These Are My Three Favorite Tools for Preparing Thanksgiving Dinner (Other Than the Oven).
Welcome to the Scammer’s Guide to Thanksgiving . While there is plenty of advice out there for people making desserts and artisan breads, The Con Man’s Guide is geared toward the individual who could use a helping hand, even from some unconventional sources. Some might call it “cheating” (as if that’s a bad thing), but there’s nothing wrong with using modern technology and supermarket know-how to create a stunning traditional feast – with far less of the traditional work involved.
While the conventional oven may be the most traditional way to prepare a Thanksgiving feast, we now have several transformative modern appliances that we would be foolish to leave behind. I included three meals in my holiday routine: the slow cooker, the air fryer, and the microwave. Keeping the lead of my conventional oven, this group of appliances distributes tasks and makes a huge menu seem almost effortless.
How to Use a Slow Cooker for Thanksgiving Dinner
I have two multicookers: a large (eight-liter) and a small (two-liter). You certainly don’t need two, but I like having a small one for reheating sauces. I use a large slow cooker to make any large side dish. It changed from year to year: one time I used it for stuffing, and another time I made mashed potatoes in a slow cooker. For me, the point is that large side dishes are often the hardest to keep in a pan on the stove or the hardest to try to assemble in the oven. This helps eliminate this high-maintenance dish, and a slow cooker is just the right appliance to get the job done. You throw in the ingredients and finish it a few hours later. There is no need to stir, whisk, boil or care for it.
For a dinner party like Thanksgiving, I recommend one large enough to accommodate popular dishes because you’ll likely be making a large batch.
How to Use an Air Fryer for Thanksgiving Dinner
You’ll hear me keep talking about the air fryer. This is the latest addition to my list of Thanksgiving-worthy appliances, and it’s my star player. This is a countertop convection oven that many restaurants and bakeries use to cook food quickly and evenly. Not only do they give you restaurant-quality cooking options, but they’re also portable and becoming more affordable every year.
Since I have a fairly small kitchen, I may not have enough space to prepare one dish while I’m preparing another. With an air fryer, I can move it to a different outlet, counter, or another room entirely if I need space in the kitchen. I can throw vegetables in the deep fryer in the living room and free up the kitchen counter to cool two pies. Plus, it speeds up the cooking time of whatever you put in it. You can brown, broil and air fry half the side dishes in the time it takes you to bake one casserole in a regular oven. When I’m done, I unplug it and put it away to set the table for the guests.
I like the Instant Vortex for a small kitchen where you can see yourself moving the appliance, and the Ninja DoubleStack for cooking multiple dishes independently and simultaneously.
How to Use the Microwave for Thanksgiving Dinner
She’s no stranger to everyday life, but the microwave is often an afterthought around Thanksgiving. This is literally the fastest cooking machine out there and most people already have one. While you shouldn’t cook a roast from scratch in the microwave, you can use it wisely to plan for the future. Knowing that you can reheat food in the microwave allows you to prepare sauces or side dishes ahead of time. I use the microwave for quick fixes when it’s crunch time: heating broth or milk for a thickened sauce, melting butter for a variety of uses, or cooking crispy bacon for Brussels sprouts.
The best microwave for Thanksgiving is definitely the one you already have. If you don’t have one or are looking to upgrade (in addition to finding the right size), you can check the following or purchase a microwave combo oven – a combination of a microwave and an air fryer.
While you don’t have to turn on all three appliances to have a delicious Thanksgiving, I still recommend delegating at least one or two side dishes to any of these modern wonders. Read more of The Scammer’s Guide to Thanksgiving to find out what recipes you can make for each one. You will be pleased to see how a little help relieves a lot of stress.