My sides don’t even make it past Thanksgiving. They’re the best dishes.
This is because the turkey is always so dry.
Seems like something someone who isn’t cooking turkey would say, but in case you are cooking it, or are able to share with the person cooking it, Gordon Ramsey has a turkey recipe that involves buttering the meat directly that has never failed. I like to pre brine for alternative flavor, but for most cases his method is more than sufficient: https://gordonramsay.com/gr/recipes/roast-turkey-with-lemon-parsley-and-garlic/
There’s also a video if you prefer.
I can and have cooked turkey for myself.
I have "won" at turkey.
When I lived on my own and worked in the restaurant industry, I took it as a point of pride to figure out how to do it well.
I tried brines, but found that simple salting and leaving it on the bottom shelf overnight was easier and just as effective.
And that cutting it up and cooking each part via sous vide was a more reliable way to cook the meat to an even tenderness.
And that I could still brown the skin on a cast iron pan on high heat afterwards.
And then experiment with sauces and dressing and spices because that’s where a lot of the flavor and fun came from (for me).
And then decided it just wasn’t worth it. Not when I can cook a chicken, a duck, and a Cornish hen for half the effort.
If you want to go through the effort and expense of doing it because that makes it special to you and you enjoy it, more power to you.
But Thanksgiving seems more like ritual torture for the vast majority of people who do it because we collectively accepted that it’s “what you’re supposed to do”.
Years ago when we still met up, we used to eat pularda (badly written poulard from French, I think). It’s basically an old chicken, right before it produces eggs, at 137 days old give or take.
It’s bigger and has stronger flavour than regular chicken, but not as dry as a turkey.
We pick a different dish every year for our main. This year was tomahawk steak. We have the normal sides, all made from scratch, and some main dish. Cause turkey sucks. I’ve done it once in like the last 15 years. It was fantasticly coffee, nice and moist, buttery and boring.
We pick a different dish every year for our main.
That sounds actually awesome.
It was fantasticly coffee
I have no idea what that means, but it still sounds pretty good.
Try brining the turkey overnight before roasting. Keeps the bird nice and moist in my experience.
Rather than all of that stress, I’d rather we collectively agree that it’s just not worth it.
Cook smaller poultry.
It’s easier to cook evenly and it usually tastes better anyway.
Or just get ham instead. That shit is juicy.
I don’t agree because I love well cooked turkey, but there aren’t any rules so you’re free to not cook one if you don’t want to! No consensus necessary.
I support your right to love turkey at any level of doneness.
I should have specified that it’s not worth it to families (or grocery store employees) to collectively pressure everyone in the country to buy a turkey during the same one-week period.
I always preferred ham over turkey
Christmas ham is the best shit ever. I can’t wait to eat it again
Don’t overcook it. A lower internal temp is still safe if held for a period of time, e.g. 145 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.
Try telling that to your mother who’s been handling the turkey for decades.
You get what you get and you either like it or you shut up and pretend that you do, because that’s your mum and she’s tired and hasn’t seen you in weeks and turkey is always a little dry, trust me I know, I’ve been doing this since before you were born, eat it with some cranberry sauce, have you seen your cous…
My mother always roasted all the moisture out of a bird every year. I convinced her to get a second, smaller turkey so that I could fry it. Now I’m in charge of turkey every year cause everyone agreed it was better than hers.
lol I forgot all about this
It was about 4 months after the invasion of Iraq, it was a pretty happening year.
who is on the right?
Dawg we’re not even 3 days into the Advent season yet, my turkey is still frozen outside waiting 😂
What, the sides cure cancer or something??
