Thanksgiving Side Dishes & Your Thoughts on Brining and Spatchcocking

[PackerMan]

My signature side dish is a cornbread stuffing. I don’t have a recipe, I just wing it I’ve been doing it for so long. Bake the cornbread a few days before, slice it into 2" chunks and put in gallon bags with the top open. Cut up Soppressata sausage into small cubes and sauté until the fat has rendered out. Remove the slightly crisp sausage. Sauté diced onion, celery, carrot and red pepper in the reserved fat. When completely soft add in minced garlic, Old Bay seasoning and S&P. Add to the dried corn bread along with the sausage and a handful of chopped cilantro. Add enough chicken broth to make it moist but not soggy and toss gently. There should be a combo of crumbs and chunks around 1/2". Put it in a buttered cast iron dutch oven and bake at 350 until the top is golden. Savory, sweet, a little spicy. Always a hit.

By best Thanksgiving tip is to cook the turkey so it is ready at least 2 hours before you plan to serve it. After you pull it from the oven, let it cool for 15 minutes and then park it in a cooler. It can stay in there until you are ready to carve. I’ve done it 4-5 hours before and it’s still nice and warm. The ultra long rest keeps the meat super juicy and your oven is available for cooking or warming sides for those last couple hours of crunch time.

[Spud]

@Mean_Mr.Mustard

We do the same.

I think I’ve posted this before. The first time we ordered from the farm, I had no idea of the cost. I was standing in line and they were ringing up the order for the guy ahead of me. The total was, I think, around $110. I thought to myself, dang, he must be getting three birds.

Nope. My one turkey ran over $100 as well.

My butcher shop has a partnership with a turkey farmer in Ohio that sell exclusively to him. We get the smoked breast and it is the most amazing thing ever (I even take pride in my own smoking but I can’t compete). I’ll pick it up Wednesday and put it on my smoker Thursday at a very low temperature just to get it up to temperature. Somehow it still comes out amazingly juicy.

And yes, I’ll be close to your cost even just for the breast (nobody other than me likes dark meat.)

[Chefguy]

@Left_Hand_of_Dorkness

I’ve made I think 3 turkeys, and every time I do, I look up like five different sets of instructions on dry-brining, and kluge something together based on all of them. Generally it’s salt, pepper, thyme, and something else like lemon zest or garlic. The bird has always been delicious.

But my signature dish is dill rolls, whose recipe is something like this:

They’re phenomenal just out of the oven, and the next day, they make excellent turkey sandwiches for breakfast.

Going to have to try these, but only half the recipe, I think.

[aruvqan]

No to brining or spatchcocking, we also do not stuff. We do like to put baby onions, baby carrots, baby potatoes and 2 inch lengths of celery in the roasting pan, and chuck in a couple cups of chicken stock to start with. We bast every 15-20 minutes and make sure to baste the veggies also.

We make traditional mashed potatoes [we alternate between skin on and skin off] with real butter, half and half, pepper and salt. Occasionally we add garlic as well.

Sides - green bean casserole [bechamel sauce, not canned condensed cream of critter soup] carrots, sweet potato fries

There is an 18th century cranberry sauce recipe in Amelia Simmons … we have made it, and the pie as well. Both are good, but we are going to make a molded cranberry ‘sauce’ this year again. Haven’t decided which mold we will be using - last year it was a sun =)

We do the dressing outside the bird - classic bread cubes, fine dice veggies [carrots, celery, onion] chestnuts when we can be arsed to scrounge the yard [I have one of very few remaining no shit certified american chestnut trees in my yard =) ] herbs [normally I just cheat and use italian herb blend, none of us is much for sage] and melt butter and add it to chicken stock fortified by the miscellaneous bits of turkey [wings, neck, organs] mixed, spread into a buttered baking dish and baked. We frequently do this a day ahead and just nuke it to reheat it.

Desserts vary - pumpkin and apple pie are pretty much standard, occasionally a plum pudding shows up - whipped cream, ice cream and brandied hard sauce are always available.

Beverages vary - I think this year is going to be a white sangria, with assorted teas and coffee as well. Might have hot or cold spiced cider, and possibly a bottle of mead a friend makes may well show up as well.

[Annie-Xmas]

My favorite Thanksgiving side dish is very easy: Chop up equal amounts of sweet potatoes and unpelled red skin potatoes. Boil till soft. Drain. Make a sauce by thinning whole berry cranberry sauce with orange juice, heat and pour over potatoes.

[Raza]

Our Thanksgivings are a mixed-heritage group of 20-25 (most prefer spicy stuff). Two brined turkeys of ~13 pounds each; Schezuan-style long green beans; spicy red potatoes.

I have made my own cranberry sauce; it IS quite easy, and as photography hobbiest my photo of it is my favorite food photo. But I think most people consider it too tart, even though there is a lot of sugar in there.

