This year, we are also celebrating Thanksgiving with our entire team. It's a festival where friends and family come together to express their gratitude. For all those who want to savor the holiday with its delicious dishes, we have here the recipe for a tasty and simple Thanksgiving dinner:
Good time management is essential for our recipe, as a substantial part of the components are prepared in the oven.
The most crucial part of the meal is the turkey, accompanied by sides like sweet potato puree with mini marshmallows, stuffing (also known as dressing), cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.
Starting with the pumpkin pie, as it can be prepared well in advance and served chilled. We've already introduced the recipe for it in a previous blog post.
Next, the sweet potato puree can be prepared. You'll need 2 kg of peeled and diced sweet potatoes. Place them in a pot, covering about 2/3 with water and a pinch of salt. Cook the potatoes until they're soft, then mash them with or without the water, depending on preference. Add 300g of butter, 150g of light brown sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer the mixture into a buttered casserole dish and let it cool. Before serving, reheat the puree in the oven at 160°C (320°F) and then top with mini marshmallows and broil until golden brown.
The cranberry sauce can be prepared concurrently with the other sides, as it doesn't require oven space. We've also published a recipe for that.
Now, onto a Thanksgiving classic side dish that hasn't quite caught on in Germany yet - stuffing. The name comes from the fact that traditionally, this dish is baked inside the turkey itself. Since we prefer crispy stuffing, we bake it separately in the oven. You'll need a whole loaf of sliced bread cut into small cubes, 1 cup of chopped shallots, 1 cup of chopped celery, fresh herbs, butter, vegetable broth, and poultry broth. Start by sautéing the onions and celery in butter, using a bit more butter than usual, as it will later serve as sauce for the bread cubes. Suitable herbs are parsley, sage, and thyme - finely chop them and set aside. Mix everything together and add equal parts of vegetable broth and poultry broth until the herbs adhere to the bread cubes and they are slightly moist. Adjust the proportions as desired. Lastly, bake in the oven until the mixture is hot and the top bread cubes are crispy and golden brown.
Now, the most important part of a Thanksgiving dinner, the turkey. Several steps need to be taken in advance. The turkey should be generously salted 24 hours before serving. This results in juicy meat when cooked, as the fibers break down and become tender. Here's a pro tip: As most poultry consists of both white meat (breast) and dark meat (legs and wings), which theoretically cook at different rates, here's a trick to ensure even cooking. Three to four hours before baking, cool down the breast by placing a bag of ice cubes on it. Before baking, season the meat with dried herbs, as they won't burn as quickly. Suitable options include marjoram, sage, thyme, garlic powder, and onion powder. Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F), then lower it to 160°C (320°F) before inserting the turkey and cook until the breast reaches an internal temperature of 68°C (155°F).
Enjoy cooking and Happy Thanksgiving!
