And try a dry brine, which will save you some leaky-bag heartache:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/10/how-to-get-crispier-chicken-turkey-poultry-skin-with-baking-powder.html

Love this thread!

I have a very large family that comes and stays at my house for a few days so I try to be as organized as possible and do a lot of the prep work in advance so that I can enjoy my family and not get overwhelmed.

WEEKEND BEFORE:
- Prepare beds, towels, etc for the guests
- Pull all serving dishes and utensils out. We do it buffet style from my dining table and then sit at tables that are set up in the family room. I set up the buffet table with the serving dishes (tuned upside down so no dust) that all have sticky notes on them and in the place that they will fit properly
- I pull out the plates and decorations for main eating tables so we only need to set the table the night before (or early morning of). No need to go finding what we need.
- Shop for non-perishable food - not only for Thanksgiving, but also for the rest of the long weekend with my family

MONDAY:
- Go to work...
- Shop for perishable food
- Pick up 2 turkeys that were ordered 2 weeks prior

TUESDAY:
- Go to work...
- Brine one of the turkeys for 24 hours
- Make cranberry sauce
- Make lasagna, stew or chili for my family's arrival on Wednesday night.

WEDNESDAY:
- Day off!
- Make one of the turkeys, but not for the Thanksgiving dinner. We use this one for sandwiches and casseroles. This way we have a freshly made smaller turkey for Thanksgiving. I think smaller turkeys are easier to roast, don't tend to get dry (especially with the brine!) and fit better in my oven. I slice up the extra turkey and put it in ziplock bags.
- I prep as much of the food as possible. I don't cook anything, but I prepare everything so Thursday can be spent actually cooking the food.
- Bake the pies
- Brine the 2nd turkey for 24 hours
- Set up a large, stand-up cooler in the garage with drinks (beer, wine, soda, etc). My family comes in on Wednesday evening so we are all ready to go with drinks. I have extra bags of ice in the freezer of the garage refrigerator. Extra drinks are stored on the shelf under the cooler to be added as needed.

THURSDAY:

- Cook, cook, cook with my family. We all tend to pitch in.
- Make the kids clear the table and doc the dishes
- Enjoy my family!


I like the tips on this thread. Keep them coming. I've never made the gravy with the turkey from the day before, but I might try that this year. I also like the excel sheets or at least computer list that I can use each year. I will be stealing those ideas!

Happy Early Thanksgiving to all!

I don't have it with me, but I think it's this one, only with all milk rather than milk and water (be sure to scald and cool the milk so the dough rises better, and bread flour helps, too):

http://beckworldkitchen.blogspot.com/2006/03/richer-sweet-dough.html

http://www.thekitchn.com/why-do-some-baking-recipes-call-for-scalded-milk-230665

And I will add that I care about how well the dough rises because sometimes one of the child guests will want familiar, comforting foods, and puffy white bread rolls hit the spot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think something often overlooked is preparing for OTHER meals, if you have overnight or all-day guests. I make sure to bake, shop and prepare for the day-after brunch. I usually make and freeze sausage gravy and pumpkin bread the week before, cut up fruit salad the night before, etc.

The dough I use for dinner rolls can also be used for cinnamon rolls for breakfast the day of (it's a refrigerator dough, so it can be made Tuesday or Wednesday as baked as needed)

Would you mind sharing which recipe you use for the rolls? I wasn't thrilled with the one I used last year.

Completely agree with a well-written plan. Mine starts with the menu, then lists the ingredients. Those are divided into three groups: pantry items that I already have on hand; buy a week or more ahead of time; buy last minute. Some things just need to be purchased no earlier than Monday, but I simply cannot handle a massive grocery store run a couple of days before Thanksgiving - I want to duck in, grab the few things of milk/cream/produce that I need, and get out.

Next on my list is the cooking method, with temp/time. That drives a schedule for the day. I list all steps on my schedule, down to "trim the green beans" or "chop the pecans". It's the only way I can avoid feeling like I'm missing something once I'm in the middle of it!