[Pleonast]

Required dishes: homemade bread, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, steamed lima beans, corn casserole, dressing and/or stuffing, boiled cranberries, pumpkin pie. Whipped butter and whipped cream as condiments.

@Ukulele_Ike

You guys DO know enough to start the turkey upside-down, right? Meaning breast down. Get the juices to bleed down from the fatty side to the drier breast meat.

Right-side up is the back up, breast down. You know, same as when the bird was alive.

I’ve never seen a problem with the bird drying out. After squeezing the bird down into the pan, we (me, and my mom and her mom before me) would add an inch of salted water to stand across the bottom of the pan. And then seal the whole thing with foil.

I never understood before why people have trouble with the breast drying, but apparently they’re roasting it upside down. And then trying other things instead of correcting the root cause. Just keep the breast down and it’ll absorb any moisture it loses.

[Tibby]

@Ukulele_Ike

<snip>

You guys DO know enough to start the turkey upside-down, right? <snip>

I start my turkey inside out.

Homemade creamed corn souffle, you need that.

Put ground Italian sausage in your homemade stuffing/dressing. Maybe some oysters, too.

Don’t spoil a perfectly fine 5-Angina Attack T-Day dinner with healthy vegatables. Feel the need for something green? Sprinkle parsley on your mashed potatoes.

[D_Odds]

Late to the party, as always, and what I have to say has been said but I’ll reiterate.

1. Dry brine - yes! Wet brine - eh. Do not brine kosher or enhanced birds. Salt, and if wet brining, water only. As much as I like AB, adding aromatics and spices to the brine does little-to-nothing.
   The Food Lab: The Truth About Brining Turkey:

There are two principles at work here. The first is that, while broth is a pure liquid to the naked eye, broth actually consists of water with a vast array of dissolved solids in it that contribute to its flavor. Most of these flavorful molecules are organic compounds that are relatively large in size—on a molecular scale, that is—while salt molecules are quite small. So, while salt can easily pass across the semipermeable membranes that make up the cells in animal tissue, larger molecules cannot.

2. Spatchcock (aka butterfly) - BIG yes! More even cooking, quicker cooking, better browning, easier to carve. The only downside is you don’t get the Normal Rockwell-bird on the table, but I never liked that as it was just turkey getting cold.
3. Keep gravy in a thermal coffee carafe. Buy an inexpensive one and label it gravy-only. They have spouts for easy pouring, and will keep the gravy hot far longer than any gravy boat. Hollandaise Sauce for vegetables can be kept in a smaller thermal container. Same principle.

[liirogue]

I also use Alton Brown’s brining recipe, and I enjoy the light citrus flavor it imparts to the white meat.

Then I cook the turkey breast-side down in an oven bag. It doesn’t come out looking very pretty but it’s delicious and moist every time.

[CairoCarol]

@Ukulele_Ike

Make gravy without dripping by simmering the neck, heart, gizzard, wing tips to make a strong broth. Make a brown roux and stir in the chopped cooked giblet meat, and a little minced onion. Thyme, garlic, paprika if you want (thyme strongly advised). Whisk in the broth and simmer until you have gravy.

This is similar to what I do - my gravy (which is universally adored) can be made a day or two in advance of the turkey roasting, as long as I have a few cups of delicious homemade chicken or turkey broth in the freezer (which I usually do).

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH GRAVY

¼ cup (4 Tbs) butter
¼ cup flour
1 vegetarian bouillon cube; you can use chicken or beef but veggie tastes best*
2 cups homemade turkey or chicken broth
1 egg yolk (get off as much of the egg white as possible)
½ cup cream
salt and ground white pepper to taste
Make a roux with the butter and flour, adding the bouillon cube towards the end.
Slowly stir in the broth, so the gravy stays as thick as possible.
Beat the yolk and cream together very well.
In a thin stream, slowly add the yolk and cream mixture to the gravy**, stirring constantly.
The gravy will probably be too thin; allow it to cook over medium heat for a while to thicken it, stirring fairly often. Add pepper and salt to taste.

** My addition, not part of the traditional recipe.

• If you pour the yolk/cream mix through a strainer as you add it, to eliminate lumps of egg white that may have snuck in with the yolk, the final product will be better.

[nightshadea]

cousin in law is doing most of the cooking this year but as i mentioned in mt duck thread … we might be having turkey and duck this year …but since everyone’s all healthy it’s gonna be a ton of cooking for an amount of food that you could get from the thanksgiving plate at any Dennys nationwide for 11.95 …

[eschrodinger]

I brine and cook at fairly high temperature, mostly according to these instructions from Chef Keller. Best Roast Turkey Recipe | Epicurious. An important step is letting the skin dry out after brining. I have had excellent results – my mom asked me to make it for her when she visited at Christmas. Sometimes the drumsticks have been a little dry though – I may slice them off ahead of time so I can remove them when they’re done. Good idea.

I do also stuff the bird. I use a thermometer to make sure everything is up to safe temperatures. The stuffing is a hybrid of various recipes that I’ve tried – a mixture of white bread cubes and cornbread cubes, sauteed onion, celery, and fresh mushrooms, and some browned sausage.

