Every Recipe You'll Need To Cook A Thanksgiving Meal
This post was originally published in 2015.
Thanksgiving is a time for eating too much with the people you care about most. Unless you're cooking, in which case it's a time for stressing out and never having enough fridge space. If you're hosting or need to bring a side, we've put together a handy guide to making your favorite holiday dishes.
Let's start with the most important part: the turkey. Below is a classic roasted bird. For something different, we've included smoked, brined, dry-brined and deep fried recipes. Turkey's taken care of? Bone up on how to carve your holiday bird, or skip ahead to side dishes or desserts.
Roast Turkey
Ingredients:
1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery rib
2 or 3 tablespoons butter
sage and rosemary
Smoked Turkey
For the brine:
2 gallons water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup molasses
1 cup honey
1 ½ cup salt
¼ cup BBQ rub
3-4 bay leaves
Fresh thyme
1 tbsp whole peppercorns
On the skin:
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup granulated garlic
1 tbsp poultry seasoning
Injection:
1 stick butter
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp cajun seasoning
Brined Turkey
Ingredients:
½ cup salt
8 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp chopped garlic
Zest and juice of 2 lemons and 2 tangerines
Sage and rosemary
1 cinnamon stick
3-4 chillies
13 cups water
Dry-Brined Turkey
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp thyme
2 tbsp sage
2 tsp rosemary
Lots of kosher salt
Deep Fried
Brine and inject as desired. But seriously, do not deep fry a turkey indoors. Ever. Don't be one of those people that burns their house down.
Spatchcocking
Spatchcocking your bird won't necessarily add any new flavors, but it will produce moist meat in a fraction of the time.
Trash Can Turkey
This seems totally unsafe, but some people claim that there's some flavor imparted by the type of grass the turkey cooks on top of.
Carving
Always cut in the kitchen on a cutting board with a long, sharp knife. Slice into pieces against the grain. And save the carcass for making stock!
Gravy
Stock:
1 large onion
2 carrots
2 ribs celery
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 large turkey wings
10 cups cold water
4 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic, optional
Gravy:
2-3 tablespoons reserved turkey fat
3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour
About 6 cups reserved, strained turkey stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of cayenne
Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
1 lb cranberries
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cranberry juice
1 cup honey
Stuffing
Ingredients:
1 loaf ciabatta bread
1 stick butter
3 cups yellow onion
1 ½ cups chopped celery
Salt
3/4 lb sweet Italian pork sausage
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 eggs
2 ½ cups chicken broth
Corn Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
½ cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup milk
¼ cup unsalted butter
2 eggs
¼ cup shortening
Honey-Glazed Carrots
Ingredients:
1 lb baby carrots
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp honey
½ orange, zested and juiced
1 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Sea salt
Black pepper
Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes
Salt
2 tbsp butter
2 large eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of allspice
pinch of cayenne
Crust:
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 tbsp melted butter
Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
2 lbs russet potatoes
1 stick butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
Tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Green Beans
Ingredients:
1 lb green beans
6 oz pancetta
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic
Hot pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
Apple Pie
Crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp white sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
Filling:
2 1/2 lbs apples
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, optional
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
Pumpkin Pie
Filling:
1 sugar pumpkin
2 eggs
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
12 oz evaporated milk
Feel free to use apple pie crust recipe, or premade crust
Are we missing something you'll be eating this holiday? Tweet it to @digg.
