- Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
- Lemon Dill Carrots
- Apple Turnip Mash
- Apple Sausage Stuffing
- Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake
Unstuffed Hours
8 to 12 pounds -- 2 3/4 to 3 hours
12 to 14 pounds -- 3 to 3 3/4 hours
14 to 18 pounds -- 3 3/4 to 4 1/4 hours
18 to 20 pounds -- 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 hours
20 to 24 pounds -- 4 1/2 to 5 hours
Stuffed Hours
8 to 12 pounds -- 3-3 1/2 hours
12 to 14 pounds -- 3 1/2 - 4 hours
14 to 18 pounds -- 4-4 1/2 hours
18 to 20 pounds --4 1/2 - 4 3/4 hours
20 to 24 pounds --4 3/4 - 5 1/4
If in doubt, use use a meat thermometer (available at most grocery stores and kitchen shops) to determine the correct degree of doneness. Turkey is done when meat in the thigh reaches 180°F or (meat in the breast in finished at 170°F).
Here is a step by step plan to get you through the day:
10:00 am - Begin the dinner rolls cover
the dough, set aside in a warm place for the first rising. Your dough
will sit on your warm stove top and simply do it's thing all day. You
will let this dough rise three times - which just means it grows about
twice it's normal size - kind of like me after eating this dinner. You
will simply put your fist into the middle of the dough to take the air
out and then let it rise again. (follow dinner rollshttp://mavensprintablerecipes.blogspot.com/2010/09/dinner-rolls.html link to the recipe. The instructions are all there)
11:00 am - Remove the giblets from the turkey and cover with 2 cups of chicken stock, 1 stalk celery, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 1/4 cup fresh poultry herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme) and 4 cloves of garlic. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour. Strain and set the broth aside to use for the gravy later.
11:00 am - Remove the giblets from the turkey and cover with 2 cups of chicken stock, 1 stalk celery, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 1/4 cup fresh poultry herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme) and 4 cloves of garlic. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour. Strain and set the broth aside to use for the gravy later.
Prep the turkey - Rinse the turkey and then dry it really good inside and out. Next, mix a half cup of softened butter with 1//4 cup of chopped fresh poultry herbs. Add a tbsp of cranberry sauce and 1 tbsp of orange zest. Roll in plastic wrap kind of like a cigar, refrigerate until firm and then cut into discs. Using your hands, place the discs under the skin of the turkey all over and massage to soften.
Salt the cavity liberally and then stuff with the dressing you made the
day before. Sprinkle
the turkey with liberal amounts of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Put breast
side up onto a roasting rack in your roaster and cover with lid or tin
foil.
12:00 pm - Turkey goes into oven at 325 (baste every hour) My times are based on a 15 to 17 pound turkey, adjust yours accordingly and start earlier for a bigger bird. The idea is to have things timed so your turkey comes out of the oven at 4:00 pm.
Baste your turkey every hour. If there are a lot of pan juices, remove them as you go and set aside for your gravy.
12:00 pm - Turkey goes into oven at 325 (baste every hour) My times are based on a 15 to 17 pound turkey, adjust yours accordingly and start earlier for a bigger bird. The idea is to have things timed so your turkey comes out of the oven at 4:00 pm.
Baste your turkey every hour. If there are a lot of pan juices, remove them as you go and set aside for your gravy.
1:00 pm - Remove the Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes, Carrots, Turnip, and Sweet Potato Casserole from fridge and set on counter.
3:00 pm - Prep Brussel Sprouts (follow this link to the recipe) set aside until ready to roast.
3:30 pm - Remove turkey from oven. Using your baster, remove all excess pan juices and set aside to use for gravy. Remove cover from turkey and return it to the oven to really brown up for the last half hour of roasting.
3:50 pm - form the dough you made for the rolls in the morning into buns. It will have risen three times by now. Cover and set aside to rise again.
4:00 pm - Turkey comes out of oven. Remove the stuffing to a separate bowl and cover with foil. Put turkey on a platter, cover with tin foil, leave to rest. (Don't worry, it won't get cold).
4:05 - Put pan drippings into a fat seperator. if you have one - it's an easy way to remove excess fat from your gravy.
Leave about 1/4 cup in the bottom of your roaster pan.
4:10 - Add 6 tbsp flour to the pan drippings to make a roux, getting as much flavor off the bottom of the pan as you can. Add the de-fatted pan juices, one tbsp cranberry sauce, and the broth you made earlier with the giblets While that heats up, scrape all the good brown stuff off the sides and bottom of the pan. Get every last bit of flavour off that sucker!
