Deb's Thanksgiving thread

Deb

New member
I love Thanksgiving. It gives me a chance to really do what I love to do... cook;)

I start planning and prepping early - everything is homemade and as much as possible is local. I do it all and don't let anyone bring anything other than beverages........


Here's the start:

Roasted Turkey Stock...... I don't rely on the drippings from the turkey for gravy. I always make a roasted turkey stock to use for the gravy and for the stuffing.

Carrots, onions, celery, shallot, garlic, rosemary, thyme , salt, peppercorns tossed with some olive oil
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Turkey (wings, thighs, necks) with thyme, sage, marjoram, pepper, salt, garlic on racks above veggies (I ended up rearranging later)
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In the Traeger... pecan & cherry...... hour of smoke and then cranked it up to start the roasting process

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to be continued...........
 

Deb

New member
While we are waiting for the turkey & veg to roast for the stock...... I did this a week or so ago when I was smoking a turkey meatloaf - most of it went into the freezer for Thanksgiving. I made this one up last year and actually measured & wrote down the ingredients this year....

If you have never made cranberry sauce it is incredibly easy.

Cran-Blueberry Sauce

1 12oz bag cranberries
1 cup of water
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp dried lemon zest
2 Tbsp crystallized ginger, minced
2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries

Put all in saucepan, mix, bring to a boil & then turn down to simmer. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes until the cranberries pop and it starts to thicken.

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Missed a pic of the sauce cooled
 

Deb

New member
Stock update:

getting brown & roasty

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veggies aren't roasted yet, I took out the turkey and left the veggies in

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turkey, some herbs in the stock pot, I'll add some water & start it then I'll add the veggies in a bit

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veggies added:
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Last edited:

SisInLaw

New member
Man, there's nothing better than home made stock. I like your idea of adding blueberries to the cranberry sauce, too. Nice work there, Deb!
 

Deb

New member
after simmering for hours, the house smells pretty good

almost 4 qtrs of stock & 2 gallons of stuff destined for the trash.
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after a night in the fridge - the fat & scum is on the top so it's easy to scrape off. The stock is like jello

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to be continued (again ;) )
 

Deb

New member
Great idea starting early! Do you freeze or can the stock until needed?

I froze it. I thought about canning it but freezing was easier for short term. I want to do some right after thanksgiving and might can that batch, the freezer is pretty full at the moment.
 

cowgirl

New member
I froze it. I thought about canning it but freezing was easier for short term. I want to do some right after thanksgiving and might can that batch, the freezer is pretty full at the moment.
Thanks Deb! I have a herd of company coming for the week.. I think I'll do as you and make some of this in advance!
 

Deb

New member
Yikes, I'm behind in my thanksgiving prep, I got a good start and then stuff happened......

Trying to get caught up so I can relax a little on Thursday - I try to have everything possible prepped by Wednesday

So...... today.........

Cranberry Sauce 2 ---- Cran-apple sauce

12 oz cranberries
2 large apples, peeled and diced
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup maple sugar
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
(you could use 1 cup regular or brown sugar in place of the maple & vanilla sugar)
1 tsp cinnamon

Put all in saucepan, mix, bring to a boil & then turn down to simmer. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes until the cranberries pop and it starts to thicken.

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I had room in the Traeger when cooking dinner so I threw a pumpkin in. It's destined for maple cheesecake with pumpkin swirl

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Deb

New member
Stuffing Bread (baked on the Traeger because I can ;) and because it was already on)

my stuffing starts out with this bread, I baked it tonight and will cube and dry tomorrow

from King Arthur website - the only difference is that I used King Arthur Whole Wheat flour instead of all purpose

it's an easy recipe - throw everything in a bowl - flour, sunflower seeds, potato flour, cornmeal, toasted sesame seeds, dry milk, oil, yeast, poultry seasoning, water

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mix it up & knead

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let rise for an hour, shape loaves, rise for about 45 minutes, bake

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