This year, let’s Do Thanksgiving Like a Boss! I’ve heard it said that the best hosts make everything look easy and stylish. Even if you don’t have a small scullery army assisting you with preparations, you still have a formidable arrow in your kitchen quiver. Project management skills, baby! Let’s conserve our energy for the important things, like Black Friday shopping (says the woman who hates shopping on Black Friday). Divide and conquer is always best, but if you’re the primary cook, here’s a timeline and some tips to help you through the most harrowing home-cooking day of the year.
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Thanksgiving Planning: Prep in Advance to Do Thanksgiving Like a Boss!
You may be wondering, “How far in advance can I prep for Thanksgiving?” If you want to Do Thanksgiving Like a Boss, you need a plan. When should you start planning for Thanksgiving? Because I’m a planner by nature, I usually start thinking about Thanksgiving as soon as Halloween is over. Whenever I host an event or cook for a large group of people, I always start at the end and mentally walk my way backwards through the day. What I mean by that is I settle on what I call, “showtime”.
Let’s say we expect people to arrive at noon and dinner will be served at 3 PM. I know I need to have appetizers and beverages (and myself) ready no later than 11:45 AM. This way, when people arrive there is something for them to nosh on while dinner’s still cooking. And I’m not running around with wet hair.
I do a similar exercise with the turkey. If I’m cooking a 15-pound, un-stuffed bird, I know it’s going to take approximately 13 minutes per pound – or 3 hours and 15 minutes. I’ll tack on another 30 minutes for resting and another 20 minutes for carving. This mental exercise tells me I need to have that turkey in the oven no later than 11 AM if I want everything ready for a 3 PM dinner.
The New York Times Cooking has a page dedicated to Thanksgiving meal planning. It’s a great resource you may be interested in reading as well.
For your FREE copy of my printable Do Thanksgiving Like a Boss! Thanksgiving Dinner Planning Guide with prep & serving suggestions, click here.
Maria, MOstly Bakes
So, we know the turkey needs to be in the oven by 11 AM. And we know guests are arriving at noon and appetizers and beverages must be ready by 11:45 AM. Walk it back further…..what can be done earlier in the week to reduce stress? Perhaps you want the house clean (at least the main floor and spare room if you have family coming in from out of town). At the very least, the housework and the table can be set in advance. Do it in stages throughout the week so it isn’t such a heavy lift at one time.
Keep the appetizers simple.
So, how do you plan a perfect Thanksgiving feast? And, what should you serve for Thanksgiving dinner? You don’t need to stress yourself by cooking a whole separate meal before the big dinner. Keep your appetizers simple. A simple charcuterie board and some fresh vegetables served with Lemony Yogurt & Goat Cheese Dip is sufficient. Remember, you just want something small to keep the “Hangries” at bay. Why not keep it relatively light and healthy while you’re at it. You may even want to consider having a festive mocktail option for anyone abstaining from alcohol over the holidays.
Perhaps you’ve divided the cooking duties between family members. When everyone comes through the door, where will they put the pies and side dishes that need warming? Identify a holding area for finished items like desserts and anything that requires heating or cooking before guests arrive.
Perhaps you’re thinking, “Maria, the Ginger Citrus Pumpkin Pie and the Salted Mixed Nut Pie sound delicious, but I don’t have the time to make them”. Part of doing Thanksgiving like a boss is knowing when to assign work to other people. If you’re hosting dinner, let someone else make the desserts. Share the links and let someone else take care of a side or two. It doesn’t all have to fall on your shoulders.
Crunch time in the kitchen: How you really do Thanksgiving like a Boss!
To keep things running smoothly in the kitchen, I often prep my turkey the night before. I do this for two reasons. First, it cuts down on prep time Thanksgiving day. And anything I can do to avoid getting up at 4 AM is a good use of time in my book. By cleaning, seasoning and prepping the bird in the roasting pan the night before, I’m saving myself hours the next day. After seasoning the turkey with my 5-Minute Homemade Herb Rub, I let it rest in the refrigerator uncovered overnight. Why uncovered? Because it allows the skin to dry out a little, which gives it that perfectly crisp skin we all crave.
