Thanksgiving Dinner, Turkey Help, Cooking Turkey, Thanksgiving Timeline
Thanksgiving
Dinner, Timing is EVERYTHING!
Thanksgiving Cooking Timeline
I took the turkey out of the freezer and put it into the refrigerator four days before Thanksgiving so that it would thaw thoroughly. I also kept an eye on it to make sure it was thawing. The day before Thanksgiving I got the turkey out, removed the giblets. I covered the turkey with plastic wrap and put it back in the refrigerator.
The
secret to an easy Thanksgiving is to prepare as many dishes as you can the day
before.
The
day before Thanksgiving I cooked up the giblets in chicken stock with celery,
onions, salt, pepper, and sage, just like my Mother and Grandmother did. I simmered
this most of the day. This is the broth I used in the stuffing and gravy. It made
all the difference in the world. I made both stuffings the day before and stored
them in the refrigerator. Note: Do not put the stuffing into the turkey
until you're ready to put it in the oven. I also made the White Chocolate
cake, the Pearl Onion au Gratin, and the Cranberry Compote. That's five things
off my list.
My mother-in-law was making her dessert specialty, Strawberry
Trifle and the mashed potatoes. My sister-in-law was making the sweet potatoes.
That's eight things off my list for Thanksgiving Day.
All I had to prepare on Thanksgiving Day was:
Turkey
Glazed Ham
Peas
Candied Carrots
Green Bean Casserole
Creamed Corn
Cranberry Jelly
Madeira Gravy
Rolls
Pretty easy, especially since the peas, creamed corn and rolls only needed heating up, the jelly needed to be slid out of the can onto a plate. So I had to fuss with the turkey, glazed ham, candied carrots, green bean casserole and Madeira gravy.
Thanksgiving morning. I knew the turkey had to cook 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours. It had to be out of the refrigerator 1 to 1 1/2 hours prior to going into the oven. It had to be ready by 4:30. So, the turkey came of of the refrigerator at 10:45A. The stuffing that went into the turkey came out of the refrigerator at 11:30A. I stuffed the turkey and put it into the oven at 12:15. 4 1/2 hrs of cooking would mean it would be ready by 4:30-4:45. Since I needed to take the foil off for one hour for it to brown, take foil off turkey was on my list at 3:30. We checked the temperature so we were sure the turkey was done. The thigh temperature should be 175 degrees and the stuffing 160-165 degrees.
My
timeline to cook Thanksgiving dinner looked something like this:
10:45A ......Turkey out of refrigerator
11:00A
11:30A.......Sage
stuffing out of refrigerator/preheat oven
11:45A
12:00
12:15P.......Turkey
(stuffed) into oven 325 degrees covered with foil
1:00P
1:30P
2:00P
2:30P........ Ham into convection oven 325 degrees - glaze every 15 - 20 minutes
3:00P
3:15P
3:30P..........Foil off turkey
3:45P ........Sage sausage
and apple stuffing out of refrigerator
4:00P ........Pearl onion au gratin
out of refrigerator
4:15P.........Sage
sausage and apple stuffing into
oven
................... Make green bean casserole
4:30P ........Turkey
out of oven, out of roaster, cover with foil, rest 20-30 min.
....................Pearl
Onion au Gratin into oven
....................Start
Madeira gravy
....................Make candied carrots
5:00P .........Pearl
Onion au Grain out of oven - cover with foil
....................Green bean
Casserole in oven
....................Check apple sage stuffing add liquid
if needed
....................Start heating peas and corn
....................Carve
turkey
................... Ham out of oven, carve
5:15P.........Apple
sage stuffing out of oven - cover
with foil
....................Dinner rolls in oven
5:25 P .......Stir
green bean casserole, add remaining onions to top
....................Dinner
rolls out of oven
5:30P ........Green bean casserole out of oven
EAT!
As you can see a lot was going on around 4:30 I had my sister in law keep watchful eye over the Madeira gravy after I started it and my mother-in-law carve the turkey and ham while I saw to the other dishes.
I'm
an admitted "A" type so I like lists and I like organization. I liked
this list because I was able to relax knowing I was doing what needed to be done.
