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[Kristin Meredith]

Preparations begin!  Made the cranberry sauce with whole, fresh cranberries yesterday.  I also add some canned pears and pear juice to it per a recipe from my Mom. 

Focusing on dressing today.  Will make two kinds -- "regular" bread stuffing (I just use pre-seasoning and pre-made bagged bread cubes and add cooked onions, celery and chicken stock) and also cornbread dressing.  I think I may be the only one in the family who likes cornbread dressing, so I get to make as I like -- cooked onions and celery, but also sautéed apples and raisins and Michigan cherries this year (thanks again to Sally and jdmessner)! Since Bent doesn't cornbread dressing, this year I am soaking the raisins and cherries in an Australian sweet red wine (have no idea where that came from but going to use it!  Raisins and cherries are soaking in the mug in the photo.).  Will put in a big pan and in the frig and cook tomorrow. Finished the cornbread earlier this morning.

What about you folks?  What are you prepping today for tomorrow?

[urnmor]

I am baking a pumpkin and mincemeat pie and have already made an apple pie  and chocolate pumpkin cheesecake squares.  Later I will be making cranberry sauce and also the batter for my pumpkin muffins. I let them sit over night and put them in at 6 am tomorrow. Oh also will dry brine the 19 pound turkey.

[02ebz06]

Brining the turkey, boiling the potatoes, and making Pumpkin Spice pudding.
Wife may make the cranberries.
She eats them, I don't.

[Hank D Thoreau]

Defrosting the turkey.

[02ebz06]

Defrosting the turkey.

In one day ?
We put ours in the fridge Saturday.
Still had some ice inside when putting it in brine today.

[ofelles]

Cooking up a BIG pot of turkey stock.  Using the carcass and parts form the smoked bird.  House smells fantastic!  Finished the shopping for thanksgiving on Friday.  Just the Daughter and her Partner instead of all the kids and grandkids.   
 

[hughver]

Baking dinner roles and making sweet potato/pecan casserole.

[Bentley]

If you like the tradition of carving a whole Wood Roasted bird on Thanksgiving, this method would not be acceptable for you.  I prefer all parts cook to their correct temperature for texture, and this is the only way I can achieve it!  I cannot remember who I saw post on this 1st?  I wanna say pmillen, he can correct me if I am wrong.  It works very well for our tastes in Turkey. Breast and Wings about 160°, moist and firm.  Legs and Thighs about 200° and fork tender

I always get to part it out.  It is a 22lb. Butterball that I was to lazy to brine. Something important was going on I am sure, computer game, TV show, you know...

[TravlinMan]

Just a chill day here, had a family dinner when we all together about a month back, before this latest round of crud started back up. 

The standards, turkey, mashed taters, stuffing, apple and pumpkin pies, home made bread and rolls, sweet potato casserole, cheese tray etc.

Rented a local event hall for the family for the day.

All had a good day, and didn’t have to clean and prep the house for a crowd, and lots of room to mingle without stepping on each other. 

[02ebz06]

If you like the tradition of carving a whole Wood Roasted bird on Thanksgiving, this method would not be acceptable for you.  I prefer all parts cook to their correct temperature for texture, and this is the only way I can achieve it!  I cannot remember who I saw post on this 1st?  I wanna say pmillen, he can correct me if I am wrong.  It works very well for our tastes in Turkey. Breast and Wings about 160°, moist and firm.  Legs and Thighs about 200° and fork tender

I always get to part it out.  It is a 22lb. Butterball that I was to lazy to brine. Something important was going on I am sure, computer game, TV show, you know...

Spatchcocking to the extreme...   

[Hank D Thoreau]

I was thinking of trying my turkey in the smoker this year but found some food safety warnings regarding the time spent at low temperatures.

Rather than crank my smoker to high, I will cooks it on my Weber charcoal grill and maybe use a smoker tube.

I was considering dry brining but I got a Butterball and they are pre-brined. That's a good thing. We didn't have space for wet brining and were going to dry brine.

I just finished breakfast of potatoes with onions and peppers, sausage, kielbasa and eggs on my Rhino Blue Razor griddle.

Now I get to rest before I have to start cooking the turkey.

I think Bently has the right idea parting the turkey. But while Bently was admittedly too lazy to brine, I am WAY too lazy to part.

[02ebz06]

I was thinking of try my turkey in the smoker this year but found some food safety warnings regarding the time spent at low temperatures.

You have a few hours (4 I think) for it to be between 40 and 140.
I have mine on now.
Put on at 9:00am at 180 for 1 hour to smoke.
Then bumped to 380.
It's 11:35am now and IT of breast is 155.
Will be done in less than 3 hours.

[Hank D Thoreau]

That's what I read as well. Four hours to 140. Since I don't have the timing down in the smoker I decided to play it safe.

Actually, my ex brother-in-law was the person who first showed me that you can bbq a turkey. After seeing that I have done it for years on my Weber.

He tried different approaches: bbq, smoking and deep frying. I actually liked the bbq turkey the best of the three.

After seeing the dryer video, I am seriously considering giving that a try. That was a great looking turkey. I don't have any dryer sheets though to use when finishing the turkey.

[Bar-B-Lew]

I think the risk of the 4 hours inside the temp window is mostly for smoking large birds and without spatchcocking them.

[Bentley]

I do not "smoke" my turkey.  I wood Roast it, I cook it just like I would in my oven.  325°, the only difference is I use hardwood to generate the temperature.