You’re a planner and you want to divide the work over several days. Here’s our schedule that shows you how to get as much done as early as possible.
DEFROST YOUR BIRD: Think your turkey only needs a day or two to defrost? Wrong. A 20-pound bird can take five days to thaw out in the refrigerator. Plan on one day for every 4 pounds of turkey, and finish defrosting the day before roasting.
SHOP AND STORE: Buy vegetables that store well: onions, garlic, potatoes, sweet potatoes, root vegetables, and winter squash.
COOK AND FREEZE: There’s no reason to leave all the cooking to Thursday. Much of it can be done in advance.
PREP GRAVY, SIDES, AND STUFFINGS: Get a head start on all those sides.
BRINE AND ASSEMBLE: Finish as much cooking as possible the day before Thanksgiving. This minimizes stress and frees up your oven for the main event.
ROAST AND REST: Follow your recipe for specifics, but as a general guideline, expect to roast your unstuffed bird anywhere from two to four hours. Check for doneness with an instant-read thermometer: The thickest part of the breast should register 165 degrees and the thickest part of the thigh 170-175 degrees. Once the bird is at temperature, plan on a 30-40 minute resting period to allow its juices to redistribute. Skip this step and you'll end up with a dry bird.
FINISH COOKING: Now is the time to finish cooking all the dishes you've prepped.
BEVERAGE SERVICE: Chill any wine or other beverages. If refrigerator space is at a premium, fill your washing machine with ice cubes and nestle the bottles in. Just run the spin cycle afterwards to drain the melted ice.
Today's the day to get most of your cooking done. Here's a plan to make sure you get as much as possible done in advance.
DEFROST YOUR BIRD: At this point, your best bet is to go out and buy a fresh turkey. A frozen bird won't defrost in time if left in the refrigerator tonight. But if you want to stick with a frozen turkey, you will need to use this hurry-up defrost method: Immerse the turkey without the wrapping and giblets in a container of very cold water, then place the container in the refrigerator. Change the water every 30 minutes. (For safety reasons, it's important to keep the turkey refrigerated.)
FINISH SHOPPING: Everything—firm and delicate vegetables—can be bought now without the risk of going bad on the big day. Greens can be washed and stored.
BIG DAY PREP: There’s no reason to leave all the cooking to Thursday. Much of the cooking and preparation can be done in advance.
ROAST AND REST: Follow your recipe for specifics, but as a general guideline, expect to roast your unstuffed bird anywhere from two to four hours. Check for doneness with an instant-read thermometer: The thickest part of the breast should register 165 degrees and the thickest part of the thigh 170-175 degrees. Once the bird is at temperature, plan on a 30-40 minute resting period to allow its juices to redistribute. Skip this step and you'll end up with a dry bird.
FINISH COOKING: Now is the time to finish cooking all the dishes you've prepped.
BEVERAGE SERVICE: Chill any wine or other beverages. If refrigerator space is at a premium, fill your washing machine with ice cubes and nestle the bottles in. Just run the spin cycle afterwards to drain the melted ice.
You worked all day but want to get a few things finished to make tomorrow easier. Follow this plan to get everything done for the big day.
DEFROST YOUR BIRD: At this point, your best bet is to go out and buy a fresh turkey. A frozen bird won't defrost in time if left in the refrigerator tonight. But if you want to stick with a frozen turkey, you will need to use this hurry-up defrost method: Immerse the turkey without the wrapping and giblets in a container of very cold water, then place the container in the refrigerator. Change the water every 30 minutes. (For safety reasons, it's important to keep the turkey refrigerated.) Start tonight and plan to stay up late.
FINISH SHOPPING: Everything—firm and delicate vegetables—can be bought now without the risk of going bad on the big day. Wash and store your greens.
PRE-THURSDAY PREP: Pick a few easy dishes and tasks to get done tonight.
START EARLY: Get an early start. Here’s a list of tasks you can complete in the morning.
ROAST AND REST: Follow your recipe for specifics, but as a general guideline, expect to roast your unstuffed bird anywhere from two to four hours. Check for doneness with an instant-read thermometer: The thickest part of the breast should register 165 degrees and the thickest part of the thigh 170-175 degrees. Once the bird is at temperature, plan on a 30-40 minute resting period to allow its juices to redistribute. Skip this step and you'll end up with a dry bird.
