Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to spend with family and friends, sharing in the company of each other. Unless you’re the one in the kitchen. If you’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner yourself this year, spare yourself some time by using these tips to help you get things done more efficiently and avoid spending the entire day locked in the kitchen without compromising one bit of flavor!
- First, let’s talk turkey
Whether you’ve roasted a dry bird the previous years or this is your first one, the best way to get it to be juicy on the inside isn’t by way of basting. You actually don’t need to baste your bird very often. The secret is butter. LOTS of butter. Stick pats of it under the skin, inside the bird, and underneath it. If you have a fancy roasting tray, great, but if not, no need to spend the money. Using a layer of sliced onions and butter under the turkey will help the air circulate as needed and give it more flavor. This way, you spend less time checking on that turkey and more time celebrating.
- Make stuffing personal
You know what’s just as time-consuming as making Thanksgiving dinner? Portioning out the leftovers for your guests to take home. This year, make your famous stuffing in muffin tins and you’ll have the perfect portions for everyone.
- Prep veggies the night before
Even in big gourmet kitchens, counter space is precious on Thanksgiving Day. With so much going on, you can save yourself a step by chopping those carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and peppers the night before. Store them in airtight containers in your fridge and you’ll have them all ready to go when you need them.
- Don’t prepare custom drinks for everyone
When you’re not in the kitchen, you’re behind the bar making everyone all the oddball drinks they can think of. Stop the madness and either set out a make-your-own cocktail bar with a few crowd-pleasing options, make one big bowl of holiday punch (without alcohol so the kids can enjoy it with plenty of vodka, gin, or rum nearby for adults to add what they wish), or set out a few bottles of wine and beer choices in an ice chest. Done and done!
- Make whipped cream in a flash
Don’t want to pull the mixer out again or dirty up another bowl to whip that heavy cream into a gorgeous topping? We don’t blame you. Instead, grab a mason jar and add your heavy cream plus sugar, tighten the lid and shake it up. This is the ideal task to release stress too after being asked nosy questions by relatives.
With these tips, you’ll cut down the amount of stress you’ll feel while preparing the meal and actually get more time to yourself. They won’t prevent your relatives from annoying, but at least you can spare yourself some of the stress!