Thanksgiving has a reputation for endless brining methods, divisive side dishes, and argumentative relatives.
Its no wonder hosting can be stressful.
Unless youve gotThe Right Stuffing, that is.
Thanksgiving dinner is a dance.
You dont have to remember a thing.
And this year, weve created anprintable timelineyou can have for yourself.
Be smart about strategy
Make two smaller pans of sides instead of one big one.
Youll have a backup pan of stuffing in that second wave of sides.
Print out your recipes, old-school style.
Its easier to flip through multiple papers than it is to flip around online between recipes.
Use your smart devices to remind youwhat you should be doing.
Divide to conquer
Get your menu together and make a schedule.
Cranberry sauce and pie are even better after having a day to chill out.
Dont be a hero; lean hard on the days before Thanksgiving in your prep plan.
No worries, I got you.
The weekend before Thanksgiving
Clean out your fridge.
Rearrange shelves to accommodate as much as possible.
Make your shopping list.
Add extra butter, because obviously.
Wash dirty kitchen towels.
Monday before Thanksgiving
Shop.
Markets will be a shit show after today.
Wash and dry serving dishes.
Use sticky notes to mark what theyll be for.
Pull out the giblets and neck, and brine/salt/inject it before putting it in the fridge.
Once thats done, disinfect your counters, sink, and faucets.
Look over your recipes for the day.
Does anything today require room-temp items like butter or eggs?
Preheat the oven for sweet potatoes.
Rinse the cranberries and get them on burner #1.
Make a pot of stock for stuffing on burner #2.
Get all prep done for your stuffing, pies, and casseroles.
Cut sweet potatoes, and get them into the oven to roast.
Chop all the garlic youll need foreverything.
In fry pan #1, get your stuffing going.
In fry pan two, start cooking anything that should be sauteed for casseroles or other sides.
Complete your other casseroles, let them cool, and get them in the fridge.
Take the cranberries off the stovetop, cool, and store.
Now make any pie crusts you better and get them wrapped up and in the fridge to rest.
Remove sweet potatoes and complete the dish, allow them to cool, and refrigerate.
you’re free to also remove your bottom-dwelling produce bins to gain another shelf.
This space is perfect for cooling beer on Thanksgiving Day.
Prep any apps it’s possible for you to earlyremember you wont have the oven tomorrow.
Last thing, set your alarm.
Heres where the math comes into play.
Now figure out what time you want the turkey to land on your dinner table.
Count back the number of hours you just wrote down, and set your alarm for that time.
Set one for 5 minutes later.
(I refer to this as X hour.)
This is when you should set up your smart watch/speaker reminders, too.
THIS IS IT
Its Turkey Doomsday and you, my friend, are bound for duty.
This is your time.
Be bold, be brave, be swift.
Mostly, just GTFO of bed.
X hour: Good morning, sunshine!
Pull the turkey and stuffing out of the fridge/cooler and place on counter.
Get another hour of sleep, shower, or zone out.
X-hour +1: Turn the oven on to turkey cooking temp.
Get that turkey in the pan, stuff it, truss it, and season it.
X-hour+2: Put the turkey in the oven.
Peel the potatoes and get them boiling on burner #1.
Prep the salad and the dressing, and refrigerate them separately.
Once theyre done, throw them into bowls or Tupperware and set aside until later.
From here on out, well be talking about time as it relates to dinner.
Probably not, but you should be checking to get an idea of where things are.)
Turn oven to 350F if its not there already.
Move the turkey onto the carving board, and cover it in foil.
Pour all the turkey drippings into afat separatorand get it into the freezer.
Put the turkey pan on the stovetop over burners #1 and #2 anddeglaze it.
Add your roux and stock, grab the separator from the freezer and add the drippings from the pan.
Are you making vegetables that arent in a casserole?
Have guests move completed dishes to table to keep them busy and out of your way.
Move the stuffing from the bird to a serving dish.
Carve half the turkey and cover the rest with foil.
If heated through, send side dishes to the table on trivets or towels.
Put the second wave of each dish into the oven, set timer for 30 minutes.
you might now enjoy your dinner.
When the timer goes off, theres an additional wave of food.
Your guests can help pull them out, and even carve more meat if needed.
Practice saying it with me, Cousin Carl, can you carve some more meat for the table?
What a delight you are.
Once those dishes come out of the oven, your pies and any other desserts can go in.
Ice cream can now come out of the freezer to soften on the counter.
Heres how:
Have vacuum bags, cheap Tupperware, or large Ziploc bags ready.
Everyone keeps their glasses.
Ask for 10 minutes to organize before clean up.
Throw any turkey carcass parts into a big pot of water on the stove for stock.
At that point, let your guests take over.
By then it should be straightforward; the food is gone.
Meanwhile, assume your throne on the couch to drink wine and accept compliments.