Thanksgiving Day – Noon has come and gone. Your house is full of family and friends and the bird is out of the oven. How long does the turkey need to rest before carving? That depends largely on the size of the bird, but a general rule is 30 minutes. A smaller bird may require less time, while a larger one may take closer to 45 minutes. Either way, plan to guard that turkey the whole time it’s resting because your family is going to want to sneak a piece of that crispy skin before it’s time!
Depending on how confident you are with a carving knife, budget 20 minutes to slice the turkey. Based on our timeline, if we want to eat by 3 PM, we need to have our turkey out of the oven by 2 PM and allow it to rest until 2:30 PM before carving and serving. The time it takes to separate the drumsticks and wings and remove the breasts for slicing is where you spend the most time during this stage. If you’re roasting just a turkey breast and not the full turkey you’ll need less time to carve.
The trick to successful Thanksgiving planning is always walking through your timeline and adding a few extra minutes for the unexpected.
What about everything else?
This is where you have some flexibility. If you’ve assigned side dishes to people, you’ve already lightened the workload. If sides need to be warmed, they can be transferred to the oven as soon as the turkey is out. A good holding temperature for precooked items is 170 degrees F.
Some items like rolls can be purchased in advance from your local bakery and placed on the table or buffet. Cranberry sauce can also be made in advance. For example, my MOstly Bakes Signature Cranberry Relish can be made in advance and even frozen for up to two months. You can really get ahead of your Thanksgiving Dinner preparations with this recipe. That’s how you Do Thanksgiving like a Boss!
If you’re making the Chive & Horseradish Mashed Potatoes and Classic Herb & Sherry Gravy, they can be finished and held warm while the turkey is resting.
Assign someone the task of filing the water glasses and taking beverage orders. This is a great job for older kids. Let others share in the workload.
Prep the coffee pot and have the whipped cream ready when it’s time for dessert. It will be a whirlwind of activity toward the end, but it will all come together.
One thing I recommend doing is cleaning up the kitchen as you cook. It’s a good habit I learned back in the day when I was in culinary school. It keeps your work surface clutter free and sanitary. If you can load the dishwasher or clean a few pots and pans along the way, it makes everything that much easier in the end. This is especially true if you have a smaller kitchen.
Clean up and leftovers.
By now the heavy lifting is done. Dinner was delicious. And coffee and pie were enjoyed by all. The second or third wave of dishes are done and you’re now looking at all the leftovers on the counter. What do you do with them?
My husband’s family has a really good system for this. My father-in-law would always save nice take-out containers in the weeks leading up to a holiday. Today you can find to-go containers just about anywhere, so gather what you need in advance and have them ready.
Here’s where it gets fun. Start the assembly line and divide up the leftovers until they are all gone. This usually takes about 20 minutes at our house. But everyone goes home with another full meal or two to enjoy over the course of the next few days. This is another task that can be assigned to older kids. It gives the cooks a much deserved rest and gets the kids involved in the dinner process. And younger ones can have fun relaying orders from grandparents and other relatives.
Now that the Thanksgiving planning is done, sit back and relax.
The last of the dishes are done, the leftovers are distributed. Maybe you even squeezed in a quick walk with the dog to work off that extra slice of pie. Congratulate yourself for successfully doing Thanksgiving like a Boss! You developed a plan and you executed it perfectly. It was still a lot of work, but you did it well and and minimized unnecessary stress in the kitchen. Bravo!
Now it’s time to sit back with the family over a board game, a quiet conversation over a glass of wine and just relax. You can put the house back together Friday after everyone is gone. But for this moment, just enjoy the blessings of a full stomach, love and laughter with the ones you love. And tomorrow, you can enjoy the leftovers! And that’s how you do Thanksgiving like a boss!
Get your copy of the Thanksgiving Dinner Planning Guide.
I hope you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I’ve put together a Thanksgiving planning timeline that you can use as a template for planning the week leading up to Thanksgiving. It also includes answers to your turkey preparation questions and standard serving sizes so you can know how much food to prepare. For your free copy of our printable Do Thanksgiving Like a Boss! Thanksgiving Dinner Planning Guide, click here. Blessings & enjoy!
