I have a menu! Actually two menus. The big Thanksgiving dinner is actually happening on Saturday but I figure I should mark actual Thanksgiving day. Lucia and I will have a small dinner. Confit turkey thighs Wild rice and wild mushroom dressing Greens (from garden) Miniature cranberry upside down cake. For the real dinner Small snacks (olives, smoked almonds, roasted garbanzos) Winter greens with shaved parmesan and roasted pears Herb and salt rubbed roast turkey with gravy Herbed dressing Vegetarian entree: Butternut squash and cheese turnovers Classic mashed potatoes Roasted sweet potatoes with maple glaze Green beans (from garden) with toasted almond/breadcrumb topping Dinner rolls Bran muffins Classic apple pie with homemade vanilla ice cream and warm caramel sauce Chocolate turtle pie with whipped cream Pumpkin cheesecake Wine and sparkling cider Alka-Seltzer
I smoked one last year for the first time and it came out great. I did the wet brine in a cooler for a few days before hand and it was very moist. Might try injecting this year and skipping the wet brine, just to mix things up. I really only eat turkey once a year unless I'm at a BBQ place that's known for good turkey. In fact that has kind of become my measure on how good you are at BBQ, everyone can do brisket and ribs at this point, but if you can do really good turkey, than you know your way around the pit!
That's interesting ... not sure I'm ready to try it just yet, probably need a few more years in the wife's family before I get totally experimental with this one. Why only the pepper/garlic salt, would no other spice rub hold up to it?
I'm going to brine my turkey for the first time, then smoke it on the Traeger. I'm also making dinner rolls (recipe from ATK book, best rolls ever), actually I'll have to make two batches of rolls, and I also make Mac n cheese. For my Mac I make home made noodles, which makes all the difference then I just throw a cheese sauce together. That's all my job, wife will take care of the rest, she is better at the details than I am.
Cook's Illustrated is offering a free one year subscription to a second person when I renew mine. I have asked around and gotten no interest. So, anyone want it? Message me before the week is out.
My baking stone broke, which got me looking at baking steels for a replacement. Has anyone used a baking steel? It sounds like it does everything a stone does except better?
I've not used one, but https://steelmadeusa.com/collections/pizza i the company I got my flat top griddle from, and I've been really happy with it