Thanksgiving Early Access
Added 2021-11-03 17:39:56 +0000 UTC- This video hasn't been approved by the brand that bought an ad at the end, so I may need to re-upload it if they request any changes. If you leave a comment on the video, it will be held for review until the video's approved. Still, I wanted to get this out as soon as possible since it's already November! Get those fridges cleaned and menus planned.
- One thing that I didn't mention is that a Thanksgiving menu can be whatever you want it to be. Some of the most memorable Thanksgivings are the ones at which my mom decided to make a bunch of Asian dishes for the first time, or when we substituted the turkey for a gigantic brisket. So much effort goes into helping regular cooks make turkey that isn't dry or flavorless, but we could probably also use a little more "just make something else" messaging.
- I think this Thanksgiving is going to be pretty hard to plan. Bree and I got married last year and so we haven't really had to negotiate the terms of splitting major holidays between families yet. Plus, with one family in Texas and one in California, it's extremely difficult to get a consensus on whether or not the deadly virus still exists. Either way, this might be the first time I try doing a smoked turkey, since I now have three smokers in my back yard.
- Did I miss any tips? I asked so many people for all of their lessons learned, and the dollar tree container one was actually from my mom.
Comments
If I had to give one tip not in this video it would be: Make your own damn cranberry sauce. In our household it's one of the few constants of the Thanksgiving table. It's incredibly easy, you can buy the frozen cranberries in the early shopping trip, it's a perfect make-ahead that doesn't take up a ton of fridge space and is better after a day or two, you can dial in the sugar level to exact tastes. We prefer it with a strong orange component (juice + peel) but you can do straight cranberry, you can do lemon, you can do cinnamon or mulling spices, there are lots of ways to go and cranberry is very difficult to overpower. The other thing that comes to mind is regarding the menu planning aspect: Know the number and capacity of your cooking devices BEFORE you finalize a menu. If you are blessed with double wall ovens plus a countertop convection oven plus an outdoor smoker plus a pressure cooker etc etc, you might survive executing a menu that includes a turkey, a casserole, some roast veg, a dressing that isn't stove-top, and a baked dessert. But if you have just a single oven to work with as your "dry heat cooking" tool you MUST plan to lean heavily on your stovetop, microwave, etc. and cook-ahead-and-reheat. There is just no way around being 90 minutes out from dinner and needing to have your oven simultaneously preheated to 475, 325, and "keep warm." You address this a little in the middle of the video when talking game plan but I feel like the night before is a little late for any major menu changes that might end up being necessary.
2021-11-03 19:36:31 +0000 UTCThis is a great video, very helpful, and something I don't see often. I think you addressed everything really well and straightforward.
Dakota
2021-11-03 19:32:35 +0000 UTC
