Are you concerned that your turkey won’t turn out to be edible? Worried that your overall turkey dinner meal won’t live up to your or your mother-in-law’s expectations? Well, here’s some tips that will help you cook your best Thanksgiving meal – evah!
Turkey Tips
Underdone Turkey
The thighs take longer to come to a safe temperature, 170 to 175 F degrees, than the breasts. Cut the thighs from the turkey and return to the oven for 15 minutes. Cover the rest of the turkey to keep warm.
Dry Turkey
Usually the breast. Slice and heat in gravy or chicken broth for 5 to 10 minutes.
Not Enough Turkey
Don’t call attention to the fact you are short on turkey. No one will probably notice. Garnish the plates on the table with a kale or lettuce leaf and a few slices of citrus fruit or tomatoes. It looks pretty and fills up the plate. Throw together an emergency first course from your pantry and fridge.
A cream soup works well and it’s fast. You probably already have cream and butter on hand. Cook carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, or squash, puree and add a swirl of cream to each serving with a sprinkle of chopped herbs. The first course takes the edge off appetites so they won’t miss the turkey..
Turkey Browning Too Fast
Cover with foil. Or baste every 10 minutes for 30 minutes or so. Remember, every time you open the oven door the temperature drops, so you might have to add some time to completely roast the turkey
Cover with cheesecloth soaked in a mixture of butter, water, and herbs
Thinly slice oranges, lemons, grapefruits and place the slices on the breast. The citrus fruits add flavor and moisture which slows down the browning.
Brining before you roast the turkey almost always guarantees a moist turkey. Add 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of brown sugar, herbs, and spices of your choice to 1 gallon of water. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Let cool to room temperature then refrigerate until cold. Submerge the turkey into the brine. Refrigerate at least overnight up to 24 hours.
Short on Time
For whatever reason you didn’t put the turkey in the oven in time for it to be ready for the appointed dinner hour. You’ve got to carve the turkey anyway to serve it. So cut it in pieces before you roast it. Turkey parts take less time than a whole turkey. Cut the drumsticks, thighs, and wings from the body. Remove the backbone and cut the remaining breast in half. Use the wings and backbone to make a broth to use for gravy.
Turkey Still Frozen
Place the whole turkey – still in its wrapping – in a sink or tub of cold water. Do not use hot water. The hot water brings the outside temperature high enough for bacteria to grow, while the inside is still frozen.
Roast the Turkey While Still Frozen
The trick here is to defrost the turkey enough to remove that bag of giblets from the breast cavity. Run cold water into that cavity until you can pull out the bag. Double the roasting time and lower the temperature. This works better with smaller turkeys say 12 to 15 pounds.
More Food Hacks
Soggy Stuffing
Spread in a cookie sheet. Return to a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Toss and repeat as necessary.
Dry Crusty Stuffing
Drizzle broth over the stuffing. Toss. Cover with foil and return to a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.
Gravy Too Thin
Add a teaspoon of instant mashed potatoes to the hot gravy. Stir well and heat to a simmer. Keep adding the instant mashed potatoes a teaspoon at a time until the gravy is as thick as you like.
Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in ¼ cup of water. Whisk smooth. Stir into the gravy and heat.
Mix 1 tablespoon of white flour in ¼ cup of water. Whisk smooth. Stir into the gravy and simmer for two minutes to thicken the gravy and take away the raw flour taste.
Lumpy Gravy
Stain the gravy with a wire mesh strainer from one pot into another.
Put the gravy in small batches into a blender until smooth. Do small batches. Hot liquid expands as it whirls in a blender.
If there are only a few lumps, fish out the lumps with a small strainer.
Gravy Too Thick
The trick here is to thin out the gravy without thinning out the flavor. Use ¼ cup of chicken, beef, or turkey broth. You could also use red wine with beef gravy or white wine with turkey or chicken gravy. Keep in mind that hot gravy is thinner than room temperature gravy. As the gravy cools on the table while serving it will thicken a bit.
Mushy Overcooked Vegetables
Purée with a dollop of sour cream, heavy cream or butter. Add a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese for extra flavor.
Underdone Vegetables
Unless the vegetables are potatoes, don’t worry about underdone vegetables. Serve at room temperature with a splash of salad dressing. No one will be the wiser.
Burnt Vegetables
Throw them out. Start over. Seriously there is virtually nothing you can do to save burnt vegetables. Even if the vegetables at the top of the saucepan aren’t burnt, they’ll still taste burnt.
Dried Out or Stale Rolls
Wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds.
Boring Rolls
Brush the tops with melted butter then sprinkle on seasonings such as chopped herbs, seeds, garlic or onion salt.
Cracked Pie Top
Since you’re going to slice the pie anyway, who cares? But if it’s important to you to present a picture perfect pie, cover up the crack. Whipped cream does a terrific job and who eats pumpkin pie without whipped cream? Another option is a jar of caramel ice cream topping. Crushed nuts sprinkled on top of the pie does the job as well.
Lopsided Cake
Use a serrated knife to cut the top of the cake layer so it is even. Thin the icing with a bit of milk, then glaze the cut with the thinned icing. Let the icing harden a bit, then frost as usual. The icing glaze keeps the crumbs from popping up when you frost the cake.
