I'm staying home because of COVID and will attempt my first ever Thanksgiving dinner.

[brewens]

I have a turkey and everything I need for stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, and an apple pie. I've only ever made the mashed potatoes, none of the rest. I'm not the worst cook, I do good baking hams and making pot-roast and a few things like that.

I'm kind of excited. I've been wanting to do a turkey. I make my own soups, so I'll eventually end up with a big batch of turkey noodle too. I have a team of experts advising, so I think it'll turn out good and nobody gets hurt. I'll have a bunch of turkey dinners stashed in the freezer with just one guy eating.

[fierywoman]

1. I highly recommend brining the turkey. Even a really cheap turkey ends up tasting

absolutely astounding. And everything you need to know about cooking is on youtube! Bon Appetit!!!

[trueblue2007]

17. brine a turkey? What if you MUST watch your sodium? I have congestive heart failure

i don't use salt at all. i use herbs and mrs. dash

[fierywoman]

18. Oh dear -- that would be a no for you then!

Although I had turkey at a friend's house for two years -- she brined the turkey in bourbon, I think (plus flavors), spatchcocked it and her husband roasted it over cherry wood ---OMG, the best ever !!!

[trueblue2007]

19. i thought i would not be able to eat a turkey that had been brined.

[leighbythesea2]

20. Have tried all manner

Of turkey cooking. Because i kind of don't love turkey. Brining was the best outcome for sure.

[fierywoman]

21. I tell you -- the best of all: spatchcocked, brined in bourbon (+who knows what else) and

cooked over a grill by a very attentive grill master: OMFG!!!

[leighbythesea2]

22. Weve done spatchcocked also

& grilled.
Haven't tried bourbon in the brine however...THAT is an idea. Im going to tell my husband. We both love cooking!

[TexasTowelie]

2. Good luck to you. We don't read another story similar to this one that I posted last night:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/107849679

[Karadeniz]

3. It'll be good! I use Pepperidge farms stuffing and add cooked sausage meat to it, black olives and

All the usual additives... It's a meal by itself!

[brewens]

5. I bought the Pepperidge Farms stuffing. I'm being told to add bacon, and I've had that ladies

stuffing before. Sounds easy enough. I'll have olives on and too, so i might as well add some to the stuffing.

[Demsrule86]

14. I like sausage and apples in my turkey stuffing and/or dried cranberries.

The basic thing is butter...lots and lots of butter... so much butter you need pepto!

[MissMillie]

16. I do sausage and apples in my stuffing too!

And plenty of aromatics (onion, carrot and celery). SAGE!!!!

[BigmanPigman]

4. I made the whole dinner by myself when I was 22...

Just follow the basic directions and plan everything and you will have success. I did everything from scratch too. The only thing I had experience with was making pies. The hardest part was lifting the turkey in and out of the oven.

[LSFL]

6. Reynolds cooking bag.

Use it.

[Warpy]

7. Tune everybody out and watch this

That's if you insist on turkey. If thee are fewer than 3 people, think capon, it's a supersized rooster that will leave enough for sandwiches the next day plus a little carcass picking. The soup is better, too.

[SheltieLover]

8. Have you consider the herbs de provece & citrus recipe?

This is probably the best meal I have ever tasted, and it's quick & easy.

5-star rating from Food Networrk.

I improvise, as it is impossible to buy fresh herbs where I am, or even a simple jar of herbs de provence.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/turkey-with-herbes-de-provence-and-citrus-recipe-1943593

I can't wait to hear how your 1st bird comes out!

[happybird]

9. Good Luck!

I’m sure you will do great!
The turkey is easy. The hardest part is timing everything so it’s all ready at the same time. And the dishes.

[Phentex]

27. This is how I feel...

Over the years, I have gotten better on the timing. It's the only time of the year I wish I had more ovens though. I end up using a warming drawer and toaster oven as extras. This old house had a wall oven at one point and I have considered putting one in again but I don't think I would use it very often.

[Turbineguy]

10. Brining and

a cooking bag.

https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/GUEST_b6af8ef1-d705-4eca-8694-f40ca83174de?fmt=webp&wid=1400&qlt=80

[Sherman A1]

25. Agreed

Those are the way to go.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. Baking a turkey isn't even remotely hard.

People make a far more big deal of it than they should. Look up stuff on the internet and youtube.