Whisk, whisk whisk! Bring to a boil and thicken with more flour if needed. (If adding more flour shake it up with more chicken stock so there are no lumps)
When it's a nice consistency, transfer to a sauce pan and keep on low until ready to eat.
4:20 - Preheat oven to 350, Wash your roasting pan and put it away. No more mess, no more mashing, no hot steamy kitchen, gravy's done - all hail the Fabulosity.
4:30 - Put potatoes into a 350 oven.
4:35 - Have another cocktail, relax, put out some appetizers - we always have fresh prawns with cocktail sauce. and some nice brie with crackers and grapes - enjoy your guests.
4:50 - Put make ahead mashed potatoes, turnip puree and sweet potato casserole into the oven alongside the potatoes. Give potatoes a stir while adding a little warm whole milk or cream at their halfway point. This will give them a nice creamy consistency.
5:25 - Remove veggies from oven (making sure they're heated all the way through), cover with foil and a t-towel, leave to rest on the warm stove top (don't worry, these won't get cold either)
5:30 - Increase oven heat to 400. Put Brussels sprouts in to roast.
5:35 -Get your assistant to carve the turkey ;-)
5:55 - Put your buns in the oven (I always wanted to say that) They just go in alongside the Brussels sprouts. Both buns and Brussels will take another 15 minutes.
6:05 - Heat the carrots in the microwave on high for app five minutes.
6:10 - Pull your buns and Brussels out of the oven, uncover everything else, stick a ladle in the gravy, and serve. (We usually just do it buffet style as that seems easiest)
6:15 - Toast the cook and Happy Thanksgiving
3:00 pm - Prep Brussel Sprouts (follow this link to the recipe) set aside until ready to roast.
3:30 pm - Remove turkey from oven. Using your baster, remove all excess pan juices and set aside to use for gravy. Remove cover from turkey and return it to the oven to really brown up for the last half hour of roasting.
3:50 pm - form the dough you made for the rolls in the morning into buns. It will have risen three times by now. Cover and set aside to rise again.
4:00 pm - Turkey comes out of oven. Remove the stuffing to a separate bowl and cover with foil. Put turkey on a platter, cover with tin foil, leave to rest. (Don't worry, it won't get cold).
4:05 - Put pan drippings into a fat seperator. if you have one - it's an easy way to remove excess fat from your gravy.
Leave about 1/4 cup in the bottom of your roaster pan.
4:10 - Add 6 tbsp flour to the pan drippings to make a roux, getting as much flavor off the bottom of the pan as you can. Add the de-fatted pan juices, one tbsp cranberry sauce, and the broth you made earlier with the giblets While that heats up, scrape all the good brown stuff off the sides and bottom of the pan. Get every last bit of flavour off that sucker!
Whisk, whisk whisk! Bring to a boil and thicken with more flour if needed. (If adding more flour shake it up with more chicken stock so there are no lumps)
When it's a nice consistency, transfer to a sauce pan and keep on low until ready to eat.
4:20 - Preheat oven to 350, Wash your roasting pan and put it away. No more mess, no more mashing, no hot steamy kitchen, gravy's done - all hail the Fabulosity.
4:30 - Put potatoes into a 350 oven.
4:35 - Have another cocktail, relax, put out some appetizers - we always have fresh prawns with cocktail sauce. and some nice brie with crackers and grapes - enjoy your guests.
4:50 - Put make ahead mashed potatoes, turnip puree and sweet potato casserole into the oven alongside the potatoes. Give potatoes a stir while adding a little warm whole milk or cream at their halfway point. This will give them a nice creamy consistency.
5:25 - Remove veggies from oven (making sure they're heated all the way through), cover with foil and a t-towel, leave to rest on the warm stove top (don't worry, these won't get cold either)
5:30 - Increase oven heat to 400. Put Brussels sprouts in to roast.
5:35 -Get your assistant to carve the turkey ;-)
5:55 - Put your buns in the oven (I always wanted to say that) They just go in alongside the Brussels sprouts. Both buns and Brussels will take another 15 minutes.
6:05 - Heat the carrots in the microwave on high for app five minutes.
6:10 - Pull your buns and Brussels out of the oven, uncover everything else, stick a ladle in the gravy, and serve. (We usually just do it buffet style as that seems easiest)
6:15 - Toast the cook and Happy Thanksgiving
