Turkey Day!! What are you making?

So for Turkey Day today my wife and I are making the following:

Fresh Smoked Turkey (ala Traeger)
Cranberry-horseradish sauce on the side
Smoked Turkey gravy from the drippings
Sweet potato pudding
Country stuffing with Sausage
Mashed Yukon's
Fresh Green Beans
Fresh Cranberry sauce with Orange, Apple and Pecan pieces

And the wrap up will be...(drum roll please)
Homemade pumpkin custard ice cream and short bread butter cookies

Turkey is stuffed with apples and oranges along with fresh Thyme, Sage and Rosemary. Skin has been mopped down with olive oil and butter and a herbed butter rubbed on the breast meat below the skin. Then to the smoker.

I'm stuffed already just thinking about it!!

What are you making?

ETA - Glad to provide any recipes of the above anyone may be interested in.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk


We're grilling wild salmon and steaks.
We have a family member with a poultry allergy and a couple of pescatarians.

BTW: The Cranberry & Horseradish sauce actually sounds really good.

PS: Wifey wants the recipe for the C & H sauce.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk
so did you have a heart and pardon all of your turkeys?

I haven't decided yet. one of my kids had to work today so might hold off till Saturday when there's a better chance of us all being able to eat earlier and enjoy it more.

Dry brined turkey with herb rub under the skin, spatchcocked and roasted
Chorizo and mussel stuffing using sourdough
Garlic cream cheese mashed potatoes
Roasted sweet potato and Brussels sprouts

For dessert, we're experimenting with a homemade spiced grape mixture. Family used to always have one Jell-O holdover from those days when everything went in Jell-O. It was a lime Jell-O salad with spiced grapes and pears in it. Over the years, you couldn't find spiced grapes in stores anymore. This year, I went online a figured out how to make my own. So we're trying to set them into lime Jell-O with papya, mango, and fresh pineapple. I think we screwed it up though. The Jell-O didn't set (we tried using some of the brine in the Jell-O since grandma used to use some of the canned grape juice like this).

So what will likely happen is that we will simply strain the fruit out and have fruit salad that tastes vaguely like lime Jell-O for dessert. The main deal was to prove that we could spice the grapes and that they tasted good.

EDIT

Your under the skin seasoning sound a bit like ours. Same trio of fresh herbs, and I think it goes into a paste with lemon zest and juice and salt, but since we dry brined, we won't be using the salt. If we need something to make a pasty element, we may add some butter to it.

Yours sounds good. Smoked turkey is awesome. And the cranberry horseradish sound like something I'd like, but I'd likely be alone here.

Husband and I have gone back and forth over whether or not it would be worth getting a backyard smoker. One of things I'd want to do would be to smoke the turkey in it. We do turkey a handful of times during the year, mostly just the breast, and smoking it would be a great way to add flavor.

We also love making our own jerky and a smoker would be awesome for that.

Problem is that husband is not a grilling person, so I'm not sure how much the smoker would be worthwhile without the accompanying element of the grill.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

We usually get a Butterball from the grocery but this year decided to get a Diestel bird.




diestelturkey.com...

The above is a link to their site and recipe we're using.

Deviled eggs, funeral potatoes, beans, and pumpkin pie!

Also an insane amount of booze. . . . which reminds me of a funny recipe. . . .


HOW TO COOK A THANKSGIVING TURKEY

STEP 1: GO BUY A TURKEY
STEP 2: TAKE A DRINK OF WHISKEY (SCOTCH)
STEP 3: PUT TURKEY IN THE OVEN
STEP 4: TAKE ANOTHER 2 DRINKS OF WHISKEY
STEP 5: SET THE DEGREE AT 375 OVENS
STEP 6: TAKE 3 MORE WHISKEYS OF DRINK
STEP 7: TURN OVEN THE ON
STEP 8: TAKE 4 WHISKS OF DRINKY
STEP 9: TURK THE BASTEY
STEP 10: WHISKEY ANOTHER BOTTLE OF GET
STEP 11: STICK A TURKEY IN THE THERMOMETER
STEP 12: GLASS YOURSELF A POUR OF WHISKEY
STEP 13: BAKE THE WHISKEY FOR HOURS
STEP 14: TEST THE LURKEY FOR NUMBNESS
STEP 15: TAKE THE OVEN OUT OF THE LURKEY
STEP 16: FLOOR THE LURKEY UP OFF OF THE PICK
STEP 17: TURK THE CARVEY
STEP 18: GET YOURSELF NUTHER SCOTTLE OF BOTCH
STEP 19: TET THE SABLE AND POUR YOURSELF A GLASS OF TURKEY
STEP 20: BLESS THE SAYING, PASS AND EAT OUT=2

