Cut the bird into its component bits (breasts, wings, thighs, legs), smoke them individually. Cooking the bird whole just leads to dry turkey.
this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2025
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This is the way. The light meat and dark meat need to cook for different amounts of time. If you cook the bird whole then one of them will always be overdone or underdone.
There’s only one correct way to have a whole turkey and that’s to heavily season the skin, stuff the meat with garlic, and deep fry it in peanut oil.
I don't deep fry, but I do brine it and cook it upside down so the breasts don't dry out.
Brine is first and then try the rest of those steps. It will blow your mind.
Usually, I brine, sous vide and smoke a turkey, but this year we decided to change it up and make pumpkin seed mole enchiladas, filled with turkey thighs braised in the style of Mexican birria, roasted squash, mushrooms and goat cheese.
We're serving that with cilantro rice, roasted fresh green beans with sweet garlic and crispy shallots, and a nice big green salad.
For desert, I'm making apple crisp and a pumpkin pie goat cheese ice cream.
I'm keeping it simple this year. Turkey, rolls, gravy, and a roasted root veggie mix (carrots, turnips, and potatoes).
I've given up on stuffing and cranberry sauce - I've never had a variant I've liked.
Honestly, I can get DOWN on some Stove Top.
Not even making your own? Cranberry sauce I mean.
For turkey: throw it away and make something good. Prime rib usually converts the olds once they can smell it.
If grandma insists on a goddamn classic turkey, tell her that this is her version of her mother-in-law's fucking microwaved lutefisk and spatchcock or break down the bird. Make your stuffing in a separate pan, there's no reason to even chance salmonella on your bread.
To OP, agreed, canned french cut green beans, but fuck Campbell's and their shitty cream soups. Make your own cream sauce. Maybe try something coconut cream-based and lean into some light curry flavors (ignore Grandpa's protestations about it being different and weird). We get enough food monoculture with this stupid meal.
And if you're making sweet potatoes, for the sake of anything sacred, don't make that candy-sweet marshmallow and brown sugar abomination. Chop and roast them on a pan with oil adding only savory spices. The sweet potato is already sweet (hint: it's in the name).
I sense your anger, Gordon Ramsay. Let the hate flow through your gravy. I'm a purist with poultry on Thanksgiving though.
Haha, I'm no Gordon Ramsay. I just grew up in upper Midwest USA turkey country where black pepper was spicy, Italian seasoning was exotic, and ketchup went with everything (thanks to the ketchup advisory board, of course). I had way, way too many awful dry, bland thanksgiving meals.
I still have yet to have some turkey that really changes my mind about it. The closest I've come is a heritage turkey we paid something like $14/lb for 10 years ago. It was ultimately pretty tasty, but definitely not worth the hassle of procurement, cost, and obviously doesn't scale (I think it was a 9lb bird).
I knew when you mentioned lutefisk you were upper Midwest. Minnesota is awesome but the weird fish thing is weird.
Not the biggest fan of turkey because no one I know how to cook one properly. I like getting a Peking duck from a Chinese place.
I will throw it in an oven and hope for the best. So far praying to the turkey gods has worked out so I'll keep doing that.
I'm making dinner rolls from king Arthur's website and those are usually nice. Made with dried potato flakes, fun fun.
This may be an unpopular method, but we like it. We'll just get a turkey breast or rarely a whole bird and cook it in a bag with a little broth, spices -usually garlic, pepper and lots of paprika. Punch a couple holes in the top of the bag and cook at 325-350F. Nice to have meat we can stretch into many meals over a couple weeks.
That honestly depends on if your recipe is liquid heavy or not.
I like it dense.
Ehhhh, I more mean if I'm using a lot of dry ingredients I prefer canned, with wet ingredients I use fresh.
Often, simple is king. I throw a basic white bread mix in the machine with a bunch of rosemary. Always a big hit.
Gotta leave it out overnight though so it gets a little stale.
Nah warm and soft for me.