Oh, and with the linked brining method, I’ve made really good gravy. The pan drippings have been great. I use a roux base, pan drippings rounded out with some broth sometimes, and some cream.

I used to do cranberry orange walnut relish, but I’m the only one who would eat it now, so I don’t usually bother.

[CairoCarol]

@CairoCarol

** My addition, not part of the traditional recipe.

• If you pour the yolk/cream mix through a strainer as you add it, to eliminate lumps of egg white that may have snuck in with the yolk, the final product will be better.

Oops, backward - the veggie bouillon cube is my addition, not the yolk and cream. (Straining it is my addition, though.)

The original recipe is from an old collection of Amish recipes.

[Gray_Ghost]

@eschrodinger

I brine and cook at fairly high temperature, mostly according to these instructions from Chef Keller. Best Roast Turkey Recipe | Epicurious. An important step is letting the skin dry out after brining…

…I used to do cranberry orange walnut relish, but I’m the only one who would eat it now, so I don’t usually bother.

The skin drying step is important for great roast chicken. I’m not surprised it also works great for roast turkey.

Your cranberry orange walnut relish sounds mouthwatering.

[Chefguy]

Regarding stuffing a turkey. There is zero chance of salmonella or any other issues if one takes proper precautions. When my turkey is done, I empty all of the cavities into a shallow container and either nuke it or shove into the hot oven until any possible problems are gone. It’s that easy.

[eschrodinger]

@Gray_Ghost

The skin drying step is important for great roast chicken. I’m not surprised it also works great for roast turkey.

Your cranberry orange walnut relish sounds mouthwatering.

I have never had a recipe for the cranberry orange walnut relish – my grandmother just showed me how to make it at some point, and it’s super simple. I figured there must be loads of recipes, but after going through 6 pages of Google results, I agent seen one that is exactly like my family’s.

We use a bag of fresh cranberries, a couple of oranges, a bag of walnuts (I haven’t tried pecans, but I might because my partner likes them and can’t tolerate walnuts) and sugar to taste. It’s a raw relish. You zest the oranges, then cut all the pith, membranes and seeds away, and use only the orange supremes and zest. Clean the cranberries and check for bad ones. Add orange supremes, zest, cranberries, and nuts to a food processor. Pulse until it has an even texture about the size of . . . hmm, I guess something like coarse oatmeal. Pulse in sugar to taste. I like it pretty tart, but it takes a bit to offset the sourness of the cranberries. That’s it.

[eschrodinger]

agent = haven’t. Stupid autocorrect. Oh, and lightly toasted the nuts before adding to processor.

[Chefguy]

@eschrodinger

I have never had a recipe for the cranberry orange walnut relish – my grandmother just showed me how to make it at some point, and it’s super simple. I figured there must be loads of recipes, but after going through 6 pages of Google results, I agent seen one that is exactly like my family’s.

We use a bag of fresh cranberries, a couple of oranges, a bag of walnuts (I haven’t tried pecans, but I might because my partner likes them and can’t tolerate walnuts) and sugar to taste. It’s a raw relish. You zest the oranges, then cut all the pith, membranes and seeds away, and use only the orange supremes and zest. Clean the cranberries and check for bad ones. Add orange supremes, zest, cranberries, and nuts to a food processor. Pulse until it has an even texture about the size of . . . hmm, I guess something like coarse oatmeal. Pulse in sugar to taste. I like it pretty tart, but it takes a bit to offset the sourness of the cranberries. That’s it.

You might try adding some cinnamon and nutmeg, and a splash of Grand Marnier.

[Lacunae_Matata]

We do Thanksgiving × 2: Thursday at whichever mom or dad who called dibs this year, and Sunday at my aunt’s house.

This year, we’re at my mom’s, and she decided on a fresh ham instead of turkey. Sister in law insists on making the dressing (not to my taste,) and macaroni (hers is great!) I’ll make pecan pie, and bring a smoked ham (because my dad prefers it to fresh.) Ma will make cranberry relish, there will be cranberry jell, someone will make sweet potato souffle (hopefully with a pecan topping, but I’m not a snob. I’ll eat the stuff with marshmallows.) Probably green bean casserole. I will probably make a vegetable - probably a spinach and roasted pear salad, since roasted Brussels sprouts don’t travel well. Ma will make pumpkin pie (grandmother’s recipe, which is a chiffon pie topped with meringue. Apparently, no one else makes them with meringue.)

Aunt Irma does it traditional, southern style. Roast turkey, cornbread dressing, giblet gravy, etc. My pecan pie is better than hers, but she’d argue, and I’ll let her win.

Best new Thanksgiving tradition, courtesy of my son: Friday lunch. Add an egg or two to leftover dressing. Plop it in the waffle iron. Make sandwiches of dressing waffles, turkey, cranberry relish, sweet potatoes. Yum.