a reply to: IAMTAT

The recipe for this starts off with your basic fresh cranberry sauce recipe.
12 oz. fresh cranberries (reserve at least 1/2 cup of cranberries for later) crushed
1 Cup Sugar
1 Orange zest (one trip around the orange)
2 Tbsp water

Add all to a sauce pan and cook on med until sugar melts and cranberries burst. (about 12 min). Add in reserved cranberries.

Then add 3/4 cup of sour cream and 2+ Tsp of prepared horse radish, mix.

Chill until ready to serve.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Hmmm, I make traditional cranberry for the table anyhow, so I might sneak some of that out and tray to make some of this for Christmas this year. Thanks!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk


Wifey sez Thanks....Thinks we'll try it.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

a reply to: ketsuko

From the guy who has about (5) smokers...go for the Traeger!

They're expensive up front, but you will never look back. Greatest cooking device ever invented in my opinion!

You'll never find a easier device that delivers masterpieces every time!

(No, I do not work for the company...just LOVE their smoker grills).

My husband and I will be celebrating Thanksgiving alone again this year.
Last year we had Turkey Manhattans/Shooters.This year,I am baking a
turkey breast,having mashed sweet potatoes,green beans,corn,biscuits,
cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.

originally posted by: IAMTAT
a reply to: Flyingclaydisk


Wifey sez Thanks....Thinks we'll try it.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Likewise to you and yours!

P.S. The cranberry horseradish sauce is a perfect accompaniment to the smoked (or roasted) turkey! A bite of turkey with the horseradish cranberry sauce....MMMMMMmmmmmmm!!!!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I cut the turkey in pieces, put in a tray. Got half onion, 5-6 garlic cloves, a carrot, 2 pieces of celery, a tomato, olive oil, salt and water in a blender. Put that thing on the bird and rubbed it. Cook in oven for a while then take tinfoil out and keep cooking.

When it's close to done, take the broth and make gravy with it using corn starch.

Bath the bird with coca cola and red wine and keep cooking. Check if need more salt. That's it.

Quick question to all the masters out there. . .

Our gravy recipe calls for a cup of white wine.

Would it be okay to use a red instead?

a reply to: DBCowboy

I don't know ...

We've tried using red in place of white when we've gotten caught out without, and it changes the whole flavor. Red is for beef. White is for poultry/shellfish. It will definitely change the color and the flavor will be different ... off from what you expect.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
Quick question to all the masters out there. . .

Our gravy recipe calls for a cup of white wine.

Would it be okay to use a red instead?

Don't you ever be racist with wine.

Then "Caucasian" wine it is!

a reply to: DBCowboy

Yeah, no, I probably wouldn't!

In a pinch you could go with some chicken stock and a shot of apple cider vinegar, but the liquor stores should be open for a while yet, so I'd just go get the white wine.

I ran into the same problem this morning. I hit the grocery store for a couple last minute things at about 4am this morning. Liquor store wasn't open...may have to go back. I like a little white wine in the roasting pan with the apples and onions along with some chicken stock. I was tempted to go with sherry (cuz I have some), but that has such a sharp flavor. I've got four hours after I put the turkey on here in a few, so maybe I'll just venture back into town again.

P.S. The red wine would turn your gravy red, and red gravy with turkey, well, just wouldn't fly because....EEEEEeewwwww!!

originally posted by: DBCowboy
Then "Caucasian" wine it is!

PBR isn’t a substitute for white wine.

originally posted by: underwerks

originally posted by: DBCowboy
Then "Caucasian" wine it is!

PBR isn’t a substitute for white wine.

Crap!


Then it's off to the Booze-a-torium!