I may be lazy, but I definitely don’t go hungry. My cooking devotion is directly proportional to the praise I receive. So, it’s going out for Thanksgiving Turkey. At least I still cook pies.
Still roast a turkey; as large as possible. Have you never heard of turkey sandwiches? Turkey in ramen? Turkey tetrazzini? Turkey fried rice? Left over turkey is da bomb.
Roast or fry all the turkey. Turkey leftovers are mandatory so you make too darn much turkey every time. Then make stock from the carcass. Then make turkey soup and turkey over noodles for comfort food, along with turkey and turkey club sandwiches.
Dad used to cook two 18-22 pound turkeys every Thanksgiving; we’d have turkey for a couple of months! It was awesome!.
On the years that someone else in the family is hosting Thanksgiving, I cook a turkey dinner for my husband and me anyway, because as others have mentioned, leftover turkey is most excellent.
Cook the whole thing. Eat your favorite parts on the day of. Use leftovers for other dishes. As long as you have other leftovers you can have thanksgiving dinner every day for a few days. Then make turkey and noodles.
Brine the turkey ahead of time if roasting (idk if that’s okay for frying) You’ll never have a dry turkey again. I use Alton Browns brine and roasting method. The turkey comes out juicy and delicious without taking all day.
My husband just bought an 18 pound turkey just for the two of us But…I’ll put it in an electric roaster oven in the living room, the turkey will be rubbed with rosemary and the whole tiny house will smell simply amazing! I guess I’ll have lots of casseroles.
It used to be possible to get a grocery store meat counter to simple saw a huge frozen turkey in half the long way. Roast just one half now, cavity down. Re-wrap the other half, toss it in the freezer and roast later.
It worked wonderfully, reducing a 24# giant to a couple manageable 12# batches. And bigger bird’s meat is much easier to pick off the bones.
I thought about DIY now with my trusty Sawzall, but worry about bone chips and anything else that might go wrong.
@romellex This got me thinking further. I think I could manage to saw a fresh bird in half. They are a little more expensive, but I’ve always wanted to try one. This could be my chance.
@romellex I had actually commented about cutting a turkey in half but then I saw you said frozen and deleted my comment. If you follow the spatchcocking part of how to remove the spine, then you can just cut along the breast bone. No reciprocating saw needed.
I instinctively chose “deep fry the turkey,” but I might actually be doing a duck in my combi for Thanksgiving. I am perfectly okay with turkey leftovers, though, as long as it’s properly dry brined and roasted or fried.
After you pick the meat off the carcass, boil those bones (in the roasting pan to pick up the flavor of the drippings). Add things you like that would enhance the broth - onion especially, but it is up to you. Then use some of the broth to pour over the meat before you freeze it (keeps it moist). Freeze the rest of the broth also for great soup and gravy.
it’s only ever two of us when i cook and i still roast a whole turkey. for awhile i would just poach some turkey breasts & thighs, but a few years ago i decided i wanted to try roasting the whole bird myself. i got the smallest one i could, and between a couple rounds of actual dinner, plus eating it out of the fridge, a turkey pot pie, and a round of open face hot turkey sandwiches, there’s really nothing left. carcass and wings for turkey stock.
Break down the turkey into the 8 parts (leg, thigh, breast, wing) a properly thawed turkey can be refrozen for later. Only roast what you will eat in a couple days. There are only 2 of us and we will actually get 2 full turkeys with the seasonal sales making a 20# turkey about $6.00.
We have always just been two for Thanksgiving. We make filet mignon seared in Grandma Ou’s cast iron skillet and finished in the oven. Then two sides (usually a veggie and a starch) and a bread item. We rarely make it to dessert, but the pumpkin pie is there. Oh and we watch Chopped and drink hard cider with a drinking game I found on the internet many years ago.
@mike808 Yes, you’d season each bag with sage, rosemary, butter, thyme sprigs, and shalltos. After sous vide the turkey at different temps, depending on the meat, you put it to the oven to brown the skin for about 25 mins. Everything sous vide comes out great!
Doing a chicken and I’ll still have plenty of leftovers because I’ll be the only one eating it - my wife and I are having our own Thanksgiving dinner and she doesn’t eat meat!
When I was growing up, we always had a capon for thanksgiving for our small family. Bigger than a chicken, tastier than a turkey. I think I’ll do that this year.
If 4 or more, do the whole bird. 3 or less, Cornish game hen each
My tradition is Chinese food. And you can always find a Chinese restaurant open.
@kittykat9180 Just like on Christmas Eve…
@ELJAY, I may try rotisserie chicken this year with my new air fryer/rotisserie/dehydrator. Maybe it’s time to change it up.
I may be lazy, but I definitely don’t go hungry. My cooking devotion is directly proportional to the praise I receive. So, it’s going out for Thanksgiving Turkey. At least I still cook pies.
Given the circumstances this year, turkey breast cold cuts.
Still roast a turkey; as large as possible. Have you never heard of turkey sandwiches? Turkey in ramen? Turkey tetrazzini? Turkey fried rice? Left over turkey is da bomb.
@SpyreFox Watch out for the Bumpus hounds!
@SpyreFox Turkey & cranberry enchiladas with a mole sauce.
@SpyreFox turkey pot pie!!!
Turkey Gumbo!
Roast or fry all the turkey. Turkey leftovers are mandatory so you make too darn much turkey every time. Then make stock from the carcass. Then make turkey soup and turkey over noodles for comfort food, along with turkey and turkey club sandwiches.
Dad used to cook two 18-22 pound turkeys every Thanksgiving; we’d have turkey for a couple of months! It was awesome!.
LEGOS! EGGOS! STRATEGO! AWESOME!
