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Winner winner, *turkey* dinner.
Process raw bacon and softened butter until smooth and smear it under the turkey skin. Adds moisture and smokiness.
My go-to this year is what I was advised to do last year: smother the turkey inside and out with mayonnaise. It makes the meat moist, the skin crispy, and no mayo flavor (which is great because my husband hates mayonnaise).
You can also dry brine it, *then* rub it down with butter/mayo/butter-and-bacon.
Add bacon all around the turkey to keep it from getting dry. I did a mixture of this and the cooking bag ❤️ and it came out very juicy.
Get a bacon-wrapped turkey recipe here.
Spatchcock the turkey. The butcher can do this for you. It makes it so easy and fast to cook.
SPATCHCOCK THE TURKEY! It's essentially butterflying: you cut out the spine, and flatten it a bit. You have a perfectly moist, crispy-skinned turkey in about 2 hours. Totally changed my turkey game! And you can use that cut out spine for good gravy.
Here's a recipe for roast spatchcocked turkey.
If you cook your turkey in the oven, place it in a roasting bag, then put the bird breast-side down in the pan. It doesn’t look “presentable,” but we carve it before bringing it to the table, and the important thing is the taste. This makes the turkey super juicy. Everyone I’ve ever shared leftovers with has told me that it’s the best turkey they’ve ever had.
Use Reynolds oven bags, and cook the turkey upside down. Turkey will be done in about 3 hours, no basting, sooo easy!
Get a recipe for roasting bag turkey here. You can probably find the bags at your grocery store, or get a pack of 8 on Amazon for $11.98.
Invest in an electric roaster if you have limited kitchen space/small oven. I bought one for about $30 during Amazon’s lightning deals, and it cooks the turkey really well (refrain from opening the lid and checking on it). I actually set it up on a small table in the living room and it helps immensely with space in my tiny kitchen.
Use a roaster for the turkey. No need to take up precious oven space. And stop wasting time basting the turkey. Rub it with butter, put it in the roaster, then cover it with tinfoil halfway through cooking. Done.
Get this electric roaster on Amazon for $37.75.
Buy a freezer-to-oven turkey. Jennie-O is my favorite. They have sealed-in juices and preseasoning; plus require no thawing, no brining, no prep at all. Done in 3-ish hours!
Cook your turkey breast side DOWN for the first half. Halfway through, flip it to be breast-side up. I swear by this trick and cook all poultry this way!! My coworker (who is the queen of soul food btw) told me this and I’ve never looked back.
This lets the meatiest part of the turkey cook closer to all the juices so it's actually juicier, but still gives you picture-perfect golden brown skin. Fine Cooking has a few tips if you want to try this at home.
Get one of those meat thermometers that can stay in the turkey while it’s roasting, that has an alarm for when it reaches the correct temperature. Since I got that, I haven’t had a single dry turkey (or chicken, or pork loin, etc.).
Get one on Amazon for $10.69.
WAIT. Let that bird rest at least 20 minutes. Move it to a new pan so you can use the one it cooked in for the gravy. Cover it once it is out with foil and then lay dish towels over the foil to keep it super warm. If you cut it without letting it rest long enough, your bird will suck. Plain and simple.
—Ellery Macbeth, Facebook
FWIW, Cook's Illustrated says you *shouldn't* cover your turkey while it rests, because it'll make the skin soggy. But they still recommend resting — for 45 minutes. Learn how to carve a turkey here.
Toasting your bread cubes in the oven is an easy way to dry out your bread for stuffing if you don't have old bread on hand. Single layer on a pan, 300°F for 20 minutes always does the trick.
Read more about making stuffing here.
Use bagels for stuffing. Doesn’t turn to mush like bread does.
Get the recipe for Everything Bagel Stuffing here.
This might be common knowledge, but bake your desserts the day before to save oven space.
My timeline is pies, candies, and cakes two days before, and sides the day before. I make the mac the night before, but wait to bake it until Thanksgiving Day, so it's not dried out.
Get a 17 make-ahead Thanksgiving recipes here.
Make a shopping list and get all nonperishables at least 2 weeks before Thanksgiving to save your sanity — ain’t nobody got time for those lines. Make a plan for the week of Thanksgiving, prepping whatever can be made in advance in the days before. It sounds like a lot of work, but it takes so much stress off of the actual day!
Have your guests each bring one side dish. You'll end up with just about zero work! :)
I have been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 8–12 people for about 7 years now. My one true piece of advice is, chill the fuck out. It's a just a holiday. Everything will get done and everything will be fine. Enjoy the day. Enjoy your guests.
CHILL THE FUCK OUT and have a Happy Thanksgiving.