Thanksgiving 101

Talking Turkey

For each of the last eight years, I have prepared more than thirty Thanksgiving dinners for more than one thousand people. Turkey addict? Pumpkin pie groupie? A victim of gravy obsession syndrome? Yes, but there is a better reason. I travel all over the country teaching a cooking class called Thanksgiving 101. Now, everything I teach in my classes is in this book, with my favorite recipes, make-ahead tips, anecdotes, organization secrets, and insights into what makes this holiday so different from all others.

How did I become a Thanksgiving guru? In 1985, I started a catering company, Cuisine Americaine, and specialized in cooking regional American foods. And what is more American than Thanksgiving dinner? My customers loved my holiday spreads. In 1990, when Perdue Farms, one of the East Coast's largest poultry producers was looking for a media spokesperson to represent their turkey products, they came to me. I learned everything there is to know about turkey, spending lots of time on turkey farms and in the kitchen, and even wrote a cookbook on the subject.

Since then, I have traveled all over the country teaching Thanksgiving cooking classes and making television and radio appearances on how to have the perfect Thanksgiving meal. Everyone, from friends to television and radio appearances on how to have the perfect Thanksgiving meal. Everyone, from friends to television producers, calls me "Mr. Thanksgiving" or "The Turkey Meister."

One of the best things about my work as a cooking teacher is that I am in personal contact with our country's home cooks--I am not a restaurant chef who is out of touch with how people actually cook. No matter where I go, from Seattle to Miami, I ask my students about their personal Thanksgiving dishes and customs. First, Thanksgiving 101 is a collection of these favorite recipes--even if some of them start with a can of soup or a box of Jell-O. Some of Thanksgiving's most cherished recipes are brand-name specific. I call these "Classic Recipes," and I include some background on how they rose to the top to become holiday icons.

We all know the generic recipes that form the backbone of the quintessential Thanksgiving dinner. Mashed potatoes, gravy, piecrust, and stuffing all fit into this category. With practice, these dishes become simple, but they can intimidate novices and elude practiced cooks looking for the perfect version. These recipes are labeled "101," and if they seem long, it's because I have included extra details that even old hands can learn from.

What I hear most from my students is that they are desperate for help in organizing the meal. So, in addition to a host of tips, I've provided suggested complete menus with preparation and cooking timetables.

I have been gathering the recipes for this book for years, listening to thousands of American home cooks tell me about the fun (and fear) they experience while getting the big meal on the table. I promised them I would write a practical guide on this beloved holiday. Many of these recipes are downright simple, but that doesn't make them any less delicious. Thanksgiving 101 is a culinary insurance policy to having the best Turkey Day ever.

Happy Thanksgiving!


Perfect Roast Turkey with Best-Ever Gravy
Makes about 18 servings, with about 7 cups gravy

After trying every turkey roasting method under the sun, this is the one I come back to, and the one I always teach at my cooking classes. Instructions here are for an average-sized eighteen-pound turkey, but this recipe can be adapted to the size of your bird. Read the information on stuffing and gravy on pages 63-65 and 96-99. If you prefer to roast an unstuffed turkey, use the vegetable or herb seasonings on page 46.

One 18-pound fresh turkey
About 12 cups of your favorite stuffing
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Salt and freshly milled black pepper
2 12 quarts Homemade Turkey Stock (page 22), or as needed
Melted unsalted butter, if needed
34 cup all-purpose flour
13 cup bourbon, port, or dry sherry, optional

1. Position a rack in the lowest position of the oven and preheat to 325°F.

2. Reserve the turkey neck and giblets to use in gravy or stock. Rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water. Pat the turkey skin dry. Turn the turkey on its breast. Loosely fill the neck cavity with stuffing. Using a thin wooden or metal skewer, pin the neck skin to the back. Fold the turkey's wings akimbo behind the back or tie to the body with kitchen string. Loosely fill the large body cavity with stuffing. Place any remaining stuffing in a lightly buttered casserole, cover, and refrigerate to bake as a side dish. Place the drumsticks in the hock lock or tie together with kitchen string.

3. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Rub all over with the softened butter. Season with salt and pepper. Tightly cover the breast area with aluminum foil. Pour 2 cups of the turkey stock into the bottom of the pan.

4. Roast the turkey, basting all over every 30 minutes with the juices on the bottom of the pan (lift up the foil to reach the breast area), until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh (but not touching a bone) reads 180°F and the stuffing is at least 160°F, about 4 14 hours. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add stock to moisten them, about 1 12 cups at a time. Remove the foil during the last hour to allow the breast skin to brown.

5. Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter and let it stand for at least 20 minutes before carving. Increase the oven temperature to 350°F. Drizzle 12 cup turkey stock over the stuffing in the casserole, cover, and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, pour the drippings from the roasting pan into a heatproof glass bowl or large measuring cup. Let stand for 5 minutes, then skim off and reserve the clear yellow fat that has risen to the top. Measure 34 cup fat, adding melted butter if needed. Add enough turkey stock to the skimmed drippings to make 8 cups total.

7. Place the roasting pan in two stove burners over low heat and add the turkey fat. Whisk in the flour, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan, and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the turkey stock and the optional bourbon. Cook, whisking often, until the gravy has thickened and no trace of raw flour taste remains, about 5 minutes. Transfer the gravy to a warmed gravy boat. Carve the turkey and serve the gravy and the stuffing alongside.


Homemade Turkey Stock 101
Makes about 2 12 quarts
Make Ahead: The stock can be prepared and refrigerated for up to 3 days ahead or frozen for up to 3 months.

Every Thanksgiving Eve, I put on a big pot of stock to simmer overnight. Then I use it all Thanksgiving Day long. It is one of the secrets to a moist, beautifully colored roast bird with wonderful gravy, as in Perfect Roast Turkey on page 43. Some of the stock also goes into the stuffing, some usually gets turned into soup, and I often use it in my side dishes as well. The recipe is easily doubled or even tripled, assuming you have a stockpot big enough to hold the ingredients. If you want a smaller amount of stock, make the Small-Batch Turkey Stock variation on page 24. But don't worry about having too much stock. Any leftovers can be frozen, or used the next day to make a terrific soup.

Turkey parts with lots of bone, like wings and backs, make the best stock. Use the turkey neck, heart, and gizzard in the stock, but not the liver. (Liver makes the stock bitter.) When the stock is strained, you can retrieve the neck and giblets to use in...