How to Make a Delicious Thanksgiving From Potatoes to Pie
If you’ve followed our Thanksgiving lighting, you know we had a little staff lunch, and you know that I’ve helped each staff member make sure their dish shines. We laughed and learned some lessons (and, in one case, danced a bit ), and have been sharing these tips and tricks with you all month.
But to have a successful Thanksgiving dinner, you need to organize it, so we decided to collect all our videos in one place with links to written recipes.
Give your stove a break with Instant Pot
Seasoned eggs and whipped sweet potatoes are two staples of southern food for every Thanksgiving dinner, and Instant Pot makes them cook in record time without taking up space on the stove. (Check out the complete sweet potato recipe here and our guide to perfect filled eggs here .)
For mashed potatoes, use two types of potatoes and add some miso to the filling.
The classic mashed potatoes and toppings are non-negotiable, but there are several ways to make them stand out from the others. For potatoes, don’t limit yourself to one spud; The combination of fluffy tan and creamy Yukon gold gives you the best of both worlds. For extra flavor, add herbs to the cream and then remove plant parts so the leaves and stems don’t lose texture. (See our written guide to mashed potatoes here , keeping in mind that you should probably at least double the recipe.)
For the filling, I like to add a little fancy miso to help break up the usual parade of celery and sage flavors. Rather than taste like miso, the pasta adds a sweet and salty depth that’s perfect for roasted turkey. (The complete recipe can be found here .)
Don’t Forget Your Vegetarian Friends
Instead of having your vegetarian friends eat a plate of side dishes, surprise them with a whole roast pumpkin filled with all sorts of delicious treasures. (The complete recipe can be found here .)
Make the best sweet potato pie
Sweet potatoes have more flavor than pumpkin, which is why I prefer them in pie. Here we are using Dolester Miles’ recipe with one small amendment – we toast the sugar before adding it to the filling. The result is a juicy, sweet, seasonal pie that is loved (but not required) to be topped with whipped cream.
Remove the spine of the turkey for faster, juicier results.
The easiest way to make a juicy roast turkey is to chop it up. Watch the video to learn how to catch the syringe, but once the spine is removed and the breasts are a bit flattened, you’ll want to salt this sucker. A simple dry pickle made up of 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon sugar for every pound of turkey will ensure that the poultry is flavorful. Simply sprinkle it on everything – both on the skin and inside the poultry – then place on the wire rack inside the rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate for at least overnight or up to three days.
Once this is over, pour all of the turkey juice from the baking sheet, then add a layer of citrus fruits and fresh herbs before reattaching the wire shelf (and of course the turkey). Then take a piece of butter and cut it in half. Combine one half with five cloves of garlic and push the compound oil under your breast skin, patting gently on top to distribute it evenly. Melt the remaining butter, spread it over every inch of the skin, and pour some water onto a baking sheet.
Roast for 15 minutes at 425 ℉, then reduce the temperature to 375 ℉ and continue baking until the breast reaches 150 ℉ at its thickest point, brushing with melted butter for half an hour and adding water to the pan as needed. Let stand for at least 25 minutes, chop and serve.
Prepare the gravy in advance and add the rum to the cranberry sauce.
Great news: no need to wait for good gravy to pour out of the pan. In fact, gravy can be prepared ahead of time, especially if you are used to pecking at a bird. (Written instructions on how to do this can be found here .) For the cranberry sauce, I simply use the classic Ocean Spray recipe and replace a quarter cup of (boring) water with (addictive) rum. I also like to add a couple of strips of orange peel for a slightly citrusy undertone.
Once you’re done with all of this, make yourself a drink, enjoy your meal, and ask someone to clean up because you’ve already done enough. Now it’s time to rest, cake and (possibly) another drink. (If you need drink ideas, we have a lot of them .)