I personally have never bothered with brining. I just clean out the bird thoroughly, stuff it with real stuffing (and no, stuffing cooked in the bird will not kill you. I have no idea how that bit of nonsense got started) with whatever kind of stuffing you like. Make sure you have a bird with a pop-up thermometer. They are lifesavers. At some point peel some potatoes, open a package of whatever other veggies you like (I happen to be a fan of peas) and wait for the turkey to be done. When it comes out of the oven put on the heat under the potatoes. The frozen peas can be cooked somewhat later.

Go ahead and remove the stuffing after five or ten minutes or so. Put something over the stuffing to keep it warm. The turkey itself needs about thirty minutes to rest, which is about how long it will take to boil the potatoes.

Use the turkey drippings to make gravy. If you're not already up on how to do that, once again the internet is your best friend.

If you want cranberry sauce, I hope you already had a can in the fridge.

A basic turkey dinner isn't hard at all. I have always loved turkey, and in the years my sons were growing up I probably fixed turkey four or five times a month, meaning every other month or so. Heck, they often came home from school in the middle of the week to a turkey dinner.

I've pretty much decided I'm doing Thanksgiving by myself this year, which I've done before. Right now I'm dithering between a turkey breast and a small whole turkey. I vastly prefer the latter because I love the dark meat, and overall it is more flavorful and makes much better gravy than just the breast. No matter what, I'll have a great holiday!

[flotsam]

12. I just advised my Grand daughter on her first turkey the other night

Just two bits of advice-Turkey ain't magic-So don't stress-It's just a big freakin' chicken! Second-use a meat thermometer and cook the turkey only to the lowest recommended temp-The most damaging thing you can do to a turkey is overcook it. Even if the innermost bits had a touch of pink there's no problem-you'll never get that deep into the carcass on feast day and if you got down and found some meat still undercooked you pop that in a soup or stew situation,,,but the meat you serve will be moist and that makes all the difference! Good Luck!

[Demsrule86]

13. I suggest an oven timer. After I stopped overcooking my turkeys out of fear that someone

would get sick, they came out much better. Also, do not believe the pop up timers ever. They pop way before a safe temperature in my experience. I stuff my turkeys...takes longer but it helps with moisture in the meat. Also, I work butter or olive oil under the skin on the breast and usually some fresh or dried herbs. I cover the breast with foil and the drums depending on how the browning goes. Good luck. Turkey is easy IMHO.

[MissMillie]

15. I think the timing is the hardest part

Getting everything on the table while it's hot. A second pair of hands can be useful in this endeavor.

[dem in texas]

23. I always start my turkey around midnight.

I set my alarm to get up a few times to check it. I start it breast down, then turn it breast up the last few hours. If it gets done before we eat (usually round 1 -2:00 on Thanksgiving day), just let it sit on the stove and heat it back up. No stuffing, instead I make a pan of cornbread dressing which is more like a savory bread pudding. I cook the giblets in a sauce pan covered in water. I chop up the giblets to make giblet gravy from the turkey drippings to go with the mashed potatoes and cornbread dressing. I like to have someone to help me finish off the preparation and set the table.

My husband was the military and many years we were far away from family. We'd invite many friends and have a house full, after eating, we'd get the cards out, set up some tables and play card games.

[Sherman A1]

24. Best of luck to you

Hope it all works out well.

[Retrograde]

26. If you're planning on a chestnut stuffing

remove the shells from the stuffing before putting them in! (I was at a dinner where the hostess put whole, unshelled chestnuts into the stuffing. They were inedible).

Try to do as much ahead of time as possible. My husband insists on cornbread stuffing, so I make that about 5 days ahead so it can get nice and dry before the onions, celery and sage are added. Pies can be made the day before. Once you get the turkey in the oven there's not much else to do except take its temperature every hour then every 30 minutes or so until it's done. I simmer the giblets and neck while the bird cooks to make a quick stock for the gravy; you can make a roux (fancy word for flour and water emulsion used to thicken sauces) while the turkey cooks, and add it and some stock to the pan drippings to make gravy while the turkey sets up.

Good luck! I'm figuring out how to scale down a dinner I regularly do for 8-10 people down to 2.

[Phentex]

28. I appreciate your spirit...

Thanksgiving has always been special to me. I like to think if it were just me, I'd still make this meal. Good luck and enjoy!!!