The 2 (ish) hour Thanksgiving - 5 recipes
This is the first year in my life where I won't be traveling home to have a large dinner with my extended family, so I asked myself, how could I make a smaller Thanksgiving dinner with most of the classics in roughly two hours. There are 5 recipes in total and I’ve included a master shopping list if you end up doing the whole spread!
The Menu
SPATCHCOCK TURKEY WITH HERB DRY RUB
Ingredients
12-16 pound turkey, giblets removed
Note: Many frozen turkeys will be labeled pre basted, injected with a salt solution, or kosher. In each case, these have salt already applied and you should use less salt (dry/wet brine, etc.).
Herb dry rub
1 part dried sage
1 part dried thyme
1 part dried rosemary
1 part black pepper
Salt Methods
Dry Application: 1% or 1.5% salt - 55 g for a 12 lb (5500 g) turkey
Wet Brine: 6% salt solution.
Neutral Oil for exterior (peanut, canola, vegetable)
Method
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (232 C).
Place the turkey, breast side down, on the cutting board. Using kitchen shears, start cutting from the bottom cavity up towards the neck to remove the backbone and neck of the turkey. Reserve these pieces to make gravy or stock.
Lay the turkey, breast side up, on the cutting board, and place both hands on the breast like you are about to give CPR. With one sudden push, flatten the turkey until you hear a crack and the turkey lies flat. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet and place the turkey on top of the wire rack. This will promote better airflow while cooking.
It is time to season the bird. If using a dry application, mix the dried herbs with 54 grams (12 lbs = 5400 g x 1% = 54 g) of salt. Sprinkle and rub it all over the front and back of the turkey, making sure it's all over the nooks and crannies. Rub a thin layer of oil all over the legs and breast. This will promote even browning. I highly suggest using a leave-in probe thermometer
Place turkey in the oven. Total cook time will be roughly 75-90 minutes for a 12 lb to 16 bird. To ensure even cooking, set a timer at 30 minutes to rotate the bird during cooking and once more at 60 minutes. Check the bird at 60 minutes. If needed rub more oil on any uneven browning spots.
Using a meat thermometer, test the breast meat and thigh meat separately. When the breast is 150 F and the thigh is at least 180 F, pull the turkey out to rest on the cutting board for 10 minutes. Through carryover cooking, the temperature of the turkey will rise slightly while resting. Pulling the turkey at these temps ensures moist breast meat and succulent dark meat with the connective tissue broken down.
Let the turkey rest for at least 10 minutes.
Break the turkey down by cutting the leg away from the breast and cutting at the joint of the leg and thigh. Remove the wings by pulling or cutting at the joints. Remove the breast by slicing on both sides and following along the bone. Place on a platter and serve.
GRANDMA CHLEBOWSKI’S LOAF STUFFING - Good make-ahead item
Ingredients
113 g Butter (1 stick)
1 stalk of celery
1./4 onion
1 medium-sized carrot
2 g Fresh Sage (or dry)
2 g Fresh Thyme (or dry)
3 Eggs
90 g Milk
1 loaf White Bread, cut into cubes
Coarse Salt to taste
Black Pepper
Method
Prep Work (Mise en place):
Read the recipe
Gather all ingredients + equipment
Dice celery and onion
Mince fresh sage, thyme, and garlic
Cut loaf of bread into cubes
Stuffing Method:
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the diced celery, onion, carrot, sage, thyme, black pepper and a small pinch of salt. Cook while stirring occasionally for 15 minutes until translucent and soft.
Meanwhile in a separate bowl, beat the eggs and milk together.
Once the celery and onion are cooked, stir in the fresh sage, thyme, black pepper, and saute for 1-2 minutes. Taste the vegetables for salt and add another pinch.
Remove the pot from the stove. Add the bread cubes to the vegetable mixture and stir to soak up the butter.
Pour in half of the egg and milk mixture to the stuffing. Using your hands, mix the stuffing. When you can form a stuffing ball in your hand without it falling apart, you are okay. Add more egg mixture as necessary. Form the stuffing into large loaf. Reserve the excess egg mixture for brushing on the outside before baking.
Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Move the stuffing loaf to the paper and rub the exterior with the egg mixture.
Bake at 400 F for 10-15 minutes.
ROASTED GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
Ingredients
1 head of garlic
7 (about 1100 g) Yukon God Potatoes
42 g Butter
60 g Milk
Dollop Sour Cream
Coarse Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
Method
Fill a large pot with water and add a healthy handful of salt, approximately 10 grams of salt per 1000 grams of water, a 1% solution. Add in the cubed potatoes.
Bring the water to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and rice (or mash) potatoes into a bowl.
Add the roasted garlic, butter, milk, dollop of sour cream, salt + pepper to taste.
Mix everything together and adjust the taste / texture as you see fit.
BASIC GRAVY
Ingredients
Turkey Neck (or other trimmings)
28 g Butter
10 g Carrot
10 g Onion
10 g Celery
25 g Flour
500 g Chicken Stock
Coarse Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
Method
Heat a pan with the butter over medium heat. Add the turkey neck and trimmings in the pan and brown them for 4-5 minutes, flipping the pieces once or twice.
Add in the diced carrot, onion, celery, a pinch or two of salt and saute for 5-10 minutes.
Stir in the flour to create a roux. Cook for 2-3 minutes until it smells like a pie crust.
Deglaze the pan by stirring in the whiskey and immediately add the chicken stock.
Let the gravy simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it thickens. Taste the gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Strain out the turkey parts and vegetables with a mesh strainer and transfer to a gravy boat.
Serve over the mashed potatoes.
BRUSSEL SPROUT SALAD - Good make-ahead item
Ingredients
1 bag of Brussel Sprouts, thinly sliced
72 g Dried Cranberries
56 g Goat Cheese
60 g Toasted Pecans, crumbled
1/4 Red Onion, thinly sliced
Basic Vinaigrette Dressing
3 parts of oil
1/2 part mayo
1 part lemon juice
1 clove garlic, grated
1/4 shallot, grated
Grated Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
Method
Toast the pecans in the oven
Thinly slice the brussels sprouts and red onion. Add everything to a bowl.
Prepare the dressing by mixing the oil, mayo, and lemon juice in a container. Put the lid on a shake vigorously until cohesive. Grate in the garlic, shallot, and nutmeg. Taste it. Add salt and pepper as you see fit.
Toss the salad with the dressing this keeps really well in the fridge a day ahead of time.
PUMPKIN NUT BARS - Good make-ahead item
Ingredients (Crust)
1/2 stick butter, softened
50 g brown sugar
Small splash of vanilla
60 g cups whole wheat (or regular) flour
4 Graham crackers sheets, crushed or blended
Ingredients (Topping)
60 g walnut pieces
60 g pecan halves
1/2 stick butter, softened
100 g cups packed brown sugar
30 g honey
120 g of pumpkin puree
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch ground cinnamon
Pinch ground cloves
Method
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
For the crust, add the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla to a bowl and cream them together. Add the flour and crushed up graham crackers and form a cohesive mixture. Place in a small quarter sheet pan or loaf pan and form to the edges.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until slightly firm.
Meanwhile, toast the pecans and walnut pieces.
Set a pan over medium heat. Add the butter, brown sugar, honey, pumpkin and spices. Mix together and cook until it becomes a syrupy mixture.
Take the crust out of the oven. Place the toasted nuts down first and follow it with the pumpkin syrup topping. Bake for another 10-15 minutes until bubbly. Let cool and place in the freezer before serving. Enjoy.
