How is your Thanksgiving turkey cooked?

[KMarston]

Where do you put your gravy? I’ve never had a turkey dinner that didn’t include mashed potatoes. I did however once have one that didn’t have gravy. It took all I had to mind my own and keep myself out of a kitchen that wasn’t mine.

As for sides we keep it simple these days. Stuffing, mashed potatoes, veggie (usually green beans and bacon or Emeril’s Broccoli Cauliflower Au Gratin), rolls and gravy. We’re skipping this year though. Thanksgiving is only two days before my two younger kids birthday, I’m taking them to Disneyland as their gift and older DD will be in WDW (her first time) as her graduation present to herself. DH and the pup will have to fend for themselves.

The gravy goes on the cornbread dressing! That sounds like a great meal but I’d rather be st Disney than cooking any day. My daughter got married the Sunday before Thanksgiving and we had a lot of out of town company that stayed several days after. We “skipped” Thanksgiving that year. Which means we went to the Country Club for their Thanksgiving dinner. It was both odd and extremely freeing at the same time! Hope y’all have a wonderful trip!

 

[NotUrsula]

I only buy the best turkey.

A few years ago I was buying my turkey at a store that had one of those specials where the turkey was $.36/lb., but only if you purchased $50 worth of groceries at the same time. No problem, but they always have to ring up the bird as the last item when you do that.

So, I had about $60 worth of groceries, I hand over the cheap bird and am digging in my purse for my wallet, only to hear the clerk tell me that my bill was $110. What? Turns out she had accidentally hit the double zero key when she entered the poundage of the turkey: she rang it up as weighing 140 lbs. I like some leftovers when I make a bird, but I'm not roasting an ostrich!

BTW, about not having enough fridge space to brine a bird: you can use an ice chest. I always do. I buy one of those really large Ziploc bags meant for clothing storage (they are still food-grade), and I use it to thaw the bird in the brine. I make up the brine and cool it to be ready when I shop. When I bring the turkey home I unwrap it and place it in the Ziploc with the brine, pushing out as much air as possible before sealing it. Then I put the entire thing in a 20 gallon ice chest and bury it in a slurry of ice and water. (Ice slurry keeps foods just above freezing temp.) I leave it that way for 48 hours, keeping the ice replenished so that it is always below 40F. I bring the bird to room temp before cooking.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I haven't served mashed potatoes with holiday dinners in almost 2 decades. They either get rice for the gravy or cauliflower mashed with sour cream and/or cream cheese.

 

[easyas123]

I'm Irish-American and technically in a southern State and I wouldn't touch mashed potatoes & gravy with a ten foot fork!

 

[RedAngie]

Around here you can usually get a free turkey for Thanksgiving.

If you spend $400 over a six week period at Shop Rite, you get a choice of a free standard store brand frozen turkey or turkey breast or shank half ham (and water product). Or a discount on fresh turkey, Butterball, spiral sliced ham, and a few other options.

Acme offers a free standard frozen turkey or breast if you spend $100 in a single transaction.

 

[Searc]

My DS's girlfriend from NC/SC is going to be sorely disappointed if she's expecting anything other than mashed potatoes and gravy on my Thanksgiving table

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Where do you put your gravy?

On the stuffing. And sometimes over the turkey.

It's also good after Thanksgiving heated and poured over left over rolls, or plain bread.

 

[Kitty 34]

A few years ago I was buying my turkey at a store that had one of those specials where the turkey was $.36/lb., but only if you purchased $50 worth of groceries at the same time. No problem, but they always have to ring up the bird as the last item when you do that.

So, I had about $60 worth of groceries, I hand over the cheap bird and am digging in my purse for my wallet, only to hear the clerk tell me that my bill was $110. What? Turns out she had accidentally hit the double zero key when she entered the poundage of the turkey: she rang it up as weighing 140 lbs. I like some leftovers when I make a bird, but I'm not roasting an ostrich!

BTW, about not having enough fridge space to brine a bird: you can use an ice chest. I always do. I buy one of those really large Ziploc bags meant for clothing storage (they are still food-grade), and I use it to thaw the bird in the brine. I make up the brine and cool it to be ready when I shop. When I bring the turkey home I unwrap it and place it in the Ziploc with the brine, pushing out as much air as possible before sealing it. Then I put the entire thing in a 20 gallon ice chest and bury it in a slurry of ice and water. (Ice slurry keeps foods just above freezing temp.) I leave it that way for 48 hours, keeping the ice replenished so that it is always below 40F. I bring the bird to room temp before cooking.

Maybe you accidentally bought a Pteranodon turkey.......heard they can be quite tasty this time of century!!

 

[wenrob]

On the stuffing. And sometimes over the turkey.

It's also good after Thanksgiving heated and poured over left over rolls, or plain bread.

I was teasing, lol. I put it all over my plate except for my veggies.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I roast my turkey in a Reynolds turkey bag.

 

[fla4fun]

We mix butter with poultry seasoning and spread it between the skin and the muscle of the bird, then stuff with homemade stuffing and roast in two disposable pans in case the inner one leaks. It gets basted with a mix of butter and stock to start, then basted with pan drippings as they form. We use a meat thermometer and cook the meat to temp, then move the thermometer to the stuffing cavity and continue roasting until that is up to temperature. It has never been dry and is always well done. The skin turns out so good! We all wait impatiently for the turkey to cool enough we can peel the skin off for a crispy snack.

 

[DisneyWorldMimi]

We use the Char Broil Big Easy to cook ours. It is an oil-less way to deep fry your turkey. We love it. Makes it so easy. Hubby does it and then (since we don't have a stove that is working), we get microwave mashed potatoes, yams and the other items. No one really does stuffing, so we don't do that. Might start making a smaller batch once our house is back in order. Still getting work done from Hurricane Michael damage.