7 recipes that lighten the workload. A beginner’s Thanksgiving
For the fledgling cook, Thanksgiving dinner can seem like the most intimidating meal to make. It’s not often that a civilian is asked to knock out a long succession of dishes, including a giant bird, for a crowd with fixed ideas of how it should all be done.
But it doesn’t have to be like that. I set out to devise a scaleddown menu for beginners — or anyone who wants to achieve the same flavor touchstones without doing more work than necessary.
Most of the dishes can be prepared with little more than a sheet pan and a large skillet. Everything cooks at one temperature — 350 degrees — so you’re not performing mental or physical gymnastics with the oven.
The shopping is easy because these recipes call for a limited number of essential ingredients, many of which are shared across the menu. Forget the fresh herbs — they’re just one more thing you’d have to wash. Instead, rely on a single dried herb (oregano, thyme or sage are all fair game) to act as a flavor motif throughout the meal.
And avoid the last-minute cooking sprint. Much of this menu can, and should, be made the day before, when you’re less stressed. (It should take about three to four hours.) Roll up your sleeves, put on a podcast and enjoy the cooking. Leave Thanksgiving Day for roasting the turkey.
SALT-AND-PEPPER ROAST TURKEY BREAST
By: Eric Kim
A bone-in turkey breast is much easier to cook than a whole bird; it takes a small fraction of the time and still comfortably feeds a crowd. I like to roast my turkey the way I roast my chicken: slathered in butter, showered with salt and pepper and popped into a moderately hot oven to get crispy. Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Total time: 2 hours, plus overnight thawing and 2 hours’ resting
½ cup unsalted butter, very soft Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 whole (6- to 8-pound) bone-in turkey breast (see Tip) 4 lemons, quartered, for garnish
1. Keep the butter nearby. Place about ¼ cup kosher salt in a small bowl and keep nearby as well, along with a black-pepper grinder. Transfer the turkey breast to a large sheet pan and thoroughly dry all over with a paper towel; get it as bone-dry as you can.
2. Using your hands, very liberally rub the butter all over the turkey breast. (If the butter is difficult to spread, soften it further in the microwave in 10-second intervals.) Make sure to slather the butter on the underside and bones in addition to the entire surface of the skin. Wipe your hands with a towel.
3. Generously season the turkey all over with salt, especially inside the cavity. You don’t have to be precise here, but do go heavy on the salt — the turkey can take it. (In general, you should account for about 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or ¾ teaspoon Morton coarse kosher salt per pound.) Next, generously grind black pepper all over the turkey; again, no need to measure this.
Let the turkey breast sit so the seasoning can penetrate the meat and allow the bird to come to room temperature, about 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Place the turkey breast in the oven, then with the oven door still open, carefully pour 1 cup water into the sheet pan. Close the oven door and roast until the turkey’s internal temperature reaches 150 degrees, 13 to 15 minutes per pound. (To read the temperature, insert an instantread thermometer into the thickest part of one of the breasts, making sure to avoid the bone, which will give you an inaccurate reading.) Very carefully rotate the pan halfway through roasting and add another cup of water if the pan looks dry. When done roasting (1 ½ to 2 hours), the skin should be golden brown and crispy.
5. Let the turkey breast rest in its pan, uncovered, until cool enough to handle, at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Transfer to a cutting board. Cut along one side of the breastbone with a sharp knife, then the other, cutting each breast off the bone, and keeping the skin intact. Thickly slice each breast crosswise and serve on a large platter scattered with the lemon quarters. Taste the pan juices and, if they’re a little salty, stir in a little hot water. If they need more seasoning, stir in salt and pepper. Spoon the pan juices over and around the sliced turkey.
Tips: If your turkey breast is frozen (most are), thaw it in the refrigerator a day or two before you plan to roast it. You can also thaw a frozen turkey breast by letting it sit — still in its packaging — in a large bucket or pot filled with cold tap water, about 30 minutes per pound. Every hour, be sure to turn the breast and change the water.
UMAMI GRAVY
By: Eric Kim
The last thing you want to do on Thanksgiving Day is rush just before dinnertime to make gravy from the turkey’s hot pan drippings. This makeahead version relies on a base of caramelized red onion, with nutritional yeast as an optional umami enhancer to add nuance and depth.
Yield: 2 cups
Total time: 25 minutes 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced ½ teaspoon granulated sugar Salt Pinch of dried oregano 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 cups vegetable stock ¼ cup whole milk
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional, but very good) Freshly ground black pepper
1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sugar, and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is browned and caramelized but not burnt, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Add the oregano and flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour has been fully absorbed by the buttery onions, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Whisk in the vegetable stock and milk, raise the heat to high and, whisking occasionally, bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, still whisking occasionally, until the stock thickens into a loose gravy that thinly coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes.
3. Whisk in the nutritional yeast, if using, and taste for seasoning,
adding more salt and pepper as desired. Serve hot. (Alternatively, you can make this the night before Thanksgiving, cover and store it in the refrigerator, and reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stove before serving.)
CHEESY PIZZA STUFFING
By: Eric Kim
They may seem out of place on Thanksgiving, but the red-sauce flavors of pizza work exceptionally well as a custardy stuffing bound by cheese. Tomato paste and dried oregano, bloomed in the buttery onions, do the heavy lifting in this comforting dish, aided by an ivory shower of shredded mozzarella that melts and turns lushly gooey in spots. 4 to 6 servings
45 minutes, plus drying bread
Yield: Total time: 1 (12- to 14-ounce) loaf brioche or challah, torn into bite-size pieces (about 4 cups) 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more softened butter for greasing dish 1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced Salt and black pepper 1 teaspoon dried oregano, plus more for topping 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 cup vegetable stock 1 large egg 1 cup whole milk 2 cups shredded lowmoisture mozzarella
1. The night before serving, spread the bread pieces on a sheet pan and let sit on the counter to dry out. Alternatively, you can bake them at 250 degrees until completely dried out and no longer soft, 20 to 30 minutes.
2. When ready to make the stuffing, transfer the bread to a large bowl. Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-by-13-inch or 8-by-11-inch baking dish with softened butter.
3. Melt the 4 tablespoons