Katie wrote:This seems to be our most recent Thanksgiving thread, so I hope you won't mind my asking this question here. We will be just three for Thanksgiving dinner. I would like to find the smallest turkey I can. Any suggestions? I know that the longer I wait, the harder it will be to find a non-monster-sized turkey. I also know that this Saturday and Sunday will be crazy at the grocery stores. I work at home, so I have the luxury of going out during the day tomorrow to shop, but not the luxury to stray too far from the Mundelein/Libertyville/Vernon Hills area. My grocery store options are Sunset, Mariano's, Jewel (aka the Jewels ), Garden Fresh Market, Aldi's, and if time permits, Fresh Farms Wheeling.

If I can't find a small turkey, I will probably fall back on buying a turkey breast and thighs separately. Sunset usually has both whole Hoka turkeys and Hoka turkey breasts around Thanksgiving. At least one other place around here (Garden Fresh?) has alsosold Hokas in previous years, though I didn't see it mentioned in this week's flyer.

You can try calling your store of choice and pre-ordering a small turkey. As mentioned above, Fresh Farms sells Ho-Ka turkeys and are presently taking orders. If you need a small turkey, specifically ordering one is your best bet.

I just went by Fresh Farms Niles to pick up our bird, and found that the HoKa turkeys won't be delivered until tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 22). I don't want to drive back over there again, so I went with an Amish bird this year (Chouxfly says I shouldn't use a digital thermometer on it).

Pie Lady wrote:All I know for sure is Sweet Potato Pie with a Sesame Brittle Topping, turkey breast and legs (no carving for me this year), and corn pudding. And lots of drinks with Campari.

Oh good, you decided to cook!

Ho-Ka turkeys are currently $2.99 per pound (although it is listed as a sale price) at Treasure Island and seem to be in relatively abundant supply (at least at the Clybourn Store). Picked up a 17-pounder today, will go with a dry brine probably starting Tuesday, and then smoke on the Big Green Egg on Thanksgiving. I do think the smoked turkey is nice, but another huge benefit to me for that method of cooking is opening up the oven for everything else.

I'm starting my dry brine today (starting the air chill on Wednesday). I love the idea of smoking the bird, but I also love the roasted version. Maybe I'll pick up a cheap one on Friday and we'll smoke over the weekend...

Thanks for posting the link to the gluten free recipes. I had wanted to make roasted brussels sprouts, but not enough sprouts fans in the family. The sauteed green beans with pickled shallots sound great! We don't do green bean casserole, but we do have 1 traditional gloppy veg casserole on the menu, so the green beans will be a terrific alternative. Now just need to figure out a gf dessert without needing to buy a bunch of special ingredients.

Trader Joe's, at least the one near me (on Clybourn) had smaller birds - pre-brined. I saw none under 13 lb, but that seems pretty small as turkeys go.

knitgirl wrote:. Now just need to figure out a gf dessert without needing to buy a bunch of special ingredients.

Ice cream sundaes.

pairs4life wrote:

knitgirl wrote:. Now just need to figure out a gf dessert without needing to buy a bunch of special ingredients.

Ice cream sundaes.

Or chocolate mousse, made with gluten-free chocolate?

I found an 11-pound fresh turkey at Jewel on Saturday evening. They only had one other that small at the time, but two dozen or so larger ones. Before that I had stopped at the Mundelein Garden Fresh Market, and they did have a dozen or more fresh HoKa turkeys (note to anyone who goes looking: they are well away from the frozen turkeys, over past the dairy products), but they and the frozen turkeys were considerably larger than what I wanted.

I didn't necessarily seek out a fresh rather than a frozen turkey, I bought based on size. So I put it in the freezer and plan to take it out on Tuesday AM and start defrosting and dry brining it in the refrigerator. I hope I'm doing the right thing with that timing.

I'm in charge of the turkey, which I'll be dry-brining and butterflying . . . have never done this with a turkey, but I love trying new things. I'll also be making the gravy and a hasselback potato gratin.

Other items on the menu that I won't be preparing include a couple of our family traditions -- challah and matzoh ball soup -- along with a sourdough-chestnut stuffing, cranberry sauce, some kind of green bean dish and of course, pumpkin pie.

Do we have an existing thread on whether or not to stuff the turkey? I didn't find one by searching. I was thinking of creating a poll, but I decided to ask in this thread. *Without getting into the debate on the wording, stuffing vs dressing --- I'm just going to call it stuffing here *, what are your thoughts on cooking stuffing in the turkey or not? I've never done it before, but thought I might this year, and researched instructions re extra cooking time and target temperature and such.

