There are two of us males(besides my father) that attend this dinner who are not Obama voters we drink Vodka and any time someone starts talking about Obama we just say Obamacare and laugh and take another drink. (3 of the Obama voting males lost their insurance over Obamacare so it is a sore subject
I wholeheartedly recommend a turkey fryer. My brother has been frying our turkey for years now and the turkey comes out moist and tender.
Some people think turkey frying is dangerous because every year there is a news story about someone using a fryer who burned himself or set his house on fire. In reality, turkey frying is safe, BUT you must follow the instructions to the letter. Only if you ignore the instructions will you have a disaster.
Happy and Safe Thanksgiving, all!
The best turkeys I ever roasted .. I BASTED WITH BEER.
YES, I SAID BEER .. and I don’t recall the last time I drank a beer .. but it does the most wonderful things to your turkey.
1. It renders the fat in the skin of the turkey .. making it crisp and browned to perfection.
2. Because the skin is kept intact, it keeps the meat moist and tender.
3. Whatever flavorings there are in the beer you choose, they will be mildly added to the flavor.
4. I do not stuff my turkey .. instead I add the following: Onion (cut in pieces); Celery (cut in pieces); Walnuts (I use halves); Apple (core and cut in pieces). You can add anything you want; even citrus, peach or nectarine. The amount you use is up to you .. and the size of the cavity.
(However, I do fix dressing on the side)
5. The juice from the turkey gives a wonderful flavor to the gravy. Plus, you can pre-cook the giblets and cut them up fine and add them to the gravy.
The rest of the stuff is up to you.
Three words: Trash Can Turkey
Last weekend we had a potluck with 90 of our closest friends
2 fried, 2 trash can and one smoked
All awesome
A simple Corn Casserole:
1 can creamed corn
1 can white shoepeg corn
1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin mix
1 stick butter
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
Mix together and bake in greased pan at 375 for 45 minutes.
Timeline:
Wednesday - Bake the pies and cornbread for the dressing.
Turkey Day - Put the 23+ lb bird in the oven at 7 am and go back to bed. At 10 am, prep the sides. At 11 am, the bird comes out of the oven and the sides go in. Call everyone for dinner at noon. Eating at noon doesn’t interfere with the game and folks can snack the rest of the day as they wish.
Brine yer bird!
(Trust me)
Ingredients... Serves 6
4 pcs sliced bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces, 3 (14 ounce) cans green beans, with liquid, 1 quarter yellow onion, peeled and chopped, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 1 half teaspoon salt, 1 half teaspoon fresh ground black pepper,
Directions In a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, cook bacon until lightly brown but not crisp. When bacon has browned, add green beans. Add salt, sugar and pepper and mix well. Place onion on top of green beans. Cover saucepan with a lid and bring to a light boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer beans for 45 minutes.
dry rub/brine turkey with a few spices and salt/sugar 1:1 combo on sugar/salt- leave in fridge for at least 8 hours- better overnight- rinse turkey off next day- Shove copious amounts of butter between skin and meat, or soak a cheese cloth in butter, and drape over turkey while cooking (After the high heat cooking mentioned below)
Cook turkey high heat 435 for around 45 mins or so with breast side down, turn over, cook again for around 20 mins then take out, lower heat to about 350 or so and finish cooking, basting every 20 mins. Cook turkey breast meat to around 140 degrees, 150, or so, and wings/legs to about 165- take out, cover in foil, and bird should finish heating up to 165 in breast meat while resting covered (could leave in oven with heat off too- just cover turkey with foil to keep heat in)
k- now fer squash- either acorn or butternut squash- cut in half, plop in large blob of butter after scooping seeds out, and a couple teaspoons of brown sugar- bake until soft- watch the smiles on everyone’s faces
That’s all I know