Thanksgiving meal

[buzz1fan]

Looks like we are hosting Thanksgiving this year- 9-11 of us. I only have one oven- but I have a roaster oven and getting a casserole crock pot.
Donyou cook turkey in oven or a toaster. I do want the skin to get brown. I’m either going to do 2 turkey breasts or 1 turkey bigger turkey. Not sure if I could fit a turkey and breast.

Looking to see what others do when you sides that you want to bake. If I cook meat in roaster oven I’m okay- just worried in the past it was not brown. I can fit all the others in oven- and if needed I can have two roaster oven.

 

[sksjasams]

Can you cook your sides in crockpots?
I make a crockpot stuffing recipe. I buy Costco mashed potatoes from their deli, which can be heated in microwave and kept warm in crockpot. But even if you made your own, you could still keep them warm in crockpot.
Things that can be cooked in the oven in a short amount of time, like green bean casserole and dinner rolls, can be cooked after you pull turkey out while it is resting.
If you make some sort of sweet potato casserole, could that be made in your casserole crockpot?
Not sure what else you make….

 

[Owlpost23]

You can cook your sides a few days before T-giving and keep them in the fridge.Reheat day of.

 

[_19disnA]

We have been doing turkey breasts the past several years and find it works out much better. We gave up on doing a whole turkey. Most of a whole turkey tends to just be inedible bones, so the breast is mostly what we like. You can easily fit 2-3 breasts in a large roaster in your oven.

 

[Meriweather]

We also do just breast now. We have 7-8 people.
We do a few sides in the oven, some in a crockpot and a lot ahead of time and reheat in the microwave

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We do a turkey (or chicken lately) for the meat eaters on the grill. It turns out great (or so I hear) and frees up the oven for everything else.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Turkeys...definitely in the oven unless in an outdoor fryer.,I have double ovens but utilize crockpots too.ms

 

[fly girl]

I am not helpful at all ... my family of 3 is not big on Thanksgiving dinner itself so our tradition is to go to Disneyland.



But when I do cook turkey it is in the oven in a roasting bag.

 

[mrodgers]

We had a roaster. It's the only time it was used, Thanksgiving.

She felt it was unsafe so never stuffed the turkey. That was baked after pouring drippings in the bread. Along with sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, cheesy potato casserole, baked corn, rolls, and countless others that I can't think of was done in a non-fancy run of the mill $400 electric oven.

 

[buzz1fan]

Crock lots are good idea

 

[fla4fun]

We have a regular stove with a fairly large oven, a countertop oven that holds a pizza pan or 9x13 pan easily, and a countertop electric roaster. We have used the electric roaster once, when the regular oven caught fire when preheating on Thanksgiving morning. It did a fine job of roasting, and the skin on top of the bird was browned and crisp, but it was less convenient than the regular oven. They key to browning and crispness is to keep the liquid level low in the roaster so you are roasting and not boiling it. The other sides and rolls that would normally be baked were done in the countertop oven. It’s amazing what you can do when you have to.

We usually buy a bird between 20-25 pounds, and it is roasted in the regular oven. We do not do a wide variety of sides, and items that can be made ahead, like the homemade cranberry sauce and pies, are made in advance. The extra casserole of stuffing and the dinner rolls go in the oven when the turkey comes out to rest, and everything else is handled on the stovetop.

 

[HeatherC]

We usually do the turkey in the oven and sides in crockpots or stove top. I also usually cook an extra breast the day before and reheat with some broth before serving. I do most if not all sides ahead of time including mashed potatoes and stuffing in crockpots. Makes things so much easier when most of the work is done ahead of time.

 

[CynBeth]

I am not helpful at all ... my family of 3 is not big on Thanksgiving dinner itself so our tradition is to go to Disneyland.



But when I do cook turkey it is in the oven in a roasting bag.

You sound like us. We are also 3 and every few years visit WDW. When we are home the others have food allergies so just have turkey breasts making enough to have for 3 or 4 days that we cook a day or 2 ahead of time. For sides I found a non dairy crockpot stuffing recipe. In the oven goes the non dairy corn muffins, non dairy sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, and non dairy pumpkin pie. We make those the day of tastes best fresh. We also have green beans and cranberry sauce.

 

[RUDisney]

My MIL has always used a countertop roaster for her turkey. It browns and tastes good, except when she cooks it until it's done and then cooks it longer to make sure it's good and done.

Her oven is saved for the lasagna, but is also used to reheat the dressing and other sides.

I have my regular oven, an Advantium oven, that is a convection oven, microwave and has speed cook over the stove, a roaster and a few crock pots. The roaster and crock pots tend to not be used often because I typically have enough oven space for everything.

 

[Praying Colonel]

We used to do the Alton Brown brined turkey recipe. Then we went with spatchcocked turkey which is as good, if not better, easier and takes a lot less time to cook. If I were going to do a whole turkey, this is what I'd do.

The last 2 Thanksgivings we did roasted breasts in the oven per this recipe from Ina Garten. Even easier and very flavorful.

 

[LovesTimone]

Perfect timing, I was just thinking about Thanksgiving and trying to plan out our lives until the end of the year...

For my family this year it will be about the same as yours right at 10 for now. I have a double oven now, yet for years only 1 oven so I get it.
As well I have a roaster, and several crock pots.

Turkey in the bag in the oven - I do not stuff the turkey just not safe in my opinion. I do rub it down with butter, and throw about a stick of butter into the cavity.

Ham in the roaster, completely wrap in foil, on a lowest setting just to warm through.

Fresh green beans or pole beans, cooked the day or so before, and dump in a crock pot on low to warm through.

My family loves stuffin muffin's - you can make the stuffing or dressing the day before keep in cover bowl, and then spray the muffing tins, scoop the mixture into the pans and bake for around 15 to 20 minutes while the meat is resting, and you are carving it up, take out and I put them in a basket with a nice Thanksgiving towel..

Homemade mashed potatoes. Dh is the king of homemade Mash P's

Veggie pot pie - make the mixture the day before, so all you have to do is add the crust. I use ready made.

Scalloped corn in the crock-pot - another crock-pot - I have DH roast several ears of corn on the grill, then cut it off the cob adding in a couple of cans of white corn, the roasted corn really pops up the dish.

Deviled eggs make them the day before -

Appetizer platters - do as much as possible the day before... chop up the veggies, and so forth...

Dessert - Apple and Pumpkin Pie, and some kinda cake.

I think my biggest tip is know what platters, and serving utensil you are going to need way ahead of time...

 

[buzz1fan]

Great ideas- I think I need to change some of my normally baked sides and get something stove top or add to crock pot. I plan to purchase a casserole crock pot too. Mashed is on stove I also plan to do sweet- but I can brown that in oven when turkey comes out I think. They cook longer on stove.

I’m going to test tomorrow but I think I can fit below the turkey casserole dishes in my oven