Some things are better cooked the day before, like cranberry sauce or pecan pie. I do the rest of the cooking the day of, though ... although this is partially because I work on Wednesday, and Wednesday evening is full enough with cranberry sauce, pecan pie, and prep work. I'm not staying up until 1 am the night before Thanksgiving just to avoid cooking that day.

Reuse prep bowl, knives, and cookware after a quick wash.

Making one turkey the day before, with gravy, is genius. I don't have a big enough group to warrant 2 turkeys, but if we ever get a big extended family together I'm stealing this.

We don't have a real lunch, but will have munchies out mid-day: vegetables and dip, cheese and cracker tray with cold cuts, smoked salmon. I'm not above using paper plates for these, even though we pull out the fine china for the actual dinner.

My last thing is to make sure we have activities around for the kids. Let's face it, not all kids enjoy watching the parade/football, and they can get bored sitting around talking to aunts and uncles. Depending on the ages, a big jigsaw puzzle, tub of Legos, some craft event, and some balls in the yard help keep them happy, which helps keep their parents and the rest of the guests happy!

This thread reminds me of Martha Stewart's old Thanksgiving specials. Used to enjoy them, as a kind of armchair experience, even though I myself try to weasel out of hosting holidays.

Anonymous wrote:I think something often overlooked is preparing for OTHER meals, if you have overnight or all-day guests. I make sure to bake, shop and prepare for the day-after brunch. I usually make and freeze sausage gravy and pumpkin bread the week before, cut up fruit salad the night before, etc.

The dough I use for dinner rolls can also be used for cinnamon rolls for breakfast the day of (it's a refrigerator dough, so it can be made Tuesday or Wednesday as baked as needed)

Anonymous wrote:Pre-cooked turkey, never! Other dishes and desserts ahead of time? Fine.

Yes -- some things are actually better if they were cooked the day before. Not turkey.

Bump for this awesome thread!

Anonymous wrote:I think something often overlooked is preparing for OTHER meals, if you have overnight or all-day guests. I make sure to bake, shop and prepare for the day-after brunch. I usually make and freeze sausage gravy and pumpkin bread the week before, cut up fruit salad the night before, etc.

I bow to your organizational skills. I am such a slob.

I think something often overlooked is preparing for OTHER meals, if you have overnight or all-day guests. I make sure to bake, shop and prepare for the day-after brunch. I usually make and freeze sausage gravy and pumpkin bread the week before, cut up fruit salad the night before, etc.

Just found this thread. Love it! Thanks, all.

Anonymous wrote:I'm considering doing the gravy in advance this year. It's the one part of the meal that stresses me out, trying to get it all to come together at the last moment. I figure if I roast a breast or two the day before, I can carve them and freeze the leftovers to throw in pot pies later. Then use the drippings to make the gravy and just warm it the next day.

This is my plan... I like to have cooked roasted chicken on hand, so i figure turkey will work too! Also, we're having a smaller gathering with ham, too - so thinking about doing the full turkey ahead (freeze for leftovers and stock) and just a breast the day of

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the poster who offers a thanksgiving lunch of soup, when do you eat dinner? I feel like our thanksgiving dinner is always at some odd time in the afternoon, and part of the ritual is that everyone is starving because there was no lunch.

Not the soup poster, but when my family is involved, we set out sandwiches or soup at 11:30, then eat dinner at 5 or so.

My ILs do the no food til 3 thing...

Mine, too. We have learned to eat beforehand.

Anonymous wrote:For the poster who offers a thanksgiving lunch of soup, when do you eat dinner? I feel like our thanksgiving dinner is always at some odd time in the afternoon, and part of the ritual is that everyone is starving because there was no lunch.

Not the soup poster, but when my family is involved, we set out sandwiches or soup at 11:30, then eat dinner at 5 or so.

My ILs do the no food til 3 thing...