Modern Thanksgiving
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Understand that I’m a traditionalist. I like the big brown bird, presented at the table nicely stuffed a la Norman Rockwell. I like the sides passed around in grandma’s china serving dishes.
I like juggling the dishes to allow for a single oven. I like the show. I like the theater.
But…
The kids will be here. Guests will be here. We have two ovens but one is downstairs. We’d like to visit with our guests. Enter the modern Thanksgiving turkey:
https://recime.app/p/3be6cf8f-c0d1-4c29-a0ee-d9184ad0802d
It’s done in a slow cooker. Heresy! It’s a rolled turkey breast - what is this? A school cafeteria? It’s braised rather than roasted.
And it’s really, really good! It’s also really, really simple and mostly hands off.
Sharon made it as a trial run. I expected to hate it but I can’t find fault with it. For the mash she used Bob Evans premade mash and I don’t think I could make anything better from scratch. The green bean casserole is replaced with green beans mixed in with the onions from the braise. I think it’s better and sprinkling canned French fried onions over the top would level it up to expectations.
Whomp up some stuffing and Cindy’s cranberry recipe and you have Thanksgiving. The oven is free is you want crescent rolls. Gin up a pie the day before and you have Thanksgiving!
You don’t get crispy skin, and that’s a loss. But is crispy skin worth the drama? The effort? The mess?
Even if it’s not theater appropriate for Thanksgiving it’s certainly a fine low effort Wednesday night dinner showcasing an inexpensive cut that doesn’t get enough love. The only thing I’d change is adding sage to the spice rub.
Hope somebody makes it and reports back.
@Steve-Miller sounds great!!
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@Steve-Miller sounds great!!
It certainly scales well to dinner for two or four. The full bird and sides is really too much.
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That looks quite good. I can live without the crispy skin and wouldn't bother with the broiler step.
Costco has mash and scalloped potatoes, both from Main St something-or-another. And I think last year they had their in-house Yukon gold mashed potatoes in those silver trays with the plastic lid. Kevin's turkey gravy is pretty good, especially if you put a dash of madeira in it and maybe some drippings from the bird.
The traditional dinner is nice, but I'm with you. It's much better to spend time with your guests than to sweat bullets in the kitchen.
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That looks quite good. I can live without the crispy skin and wouldn't bother with the broiler step.
Costco has mash and scalloped potatoes, both from Main St something-or-another. And I think last year they had their in-house Yukon gold mashed potatoes in those silver trays with the plastic lid. Kevin's turkey gravy is pretty good, especially if you put a dash of madeira in it and maybe some drippings from the bird.
The traditional dinner is nice, but I'm with you. It's much better to spend time with your guests than to sweat bullets in the kitchen.
Put that mash in a Wedgewood bowl and no one will ever know.
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I tried this stuffing that Costco had but found it too salty for my taste.
https://kooshy.com/products/sourdough-stuffing-mix
We like the Aldi offerings better. Brioche stuffing. Packages are wtg household-sized
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Sharon is working on stuffing next.
I’ve been making ridiculous quantities of sourdough bread that will surely feature prominently. Most of my output goes to my nieces in law who rip chunks off of it before I even get in the door and devour it like angry jackals. Good ones and bad ones - it’s gone in no time at all.
Does my heart good!
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When I made it myself I used the ATK recipe which calls for a Pepperidge Farm bread, maybe the Country? Buttermilk? You cut it up into cubes and dry it in the oven and then make the stuffing. I used it in the Julia Child deconstructed turkey recipe. You just throw it in a large roasting pan and put the deconstructed turkey on the top. Pretty mindless but it does require an oven, which your slow cooker recipe does not.
Homemade sourdough sounds lovely.
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It is! I make a loaf or two every day or two, and after figuring out the basic Tartine method no two loaves are made the same way twice. Some work, most don’t, and the jackals care not one bit about crumb or crust. They devour it like they haven’t eaten in days.
Part of it is my new basement kitchen, now with stereo sound and a TV. It’s my happy place and I don’t care if we get 49 feet of snow or none at all. That’s where you’ll find me.
Next up - sourdough discard dog treats - now with more pumpkin!
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Have you gotten into sourdough discard crackers? I bought a little cutter that makes them into nacho shaped-crackers.
They come in a bunch of different shapes:
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Haven’t messed with crackers yet. I did make a few loaves of soft, fluffy discard sandwich bread.
They came out well, if I may say so myself
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I smoked a whole turkey one year. It was quite an undertaking. Came out great!
Gravy, however, was problematic.
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Julia Child’s giblet gravy is prepared in advance.
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Mrs. Miller will never allow a giblet in her kitchen.
Ever.
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