What to Do in the Last Days Before Thanksgiving
After weeks of preparation and planning, there are a few days left until the Bird is cooked, along with all the other dishes and cakes needed for the holiday. For example, I am excited.
Before we get to this week’s tasks, take a minute to review our guides over weeks one , two, and three , just to make sure we’re all on the same page. You should already have the ingredients gathered, all the necessary serving utensils purchased , and the oven and hob are scheduled to be used, but if you don’t: don’t panic. You still have almost three whole days to pick up ingredients and supplies at the last minute.
Take the turkey out of the damn freezer
Hope you have done that already. If you haven’t, I hope you have a smaller turkey because a frozen turkey needs a full 24 hours of defrosting in the refrigerator for every four pounds. I usually give my turkey an extra day to defrost completely by the time I immersed it in the brine, so mine has been in the refrigerator since Saturday.
If your turkey is still a little icy on Wednesday, you can let it finish defrosting in wet brine, or you can speed up the last part of the defrost by filling the sink with cold water and placing the still wrapped bird in the sink. and change the water every half hour. If you have a submersible circulation pump, you can do it even faster: set the bath temperature to about 65 ℉ (add ice if the tap water is not so cold), then add the turkey and let the cool water circulate around the bird. …
Oh, and please make sure your meat thermometer has batteries and is working. I still haven’t recovered from the 2018 Watch Battery Reckoning.
Schedule Turkey Day
If you haven’t already, take out the serving dishes and give each one a task. Write the name of each dish on the sticker, as well as the place where it will cook (e.g. stove, oven, grill), what temperature it will cook at and how long it will take to cook, then stick the note on the right side of the pot (or Instant Pot , deep fryer or any other specialized appliance you may use).
Then take a piece of paper, write down the ideal time for lunch, and work backwards. Get a rough estimate of how long your turkey will take to cook, then plan the rest of your schedule with poultry in mind. (Keep in mind that carnage can have a huge impact on your timeline – a bird with a spotted rooster will be ready to serve much faster than a whole one.)
Once you’ve planned your day, let everyone know when they need to come and ask if they plan on using your oven / stove / kitchen so you can include their meal on your schedule if needed.
Pre-cook as much as you can
You can make cranberry sauce and gravy and put them in the refrigerator, but these aren’t the only meals you can prepare ahead of time. Review your recipes and see if there are any ingredients you can cook right now. For example, I’ve already made three batches of this vegan mushroom base – which is a hell of a lot harder than it should be – as I plan on using it in my green bean soup and cornbread dressing (and I wanted a little more, just for fun).
Make pie crusts, if you haven’t already, and store them in the refrigerator until Wednesday, the day you should bake the pies. Wednesday is also a good day to boil eggs for stuffed eggs, soak the butter beans, and collect, but not bake, casseroles.
Make a seating (and service) plan
Check your size again and make sure the number of people will fit at your table. If not, get another table and all the chairs you need. Once you know where you are going to put people, figure out where you are going to put food. My table is not large enough to accommodate food and serving, so I will be buffeting my meat block and stowing my bar cart to use as a place for drinks. Think about it now and start cleaning all the surfaces you need so you don’t have to climb with bird in hand to find a spot to split the turkey.
Aside from tables and chairs, make sure you have a couple of tablecloths and enough napkins (if you use them). Then do one more last check of the plate / cutlery / glasses / glasses of water and make sure you have enough for everyone. If your glasses are dusty, wash them. If your silver has tarnished, who cares.
If you’re going to allocate seats – which I always do as a control freak – do it nicely and write everyone’s names on a tangerine orange, and then arrange the citrus so that it facilitates a pleasant conversation. (Use the ones that come with attached leaves if you can find them.)
Clean
I’m sorry to tell you this, but you need to clean up your house. Start in the lowest-traffic areas (guest rooms and formal dining areas), then work your way up to the common areas, ending with the living room, kitchen, and bathroom (so they have less time to get dirty again).
Make sure your bathroom has a candle and matches (or an air freshener), soap, fresh towels, and plenty of toilet paper – place it so people can see it so they don’t have to ask.
Make a playlist
It’s a fun, seemingly frivolous, activity without cooking, but you need sounds. Even if your playlist is “the sound of Macy’s parade” followed by “the sound of Mississippi losing a soccer game,” it helps plan the noise to avoid awkward silence.
If you are into music, choose tunes that are one level higher than the easy ones to listen to, and don’t try to look quirky or incomprehensible. I also try to limit profanity in my playlist, for my own convenience more than anyone else. (My dad and I are both big Stones fans, but I would die if Star Star showed up when we were trying to enjoy the pie with the whole family.) When in doubt, just add The Last Waltz and be done with it; After all, it was filmed for Thanksgiving. (You can also use my 2020 playlist , which is pretty decent and very boomer-friendly, although it doesn’t have any sequence. For best results, play it in random order.)
Don’t worry so much
No matter what happens, there will always be food on the table, and most of it will taste good. (And even if some of them don’t taste good, everyone will tell you they are.) Opening up your home to your (hopefully vaccinated) family and friends after nearly two years of isolation is a big deal, but you should be excited. not afraid.
I am assuming that you are not a professionally trained chef with years of experience in a restaurant and no one expects you to be. Ask for help if you need it, assign tasks to your family members, and enjoy the people around you. Then enjoy a lot of the cake. You deserve a lot of the pie.