STREAMLINE: Here are some strategies for relieving the "congestion" in your oven.
BEVERAGE SERVICE: Chill any wine or other beverages. If refrigerator space is at a premium, fill your washing machine with ice cubes and nestle the bottles in. Just run the spin cycle afterwards to drain the melted ice.
You got a late start but all is not lost. Your biggest challenge will be coordinating the cooking times of the dishes that need to go in the oven. Here's our advice.
TURKEY: It's too late to defrost a turkey. Run out and buy a fresh bird, or take a less traditional route and prepare something that cooks quickly, such as roast chicken or pork roast. They are festive and cook quickly. If you're sticking with turkey, consider a fast recipe that roasts the whole bird in parts or roasts just the breast.
SIDE DISHES: Your oven will be monopolized with the main course and dessert, so choose quick-cooking side dishes that can be prepared on the stovetop. Some possibilities are sautéed peas, braised Brussels sprouts, pan-roasted asparagus, or anything you find here.
FIRST COURSE: Prepare a green salad using no-cook ingredients like dried cranberries, fresh apples, and walnuts, or make a fast soups on your stovetop.
GRAVY: Even if you don’t have turkey parts to work with, you can make great gravy using only canned broth and a few vegetables.
DESSERTS: Choose a simple dessert that requires minimal prep time, like Quick Dutch Apple Crisp or Pear Crisp. You can bake these desserts while the turkey rests or during dinner and serve them warm.
BEVERAGE SERVICE: Chill any wine or other beverages. If refrigerator space is at a premium, fill your washing machine with ice cubes and nestle the bottles in. Just run the spin cycle afterwards to drain the melted ice.
Preparing and freezing your gravy (like our All-Purpose Gravy) in advance is a great way to save time on the big day. We recommend doing so the weekend before Thanksgiving, but you can also complete this task as late as Wednesday morning using the turkey giblets and neck from your bird. Skip the freezing and leave it in the refrigerator until just before serving, when you should reheat the gravy in a medium saucepan over medium heat until hot.
Here’s a simple and efficient way to freeze mashed potatoes: Using a large ice cream scoop or measuring cup, place 1-cup portions of mashed potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then place the baking sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer the mashed potato portions to a large zipper-lock bag and return to the freezer. Then use this technique to reheat them.
This explosion, called “down-shock,” can happen if any flaws, such as scratches, are present when rapid cooling occurs. Prevent it by avoiding the problem of contact with a hard, cold, and/or wet surface by placing the hot dish on a clean, dry dish towel. Also, avoid using even slightly damp potholders to remove a hot Pyrex dish from the oven; they, too, can cause the dish to break, right in your hands.
There are measures you can take to prevent down-shock from occurring when transferring a filled Pyrex pie plate from the freezer into an oven. Read about them here.
We stored all-purpose potatoes in a variety of environments, then checked them after four weeks. The two winning locations were a cool, dark place, and the refrigerator. All of the potatoes stored in these places were firm and had not sprouted. We also found a way to achieve even better results that lasted longer.
Casseroles put straight into the freezer while still warm will form a thick, fuzzy layer of frozen condensed steam on its surface. Once reheated, it has a soggy texture and an off-flavor. On the other hand, casseroles that have been completely cooled will have no condensation and taste fine. Our recommendation: Cool any casserole to room temperature (about two hours) before freezing.
A turkey brining bag seems like a nice idea; it should be a lot easier to make room for a flexible container that isn’t much bigger than the turkey. Unfortunately, the brining bags we tried were fraught with problems—slippery, floppy, and tough to fill with turkey and brine. But there is an alternative.
For those of us without a willing partner (or sous chef) to trim and cut 2 pounds of fresh green beans for our green bean casserole, a package of trimmed and cut beans can look pretty enticing. But how do they taste? We went out and bought eight types of convenience green beans: three canned, four frozen, and one brand that offered packages of trimmed fresh green beans. Here's what we found.
We peeled and sliced several batches of potatoes and used them to make mashed potatoes after letting them soak in the refrigerator for varying lengths of time. The results taught us an important lesson.
To find out, we made our New York-Style Cheesecake. We suspected that the cake, with its dense texture, would hold up well to freezing and thawing but that the crust, made with graham crackers, would lose some crispness. We were right, but there is a limit to how long it can stay in the freezer.
