Thanksgiving 2020

I was quite impressed with myself. It was just me and Jay this year for Thanksgiving but I decided to make all the traditional foods we love. I cheated a little with Costco mashed potatoes, but when 90% of your meal is homemade, I think a cheat is necessary. Plus once you taste the Costco mashed potatoes it makes you never want to make them again. Recording some notes for myself here to remember when I want to put this together again.

Note to self: Try some recipes throughout the year for Thanksgiving. One to try is gluten free stuffing and also a vegan stuffing.

The Turkey - giblets from 15 lb turkey made about 4 cups of gravy

I had a 15 lb turkey in the freezer so put it out to thaw in the fridge on Sunday. Realized it was leaking a bit so put it in a plastic bag. When I took it out Thursday is was still slightly frozen in the cavity but seemed to thaw pretty quickly. I took out the giblets and put them aside for gravy. I let the turkey come to room temperature for almost 2 hours (took out 9 am and started the butter at 11) then made an herb butter from this recipe.

Herb butter

Combine 1 cup unsalted butter at room temp (I microwaved it for a few seconds to further soften), 8 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary, 1 tbsp fresh chopped thyme, 1 tbsp fresh chopped sage.

Back to the turkey

I patted it very dry with paper towels, then seasoned the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper (easy if someone helps with this). I stuffed it with a quartered lemon, quartered apple, and quartered onion. I loosed the skin under the breast and stuffed it with a few tablespoons of butter then melted the rest of the butter and brushed it all over the turkey. Save a few tablespoons for the gravy. I tied the legs and the cavity with some kitchen twine to keep everything in tact then flipped it over to cook it breast side down. I set the oven to 325* and used my new oven thermometer to make sure the temp was right. You’re supposed to roast 13-15 minutes per pound so by my calculations it was going to take about 4 hours. During the last hour I put the temperature probe into the turkey and set the temp to 160* and it alerted me when it got up to that. It should technically be at 165* but it will continue to cook as it rests. You’re supposed to let it rest for 20-30 minutes but I was a little off with my stuffing timing so it ended up resting for about an hour and it was still warm when we ate it. I tented it with foil while it was resting. I basted it once toward the end when we put the probe in.

Note: Next time I need to account for where I’m going to bake things. I could have put the turkey on the lower rack and probably had room for stuffing above but I didn’t feel like moving the rack once the turkey was in there. I had an outdoor oven but I don’t trust the thing and wanted to bake the stuffing inside. I also wasn’t entirely sure how much time the stuffing needed but it is about 80 minutes of cooking. Curious if you should cover with foil in oven, brine it, and baste it. I didn’t really research that. I’d also like to stuff the bird with stuffing next year and try Marty’s recipe. Also maybe buy the turkey pins to close the cavity shut.

Marty’s recipe inside stuffing

Fry finely chopped onion and celery in lot of butter. Cool to room temp. Fry sweet Italian sausage (take out of casing). Drain and cool to room temp. Chop bread into little cubes (bread that has gone stale is great). Mix wet ingredients and bread and add a few eggs, lots of parsley, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning spice. Mix it up then stuff the bird, pack full, and pin skin shut with poultry pins. If filling leftover, put into glass dish and bake with foil at 350*. If there aren’t fennel seeds in sausage, add some.

Cranberry Sauce

I use this tried and true recipe. I used 16 oz of organic cranberries , 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 orange.

Note to self: Jay likes the canned stuff.

Stuffing

I used this traditional recipe. It’s so good.

Giblet Gravy

IMO, the star of the show. The timing of this was a little tricky and new for me, but it came together perfectly. This made about 4 cups of gravy.

I used this recipe.

Ingredients

Giblets

2 Tbsp butter (I used herb butter from basting turkey)

1 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced carrot

1/2 cup diced celery

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 bay leaf

1 tsp fresh thyme

5 cups water

Drippings from turkey (I probably had about a cup)

5 Tbsp flour (I added more than original recipe since there seemed to be a lot of liquid)

What To Do

As turkey cooks: Heat butter in saucepan over med-high heat. Brown giblets on all sides.

Add onion, celery, and carrot and saute for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute another minute.

Add bay leaf, thyme, and water. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer, partially covered and let it simmer for several hours while turkey is cooking.

Several hours later when turkey is ready: When you take bird out of oven to rest, strain giblets and stock through sieve into a bowl. Set aside the stock. Remove the giblets from the sieve and finely mince the meat. Pull some neck off meat as well.

Using turkey drippings, add about 1/2 cup to the saucepan. Whisk in the flour until smooth then add the rest of the drippings and stock, continuously whisking. Let it cook for a few minutes to thicken.

Add minced giblet pieces and mix well to combine. Bring to a boil and stir constantly until it thickens, about 3 minutes.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I like to keep the veggie simple. I bought organic brussels and chopped them, tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and roasted alongside stuffing while bird was resting for about 40 minutes.

We also had some Hawaiian rolls on the side, because Jay loves bread.

Pecan Pie Bars

I use the recipe from here. I baked in my outdoor oven and think they got a little too crispy from fluctuating temperature. Don’t overcook the crust.

Note: I should have made these the night before and it would have made my day easier. I also could have cooked them in my oven then and not the outdoor oven.

Timing-wise notes

From the time I let the turkey come to room temperature to finish, it took about 7 hours. The day before I made the cranberry sauce and chopped the brussel sprouts. I could have made the pecan pie bars the day before and also the stuffing just to have it done. This year it was just me and Jay so I didn’t have to worry about cleaning and entertaining.

Things you can make/do the day before:

Cranberry sauce

Dessert

Stuffing

Herb butter for turkey

Chop veggies for gravy

Prep fresh herbs

Prep veggies/brussels

Time out the day - when people arrive, getting ready, cleaning, relaxing, etc.

Host Gifts

You wash your hands a lot, so I think some goat milk hand cream would be a nice hosting gift or fresh flowers (or both).