I’ve heard of such things, and I was wanting to do it this year. We’ll be hosting the in-laws, and I want things to go reasonably well.
I’ll be brining the turkey, and roasting it in the oven, as usual. Only it’ll be done the day before.
How do I keep the turkey nice and moist after it comes out of the oven, and sits in the fridge all night? I know it’s supposed to be sliced, and placed in a 9x13 pan. Pour some turkey stock over it, along with a few pats of butter, cover tightly, and place in the fridge until needed. In my case, I’ll be reheating it the next afternoon.
How much turkey stock should I pour over it?
How much butter on top? Is butter really even needed?
Do I reheat it covered, or uncovered? I’m assuming it’s supposed to be covered, though.
How long do I keep it in the oven to reheat? At what temperature?
I just want the day to be less hectic for myself, opening up more oven-time for other dishes, and I’m hoping this would help. Am I being stupid in wanting to even bother trying this stunt? Am I asking for trouble?
If you’ve never done it this way before, why take the risk of trying it out on your in-laws? Unless you’re trying to discourage a return visit, of course.
Yeah, it would be a little weird. For some reason, plenty of stuff can be premade for Thanksgiving (cranberry sauce actually improves with a bit of time in the fridge) but the turkey ought to be done that day.
Cooking a turkey is one of the easiest things you can do, so I’m with those who say why do this. I use the plastic bag method, and all you have to do is stick in the oven (maybe prep it a little), insert the meat thermometer, and take it out when done. It’s take a long time, but the actual work is minimal.
I would make the other stuff the day the before, if needed. Besides, you want your house to smell like roast turkey on T-day. That’s part of the whole deal!
It seems to me much of the point of roasting a whole turkey is in the visual appeal of its presentation, which evokes Norman Rockwell paintings and all that.
If I were going to cook it and slice it up a day ahead for some reason, I’d cut up the bird and roast it in pieces in order to get the dark meat optimally cooked without worrying about drying out the breast meat.
I agree. The turkey roasting is easy. I’ve done it many, many times.
I guess I’ll just go ahead and make everything else early in the day, and keep it all warm in assorted crockpots. Just to get it all out of the way. I’ll put in the rolls when the turkey comes out of the oven.
Yep. A Thanksgiving without a whole bird roasted that day is not Thanksgiving to me. You simply do not play around with Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) and, if you want to deviate from the menu, you do that with additional items, not with substitutions. A roast bird (sorry, but no bags for me) is required. I’ve done one Thanksgiving with a bird thrown on the smoker (by request) and, while delicious, it just wasn’t right for me. A Thanksgiving with a pre-cooked turkey covered in broth and reheated would be all wrong.
I understand and feel for your problem. One oven, many dishes to prepare. And the turkey may be so large as to prevent other dishes from fitting in the oven at the same time.
Other items might be better prepared the day (or the morning of), and reheated. I’ve often, depending on the weather, used my outdoor deck as a makeshift refrigerator. A turkey needs to rest at least 20 minutes, so you also have time when it comes out. The downside to hosting Thanksgiving is you don’t get to host too much.
When we’ve hosted, I go overboard with planning and checklists, but it helps ensure nothing is forgotten and that you are using your facilities as much as possible.
I reheat leftover turkey in a microwave, not an oven. When I part out a bird, I put it onto a pyrex pie plate add a slosh of chicken stock, cover with plastic wrap and nuke on a lower percentage in 5 minute increments so I don’t end up with bird pucks.
Thing is, what could you possibly want the oven for that’s more important than the turkey? Green bean casserole can go in when the turkey’s resting. Pretty much everything else we do besides stuffing is stovetop.
My mom has been pre-cooking and freezing the turkey for a few years now. I don’t like turkey anyway but this is much more edible than turkey cooked on the day. It’s juicier.
I also prefer it because I’m the one in there helping her on Thanksgiving day so it’s all much easier if we don’t have to work around the turkey or worry about ruining the turkey.
But like I said I don’t really like turkey and therefore don’t quite like Thanksgiving so I might be way off. But I say if it’s easier for you, DO IT!
Mac & cheese
Biscuits
Sweet potatoes
Other roast vegetables
If hosting for a large gathering, a second meat, such as ham or lamb
To honor our families Italian-American heritage, we often have lasagna, manicotti, shells or some other baked pasta (usually meatless to appease vegetarians)
I could go on and on. The larger the gathering, the more diversity I might try to get into the menu. I’ve got a double oven (actually, more like 1.5 oven) and I need to time everything just so to get the most food on the table freshly cooked.
