Whether your Thanksgiving feast will be the same as usual or quite different this year (say, far more intimate), it is still important to prepare for it. What follows are practical guidelines for which roasting pan to use, Martha's Thanksgiving preparation thoughts, as well as a ideas for making an "intimate" gathering just as special and delicious as a large one...
Which Roasting Pan?
While you CAN use an aluminum (disposable) roasting pan to make your bird, I recommend against that for several reasons: it's better for the universe to avoid the waste, apparently some of the aluminum can leach into your food (!), the weight of the bird may be too much for the pan when you try to lift it (which could well end in disaster!), and (some might argue most importantly) you will want a pan which can be used on top of the stove in which you can make the gravy (assuming you plan to make gravy).
So go to your cupboard now and ensure you have a roasting pan that’s large enough to hold your Thanksgiving bird (see below for required size). If you don't, get thee to your local kitchen store so that you are not caught off-guard.
For a turkey up to 12 lbs., you'll want a 14” roasting pan
If your bird is 12-16 lbs., use a 16” pan
Turkeys up to 24 lbs., you'll need an 18” roasting pan
Martha's Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Dinner Prep Timeline for a Stress-Free Meal
Sure, I could write about prepping for Thanksgiving, but I see no reason to reinvent the wheel, especially if Martha (Stewart, obviously) has already addressed the wheel. So what follows is the direct text from a recent article from MarthaStewart.Com, almost in its entirety. (https://www.marthastewart.com/8166308/thanksgiving-make-ahead-prep-timeline) I have inserted some of my thoughts where they differ from Martha's [in brackets] below.
Whether you're hosting Thanksgiving this year and doing all the cooking yourself or you're a guest tasked with bringing a side dish or a dessert, there can be quite a bit of stress involved with preparing food for this annual feast. There's not much you can do about the high expectations placed upon that old family recipe for pumpkin pie, but there are plenty of other ways you can set yourself up for success when it comes to Thanksgiving meal prep.
We're sharing our favorite make-ahead strategies for the turkey, the sides, and the sweets. And if you're still putting your menu together, be sure to check out our collection of make-ahead holiday dishes for more inspiration.
Thanksgiving Turkey
The Week Before: Clean Out the Fridge, Thaw the Turkey, and Prepare the Brine
Give your refrigerator a deep clean before the week of feasting begins, which will give you room for the turkey. As an added bonus, you'll also get a handle on your condiment inventory and make some room for the beverages.
Once the fridge is clean, it's time to thaw the bird. If your turkey is frozen solid, place it on a rimmed baking sheet and set it on the bottom shelf—allow one full day for every four pounds of turkey being thawed. Lastly, take a few minutes to put together the brine for the turkey—you'll thank yourself later.
[I have found that a dry brine yields as juicy and tasty a bird as a wet brine (like Martha's above), and it is SO much easier. I use a mixture of 2 tablespoons of salt and 1 tablespoon of pepper for a 13 pound turkey. Just mix the salt and pepper together and rub all over the bird -- inside and out. Then have the bird sit in the fridge, uncovered, on a rack in a sheet pan, for 1-2 days before roasting.]
The Day Before: Brine the Bird
It's the day before the feast, and with the ball already rolling on the sides and sweets, you'll likely be elbows deep in sweet potato peels and eternally grateful that you have the brine ready to go. Whether you go fancy with this aromatic wet brine or try this easy dry brine [or mine just above], get your thawed turkey brining and let the salt and spices work their magic for the next 24 hours.
The Day Of: Take the Chill Off
It's time to transition the turkey from the refrigerator to the counter for an hour or two to take the chill off and dry the skin a little—this will result in a crispier skin and a more evenly cooked bird. [Please note that a dry brine, or at least MY dry brine yields a very dry skin right out of the fridge.] And whether it's your first or fiftieth time cooking a turkey, don't miss our expert guide for roasting the best turkey ever.
Sides
The Week Before: Make Lists and Shop
Start writing out your shopping lists, prep duties, and equipment needs so you'll have a day or two to amend anything that's not quite right. To strike that balance between being prepared and the produce staying fresh, plan to shop up to four days ahead of Thanksgiving. Store more delicate produce like lettuce and green beans in specialty produce bags to get them to taste as fresh as the day they were picked.
Three Days to Go: Start Vegetable Prep and Make Dips, Relishes, and Dressings
This is when to start getting as much vegetable prep done ahead of time as you can. Chop up the mirepoix for the Test Kitchen's Favorite Stuffing recipe and trim and blanch the green beans for the casserole. While it is best to make the mashed potatoes as close to mealtime as possible, the spuds can be peeled and cut up to two days in advance. To keep your peeled potatoes from turning brown, store them submerged in water.
