This turkey (which is definitely not a chicken) out of the smoker.
We have a baby on the way, and it seems like she is in a hurry to get here. Meanwhile, the impending start of the World Cup is triggering multiple work emergencies. Needless to say, it's a busy time in our lives, and I may have to admit that Dr. Blue was right when she suggested that volunteering to do a WFD right now was kind of crazy.
That said, I’m still going to be on the hook to produce a Thanksgiving spread 5 days from now when things are likely to be even more hectic. What follows are some of our turkey day favorites. Most of which require minimal effort and produce very flavorful dishes.
1. Smoked spatchcocked turkey
This is one of the highest reward, low-effort preparations that I know. Simply spatchcock the bird (remove the spine with shears, break or remove the keel bone, and flatten), then throw it in a pellet grill set at 275 for 2-4 hours, depending on the bird, and check your pellet levels every hour or so. Pull at 155-160, then tent and let rest for 30-60 minutes.
You can get fancy and brine, baste, glaze, etc., but TBQH, you get enough flavor out of the smoke that you don’t really need more than salt, pepper, and olive oil. Since you are cooking at a low temp, the time window where you get a bird that is still moist is pretty big.
One downside of this method is that you won’t have any drippings to make dressing or gravy. If you want those, you can roast the spine, neck, and chicken wings separately.
Here is a person doing a slightly fancier version of this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_Xqt_M8iTA
2. Stuffed Acorn squash
Pre turkey day test run
This is one of those dishes that does need a little more love than just throwing things into the oven, but it's always been a crowd-pleaser, so it’s worth it. I’ll also note that an Asian-style vegetable cleaver is fairly helpful in this preparation as it makes short work of the squash and keeps your fingers far from the mushrooms. My original recipe came from an issue of Cooks Illustrated I lost somewhere along the way, so this recipe is adapted from an NYT recipe.
Ingredients:
2 medium squash
1 cup chopped shallots
¼ cup sage, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb mushrooms, finely chopped
½ lb Italian sausage (replace with more mushrooms for a vegetarian version)
1 cup chopped lacinato kale or other hearty green
½ cup dry maple wine
1 cup cooked farro
¼ tsp nutmeg
For the squash:
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Slice 2 medium squash in half longitudinally (through the stem) and clean up the stem if overly long
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Seed squash and coat the interior with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Note that seeds can be cleaned and prepared similarly to pepitas if desired.
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If squash halves are not level, clean up the bottoms a bit so that they do
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Roast at 425 (with your sweet potatoes :) ) until tender ~40 minutes
For the stuffing:
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Saute shallots in olive (or canola) oil until tender, 3-4 minutes
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Add sage and garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute more
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Add mushrooms and cook until cooked through and most of the liquid they produced has evaporated
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Add Italian sausage, kale, and nutmeg. Cook through, about 5 minutes
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Deglaze with wine and continue cooking until almost no liquid remains. Remove from heat
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Add farro and 1 cup of cooked squash (scraped from the inside of your cooked squash) to the stuffing. Mix until evenly combined
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Divide the stuffing between your cooked squash and cook for 20 minutes more until brown on top
A note on Maple Wine. This is not something that is, as far as I’m aware, commercially available though it's fairly straightforward to make. You could, of course, use a dry white wine as called for in the original recipe, but it won’t provide the distinctive smokiness you get with maple wine.
The basic formula is:
3lbs (amber or dark) maple syrup
1 tsp yeast nutrient (e.g. fermaid O)
½ tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Lavlin 71B yeast (you can use other wine or ale yeasts but not bread yeast)
Water to 1 gallon
Mix it all together in a glass carboy with a bung and airlock attached and let it ferment for 4-6 weeks. Siphon or otherwise rack your wine into a pitcher where you gently degass the brew by gently stirring until no bubbles form and then transfer to wine bottles. Ideally, you would want to use a hydrometer to confirm that fermentation is done, but baring that, you should make sure there is no activity in the airlock for a week or so and then use bottles with screw tops which you should crack open every day or two until the contents stop being under pressure when you loosen the lid.
3. Sweet potatoes
almost vegetarian autumn meal
As a midwestern kid, I grew up with sweet potato casserole as a thanksgiving staple. Marshmello, maple syrup, and nuts all made their requisite appearance to create an overly sweet mess that had me convinced into adulthood that I didn’t like them. Then the mom of future baby blue convinced me to give them another try with this killer recipe:
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Pierce potato skins a few times with a fork
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Bake in an oven at 425 until internal temperature is ~ 205 (60-80 minutes)
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Serve with butter, salt, and pepper
Nothing more is needed
4. Pickled eggs
Not there yet, but will be ready by Thursday
I think there was a time when the beets for this midwestern staple came from granny’s garden, but for as long as I can consciously remember, they came out of a jar of Aunt Nellie's pickled beets. The method is dead simple:
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Hardboil a dozen eggs. My only modern touch is to use the 5-5-5 instant pot method, which leaves the yolks just a touch custardy. Gran cooked the hell out of them.
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Add to a large canning jar along with 1-2 jars of pickled beets
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Wait 2-7 days before serving
5. Kale Salad
This is a recipe I got from Dr. Blue. This is a great recipe for those that are skeptical of kale, as the lemon juice and massaging step help tame its texture while still letting its flavor shine. It has a great crunchy texture and is tangy, and fresh and holds up next to the heavier Thanksgiving eats. It was adapted from one made at Franny's, an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn.
Ingredients:
1 bunch of lacinato/dinosaur kale
1 large lemon
1-2 cloves of garlic
Red pepper flakes
1/2 cup grated pecorino
4 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 cup of panko or homemade breadcrumbs
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Chop the kale and add 1 tbsp of olive oil and massage the kale and let it sit for at least 30 min to tenderize
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Prepare fresh breadcrumbs if you have some by tossing 1 cup of coarse fresh breadcrumbs with 2 tbsp of butter and salt and pepper in a 400 degree oven for 5-7 minutes. We usually use panko instead which is obviously easier and nearly as good.
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Make a dressing/paste by mashing 1-2 large cloves of garlic (taste depending) and then whisk with 3 tbsp of olive oil, 2 tbsp of lemon juice, lemon zest and ¼ tsp of red pepper flakes. Add ¼ cup of grated pecorino cheese and whisk together.
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Toss kale with dressing paste, remaining ¼ cup pecorino and breadcrumbs.
What’s for Dinner? is a Saturday evening get-together where friends share recipes, talk about good food and help others answer culinary questions.
We welcome you to our virtual table every Saturday evening 4:30 PT/7:30 ET. If you would like to write a post for an upcoming date just send a message to ninkasi23!
What prep are you doing for Thanksgiving if you celebrate? Please share your tips, recipes, and questions in the comments!