On the years that someone else in the family is hosting Thanksgiving, I cook a turkey dinner for my husband and me anyway, because as others have mentioned, leftover turkey is most excellent.
Ham!
Cook the whole thing. Eat your favorite parts on the day of. Use leftovers for other dishes. As long as you have other leftovers you can have thanksgiving dinner every day for a few days. Then make turkey and noodles.
Brine the turkey ahead of time if roasting (idk if that’s okay for frying) You’ll never have a dry turkey again. I use Alton Browns brine and roasting method. The turkey comes out juicy and delicious without taking all day.
@remo28 I would be concerned a brined turkey would be too wet to lower safely into hot oil. Just saying.
@tweezak i dry brine my turkey
#teamchicken
My husband just bought an 18 pound turkey just for the two of us
But…I’ll put it in an electric roaster oven in the living room, the turkey will be rubbed with rosemary and the whole tiny house will smell simply amazing! I guess I’ll have lots of casseroles.
I roast a number of turkey thighs for the two of us. We go to relatives on Thanksgiving. Then we have our leftovers.
Spatchcock the bird, inject it full of Cajun butter, then roast it on the pellet smoker. Sweet, smokey, juicy… just the best turkey ever.
Make the biggest turkey that will fit on the grill. No matter how many people, none will go to waste.
@2many2no You sound like my brother.
@2many2no @tweezak
spatchcocking FTW!
It used to be possible to get a grocery store meat counter to simple saw a huge frozen turkey in half the long way. Roast just one half now, cavity down. Re-wrap the other half, toss it in the freezer and roast later.
It worked wonderfully, reducing a 24# giant to a couple manageable 12# batches. And bigger bird’s meat is much easier to pick off the bones.
I thought about DIY now with my trusty Sawzall, but worry about bone chips and anything else that might go wrong.
@romellex This got me thinking further. I think I could manage to saw a fresh bird in half. They are a little more expensive, but I’ve always wanted to try one. This could be my chance.
@romellex I had actually commented about cutting a turkey in half but then I saw you said frozen and deleted my comment. If you follow the spatchcocking part of how to remove the spine, then you can just cut along the breast bone. No reciprocating saw needed.
/youtube how to spatchcock turkey
@romellex I say, Sawzall away!
/giphy saws
I think this is going to work. Thank you RiotDemon for the info and encouragement.
@romellex
I keep a dedicated pair of aviator snips for that purpose. Spatchcocking is pretty much the only way I do turkey any more.
After I looked it up, I learned my tin snips are close enough to your aviator snips to do the job. I’d never have thought of using them. Thank you!
I instinctively chose “deep fry the turkey,” but I might actually be doing a duck in my combi for Thanksgiving. I am perfectly okay with turkey leftovers, though, as long as it’s properly dry brined and roasted or fried.
Whole bird, freeze whatever you don’t think you’ll eat in the next few days, make and freeze broth from the carcass. Make sure it didn’t die in vain.
We’re going to Ruth’s Chris for their turkey special. Hopefully we’ll have some left over for Black Friday.
Cook as you always would. Big turkey and all the fixings, after all, even if it’s just you, YOU ARE SPECIAL! Do something nice for yourself.
After you pick the meat off the carcass, boil those bones (in the roasting pan to pick up the flavor of the drippings). Add things you like that would enhance the broth - onion especially, but it is up to you. Then use some of the broth to pour over the meat before you freeze it (keeps it moist). Freeze the rest of the broth also for great soup and gravy.
Celery’s good, too. And leek.
it’s only ever two of us when i cook and i still roast a whole turkey. for awhile i would just poach some turkey breasts & thighs, but a few years ago i decided i wanted to try roasting the whole bird myself. i got the smallest one i could, and between a couple rounds of actual dinner, plus eating it out of the fridge, a turkey pot pie, and a round of open face hot turkey sandwiches, there’s really nothing left. carcass and wings for turkey stock.
@jerk_nugget
yep. sounds like our house. You eat everything but the “gobble” (to paraphrase the pork saying)
Break down the turkey into the 8 parts (leg, thigh, breast, wing) a properly thawed turkey can be refrozen for later. Only roast what you will eat in a couple days. There are only 2 of us and we will actually get 2 full turkeys with the seasonal sales making a 20# turkey about $6.00.
We have always just been two for Thanksgiving. We make filet mignon seared in Grandma Ou’s cast iron skillet and finished in the oven. Then two sides (usually a veggie and a starch) and a bread item. We rarely make it to dessert, but the pumpkin pie is there. Oh and we watch Chopped and drink hard cider with a drinking game I found on the internet many years ago.
@Wolfidy this sounds wonderful.
Slice up the raw meat from the turkey and sous vide it.
@goldnectar How does that come out? Do you “roast” it under the broiler? Seasoning? Brining?
@mike808 Yes, you’d season each bag with sage, rosemary, butter, thyme sprigs, and shalltos. After sous vide the turkey at different temps, depending on the meat, you put it to the oven to brown the skin for about 25 mins. Everything sous vide comes out great!
Here’s the link to the recipe I use.
https://blog.williams-sonoma.com/the-best-way-to-sous-vide-your-thanksgiving-turkey/
Doing a chicken and I’ll still have plenty of leftovers because I’ll be the only one eating it - my wife and I are having our own Thanksgiving dinner and she doesn’t eat meat!
@Ldfzm
that’s when you are supposed to fix lamb…
When I was growing up, we always had a capon for thanksgiving for our small family. Bigger than a chicken, tastier than a turkey. I think I’ll do that this year.
Lasagna.
We’re roasting a turkey breast for the two of us. Everybody knows the main reason for turkey is sandwiches with the leftovers!