When the big day is here, don’t let it be ruined by burnt-black turkeys and grease fires. Learn the common mistakes in preparing a Thanksgiving meal, plus how to avoid them, and hopefully your food spectacular will go off without too enormous a hitch.
Rule one: Unless you have an impressive expertise on the practice, do not deep fry your turkey. Sure, in principle, it sounds delicious – stick a whole turkey into a molten batch of boiling oil until you pull it out, crispy brown and dripping in fat and salty goodness. But the reality is that deep-frying a whole turkey is more dangerous and risky than it’s worth. Your turkey can explode, catch fire, spurt you with third-degree-burn-causing oils and is capable of even more maladies. Stick with the oven this year.
Rule two: Give your turkey a break. After it’s done cooking, let your bird rest on its own for 20 to 30 minutes. Don’t get overeager and carve into that thing right away — slicing immediately won’t let the (delicious) juices settle, and instead they’ll all flood your cutting board. Want to know why your turkey is dry and chewy? That’s why.
Rule three: Plan ahead of time. Some dishes take a few hours to cook. Some take 10 minutes. It takes practice and skill to create a large dinner where all the elements end up cooked at the same time, but even those who are new to the Thanksgiving prep can get themselves close. Figure out what needs to go into the oven and when ahead of time, so the oven doesn’t get full of turkey for six hours when you need to shove a casserole in there. Gravy is easy to do last-minute, but done too quickly, it will become cold and oily by the time the potatoes are done. Time and oven/stove management is essential.
Rule four: Go for the whole pantry. Sure, turkey is the centerpiece, and mashed potatoes with gravy are a tradition, but don’t forgo vegetables (which can cook alongside the turkey to absorb some amazing flavor) and other smaller, less noticeable necessities — biscuits (to mop up the turkey juices), cranberry sauce (for the turkey!) and the beverages (apple cider? Wine? Eggnog?).
Most importantly, if you do manage to make a horrific mistake, do your best to surround yourself with other people who are willing to pull you out of a jam (or grease explosion, as it may be).