Once the vegetables are set, turn your attention to any dips, relishes, and dressings you plan to serve. They only get better after spending a couple of days in the fridge, where they'll chill and meld flavors, so getting a jump start on these recipes is a no-brainer. Now is the time to pickle vegetables for the relish tray, whip up some cold dips, and crank out any salad dressings. If time allows, take a look at your recipes and chip away at any other tiny tasks, such as toasting nuts, frizzling shallots, or chopping herbs.
The Day Of: Add the Final Flourishes
This is when it's best to assemble your prepped components into their final form. For example, if you were able to prep the individual components for this gourmet green bean casserole a few days ahead of time—like the mushroom sauce and frizzled shallots—then it'll be a quick turnaround to assemble and bake this family favorite for the big feast. [I love Smitten Kitchen's Green Bean Casserole for what it's worth.]
Desserts
Several Weeks Before: Prepare Pie Dough
If you really want to get ahead, you can make and freeze discs of pie dough for up to a whole month before you need them. Preparing pie dough ahead of time is simple and saves precious clean-up time in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. In charge of the rolls this year? These buttery Parker House Rolls can be prepped and frozen up to three months in advance.
To get a head start on Thanksgiving prep, I’ll make pastry shells for pies the week before, and then cover them tightly in plastic wrap and freeze them in their plates. Later, I just add the fillings and bake. -Martha Stewart [If you can find a good butter-only frozen pie shell, I think that is a-ok, too.]
Three Days to Go: Prep any No-Bake Desserts
Check out these no-bake dessert recipes and choose something that won't require oven space. When dessert can be made ahead of time, you'll have one less thing to worry about as guests are arriving and one less thing to warm up before serving. [Martha's Pumpkin Cheesecake Crunch Bites recipe is one of my regular Thanksgiving dessert recipes; it's really great.]
The Day Before: Get Rolling
Take the pie doughs out of the freezer in the morning and roll them into pie shells later that day if you haven't frozen them in finished disk sizes or in the pans already. You can blind bake the crusts a day or two before filling and baking them into the pie of your choice.
A Guide For A Small Thanksgiving Feast
I know quite a few people who will not be attending their regular family gatherings this year, and are now not quite sure what to do to still enjoy the Thanksgiving meal. Since my small immediate family adores Thanksgiving leftovers, and I no longer cook the big meal to ensure said leftovers, I have been cooking a smaller version for the past several years. And while we still have more than necessary, we somehow manage to get through most of it (if not all of it) before any of the food goes bad.
Here's what I do for 3 people:
Make cranberry sauce at least a week in advance. I use one bag of fresh cranberries for mine, and it makes way more than needed for the requisite sandwiches. So, 3 options -- buy cranberry sauce or jelly in the smallest size, gift extra cranberry sauce to friends/ family, OR figure out different uses for cranberry sauce! I have learned, for example, that is works well with Swedish Meatballs (instead of Lingonberry jam). Here's my recipe.
Roast turkey pieces instead of the whole bird. We happen to like dark meat, so I buy thighs and roast them -- brining with the salt and pepper mixture I wrote about above. I have the turkey brining by the time we leave for our gathering, a day or two before I roast the pieces. Obviously, if you like white meat, roast the breasts. Just make sure the pieces are skin-on and bone-in!!
Make smaller amounts of the sweet potato and mashed potato sides -- it's easy to scale down the recipes. I use about 1 large sweet potato per person, and 1 large to 2 medium regular (Idaho) potatoes per person for mashed potatoes, which yield plenty of starchy sides.
I will often make a half-batch of stuffing since my husband doesn't love stuffing enough for a full-batch (I know!).
I will make a full-batch of the green bean casserole, though, as it gets consumed somehow -- even though it's quite a generous size! (Plus, I can freeze leftovers if need be -- without the crunchy onions on top).
For dessert, I am often tasked with baking for the big family gathering, so I make even more and just save some for us. I also will make cookies -- like my gingersnaps, which freeze beautifully should there be leftovers.
Don't neglect the table: set as lovely a table for 1, 2, 3, 4, whatever, as you would for a big gathering. Get some decorative pumpkins and use nice linens and/ or plates. I absolutely adore this "candle sand" stuff since I can make any nice vessel into a candle centerpiece or two, and then re-use the candle sand in a different vessel some other time! I actually need to buy more as one bowl I have is huge and too big for just one box of the sand (I'll use several wicks and it'll look amazing!!!).
A small Thanksgiving meal alone or shared with loved ones need not be a sad affair at all. Surrounding yourself with love and people who accept and want the best for you is definitely something to be thankful for, always, but this year most especially.
Take care of yourselves and get ready for a delicious meal.
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