I had plenty of time to relax and get the table set. I got all the serving dishes
and serving utensils out. When my mother-in-law and sister-in-law walked in the
door I know they were surprised how well everything was going.
This really worked for me. I know that it can work for you. It's so simple. Figure out what time you want to have dinner and work backwards from that time.
Every Thanksgiving since I've been married I've heard about the time my sister-in-law left the giblets in the turkey when she cooked it. I also hear about the time she forgot to cook the stuffing. I'm sure that in the years to come I'll make a few blunders of my own.
What
made this Thanksgiving so enjoyable for me was adding new dishes. That's definitely
a tradition I'll continue. My nephew wanted to know if I had made that "green
bean stuff" and was very happy that I had. He also tried a bit of everything
- without being asked!
As Thanksgiving approaches we'll be adding more
of our favorite Thanksgiving recipes.
Cooking
Thanksgiving Turkey Tips
Thanksgiving Dinner
Menu
Thanksgiving
Recipes
Bourbon
Cranberry Sauce
Campbell's
Green Bean Casserole
Celeriac
Gratin Recipe, Puree of Celeriac Gratin Recipe
Chestnut
Stuffing
Fresh
Cranberry Orange Compote
Homemade
Turkey Broth
Madeira Gravy
Pearl Onions au Gratin
Sage
Sausage and Apple Stuffing
Tangy
Cranberry Apple Chutney
Tips
on Cooking a Turkey
Christmas
Recipes
Apricot
& Bourbon Pork Tenderloin
Baked
French Toast Casserole (Paula Deen)
Black
Bottoms Cupcakes
Chocolate Pound Cake
Chocolate Truffle Loaf with Raspberry Sauce
Crumb Cake
Dad's
Sweet Stuffed Dates
Egg & Sausage
Scramble
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Grand Marnier French Toast
Greek
Almond Cookies (Kourabiethes)
Italiano
Meat Pie
Leg of Lamb, Creme de menthe
Louisiana
Roasted Pecan Pie
Mrs. Field's Chocolate
Chip Cookies
Pineapple Glazed Ham
Potato
Pancake Recipe, Rösti
Red Velvet
Cake & Butter Cream Icing
Roasted
Tomatoes (Ina Garten)
Split Pea
& Ham Soup, Magic Pan Restaurant
Tasty & Easy Green Bean Recipes
Armenian
Green Beans with Ground Meat and Tomatoes
Blanched
Green Beans
Fried Green Beans
Ginger
Garlic Green Beans
Greek Green Beans
Greek Potatoes and Green Beans
Green Beans a'la Waterman's
Green Beans Almondine
Green Beans Almondine
(with a hint of lemon)
Green Beans Almondine
(with an Asian flair)
Green Beans Almondine
(with mushrooms)
Green Bean Casserole (Campbell's)
Green Bean Casserole (Cook's Illustrated)
Green
Beans in Sour Cream & Tomato Sauce
Green
Beans Provençal,
Cooking Light
Green Bean Salad, Dill, Parsley &
Savory
Green Bean Salad, Feta
& Pecans
Green Bean Salad, Provençal,
Chef Simone Beck
Green
Bean Salad, Soy Glazed Almonds, Cilantro
Green
Beans with Coconut
Green Beans with Ginger
Butter
Green Beans with Onion Paste (Madhur
Jaffrey)
Green Beans with Shallots
Italian Green Beans (St. Anna Beans)
Oven
Roasted Green Beans
Pears with Green Beans
& Bacon
Persian Green Beans
& Rice
Sautéed
Green Beans with Hazelnut Crumbs
Sesame &
Portobello Green Beans
Sicilian Green Bean & Fennel Salad (Cooking Light)
Stir-Fried Green Beans with Pork & Chilies
Sweet & Sour Green Beans
Eggplant Appetizer Dip, Moroccan Food, Roasted Eggplant
This is a flavorful Moroccan roasted eggplant recipe that can be served as a salad or appetizer. This recipe is from chef Claudia Roden.
Holiday Recipes, Holiday Ham, Ham Glaze Recipe
This holiday ham recipe is sure to be a crowd pleaser. This ham is made flavorful and juicy by the glaze applied during cooking. It's studded with cl
Italian Green Bean recipe, St. Anna Bean recipe
St. Anna Beans, Italian green bean recipe
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