All the Ways a Refrigerator (or Three) Can Help You Get Through Thanksgiving
You can seriously think about Thanksgiving. You can start planning a careful schedule weeks in advance, make a bunch of preparations to reduce the amount of cleaning after that, and tinker with recipe after recipe after recipe to make sure your meal is perfect . However, the day could be easier if you took a cooler (or two, or three) with you. A cooler isn’t just for chilling beer and wine for your guests – it solves more problems than you might think. Here’s everything you can use the fridge for to help you handle a big meal.
Brine your turkey
The first thing you can do with a special Thanksgiving fridge is to pickle the turkey. According to Life Savvy , it may not be cold enough where you are to salt a turkey outside, but that’s not a problem! Fill this fridge with ice and use a “heavy duty plastic bag to put the turkey and brine in; then pickle the old bird in the refrigerator, not in the refrigerator.” (Don’t know how to pickle a turkey? No problem. We already told you about it .)
You can also use the refrigerator to thaw the turkey at least 48 hours before you plan to cook it. Check it regularly, but rest assured that a completely frozen bird will take some time to thaw in there.
Prepare a side dish
We’ve recommended “colder corn” in the past, and while you probably think of it as a camping staple, why not try it on Thanksgiving for the perfect side dish?
Throw a bunch of corncobs in the fridge, pour two teapots of boiling water over them, and let them sit for 30 minutes. They’ll cook just right, and you’ll be able to use the extra time and space in the oven for other dishes.
Keep food warm
While you may have a grand plan to have everyone sit down together to enjoy a meal together, you know there will be early bites, late arrivals, and mismatched cooking times. Some food will need to be kept warm for one reason or another, and this is where a refrigerator comes in handy.
The name cooler is a bit misleading; it is insulated, making it suitable for maintaining any temperature. Life Savvy also recommends using an empty fridge to keep your meals hot until they’re ready to serve. Place a wire-cooling rack or several coasters on the bottom to prevent hot pots from coming into contact with the insulation, and keep the lid tightly closed to keep the temperature warm.
Wash the dishes
The New York Times suggests using the refrigerator as an additional dish soaking station to maximize plate cleaning efficiency. (They also offer to use your bath, which gives you an idea of just how hectic this vacation can be for hosts.)
Keep a soapy water cooler in the kitchen and ask guests to put their dirty china in it, leaving the sink open for rinsing and hard scrubbing.
Just use it like normal storage
Don’t get overwhelmed by all the cool hacks. Sometimes the simpler the better, but we lose sight of the forest because of the trees. You can use the cooler as a root cellar that holds carrots, celery and onions, according to The Kitchn , or just serve drinks from it to free up fridge and counter space.
All in all, three refrigerators – one for the turkey, one for the dishes, and one for storing ingredients and then cooking – can help you get through this holiday. And if you’re a guest this year, bring your contribution to the food in the big fridge, then kindly offer these tips to your host, who might be grateful for soaking dishes/storing food/saving time.