salt, and black peppercorns, as well as parsley stems. I’m saving the tops for other recipes, but the bottoms work well for this application. Also keep in-mind that you don’t need to peel any of these vegetables – you just need to wash them – they will be strained out afterwards. Then, I cover it all with water, and simmer it down to half the amount of liquid I started with. Don’t be alarmed if it takes awhile, but I promise it will be delicious.
- If you are limited in space and time on Thanksgiving or just don’t want to cook all day, don’t be afraid to prepare things in advance. It’s completely fine to prepare the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans (or other vegetables), corn, cranberry sauce, and even the dressing a day or two before. The dressing is prepared to the point where I just need to bake it. To be honest, when you allow some of these items to sit, their flavors marry, and it ends up being a more enjoyable dish. In the restaurant, we prepare food items just like this, and that is why the restaurant experience tastes differently.
- Going back to the turkey, roasting the different parts allows you to have more control over cooking times. This means you’ll reduce your chances of having a dried-out turkey. The dark meat requires a little bit more cooking, especially since it usually includes a bone. Take the temperature of your meat and remember that carry-over cooking from residual heat will bring it to the temperature that you need it to be at, so remove it from the heat a little bit before it hits that desired mark.
This year and just like every year, my menu is as follows:
- Turkey
- Gravy
- Cranberry Sauce
- Dressing
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Mashed Potatoes
- Corn (off the cob)
- Brussels sprouts
- Pumpkin Pie.
Due to the fact that I’m still busy with Open Enrollment and because I like to practice what I preach, here is the cooking schedule:
- Sunday
- Fabricate the Turkey
- Make Turkey Stock
- Slice bread and allow to dry
- Brine turkey
- Tuesday
- Cranberry Sauce
- Wednesday
- Dressing
- Pumpkin Pie
- Sweet Potatoes
- Mashed Potatoes
- Thursday
- Turkey
- Gravy
- Corn
- Brussels sprouts
- Heat potatoes and roast dressing from previous day.
It’s going to be a more enjoyable experience to roast and heat everything on Thanksgiving day, than to make everything in one day. That’s exhausting! I hope you found this information to be helpful, especially during a very unique holiday experience. If you have any questions about making food for your Thanksgiving celebration, don’t be afraid to reach-out.
Wishing you and your family a very wonderful Thanksgiving!