Then, two of the first three people I mentioned this plan to said "don't do it," for safety reasons. I'm reminded of a great West Wing episode in which President Bartlett calls the Butterball Hotlline to ask if it's true that if he cooks the stuffing in the turkey he might kill his family and quickly adds, "I'm not saying that's a dealbreaker."

I tried it a few times and am so much happier with the dressing outside the bird. It's just so much easier to tell when bird AND dressing are up to temperature, I can do the dressing earlier and then warm it while the bird is resting, it cuts down the roasting time of the bird significantly which means I can roast it more evenly and quickly... it just makes so much more sense in my kitchen to do them separately.

Katie wrote:Do we have an existing thread on whether or not to stuff the turkey? I didn't find one by searching. I was thinking of creating a poll, but I decided to ask in this thread. *Without getting into the debate on the wording, stuffing vs dressing --- I'm just going to call it stuffing here *, what are your thoughts on cooking stuffing in the turkey or not? I've never done it before, but thought I might this year, and researched instructions re extra cooking time and target temperature and such.

Then, two of the first three people I mentioned this plan to said "don't do it," for safety reasons. I'm reminded of a great West Wing episode in which President Bartlett calls the Butterball Hotlline to ask if it's true that if he cooks the stuffing in the turkey he might kill his family and quickly adds, "I'm not saying that's a dealbreaker."

In my opinion, by the time your stuffing reaches the necessary internal temperature, the bird will have dried out. I would never do it. And the stuffing will not be ready when the bird reaches its correct temperature.

HI,

Cook's Illustrated is always evolving its turkey cooking methods. They like their stuffing cooked in the turkey, though they also like it crispy.

They have you unfold and line the interior with cheesecloth. Think of it as a sheet with the center in the bird and rest sticking out.

They use the microwave to heat the stuffing to very hot, then spoon it into the turkey.

About an hour before the turkey will be ready, they pulled out the stuffing allowing the turkey to continue cooking. They finished the stuffing in a baking pan to finish cooking and crisping.

If you leave the stuffing in to the end, that's ok because they did at CI until last year or so. Preheating brings the interior to temperature fast and avoiding the dry breast.

If you brine, you will never have the problem of dried meat even if you go over ideal cooking temperature.

Regards,

With all due respect to CI, that seems like a hell of a lot of work for the average person cooking a typical Thanksgiving dinner.

BR wrote:With all due respect to CI, that seems like a hello of a lot of work for the average person cooking a typical Thanksgiving dinner.

I agree! If I'm going to put that stuffing in a pan after it's been in the turkey, I may as well just start with it in a pan. I'll pour some of the pan juices over the stuffing to give it that "cooked in turkey cavity" flavor.

BR wrote:With all due respect to CI, that seems like a hell of a lot of work for the average person cooking a typical Thanksgiving dinner.

I guess I am not average, I do what works well. They are fussy, though the result is excellent.

Regards,

I've always cooked mine inside the bird, and never had an issue with dry turkey.
But I do like the idea of microwaving it a bit before I put it in.
Maybe I'll try that.

irisarbor wrote:I've always cooked mine inside the bird, and never had an issue with dry turkey.
But I do like the idea of microwaving it a bit before I put it in.
Maybe I'll try that.

Another reason why CI advocated microwaving, to keep the stuffing in the danger zone for a shorter period of time.

Regards,

We got our turkey spatchcocked, so we'll just put down a layer of stuffing and lay the flattened bird on top.

Thanksgiving Plating

I stuff my turkey with hot stuffing and have never had a problem. I usually also reheat some in a separate dish because I make a lot and because vegetarians can then eat it.

bean wrote:Thanksgiving Plating

EvA wrote:

pairs4life wrote:

knitgirl wrote:. Now just need to figure out a gf dessert without needing to buy a bunch of special ingredients.

Ice cream sundaes.

Or chocolate mousse, made with gluten-free chocolate?

Since I don't have to go totally gluten free (just trying to minimize it), I decided to go with a lemon pudding cake I'd made before from Deborah Madison's "The Savory Way." It's got 6 T of flour in it for a recipe that serves 10 - 12 people. I did consider chocolate mousse or flourless chocolate cake, but I think after the heaviness of everything else, the lemon will be refreshing.

Cathy2, thanks for posting the link for the gluten free Thanksgiving. I made the green beans with pickled shallots and they were a hit. I'd change a couple of things, the recipe says to pour off the pickling liquid after an hour. I don't think that's necessary. They pickle nicely in that amount of time, but mixed into the green beans, they didn't seem very pickled. I'd also either use at least twice as many shallots (and then save half for another use), or cut back on the quantity of pickling liquid. 4 shallots don't need a cup of vinegar and a cup of water.