15 Genius Cooking Hacks for a Stress-Free Thanksgiving

Posted by Brent Furdyk on September 26, 2016

Gravy too lumpy? Too many potatoes to peel? Not enough stove-top space? We've got clever tricks to solve all those common holiday dilemmas and more.

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No Roasting Rack?

Hack: Create a Bed of Veggies If you find yourself with a turkey to roast and no rack, chop up some onions, celery and carrots into large chunks. Not only will they elevate the bird and serve as a makeshift roasting rack, they’ll also add some extra flavour to the drippings from which you’ll make the gravy. Another way to circumvent the same problem: tear off a long sheet of aluminum foil and loosely roll it up so it resembles a long tube, and form this into a spiral to create a DIY disposable roasting rack.
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Running Out of Fridge Space?

Hack: Coolers For Extra Refrigeration With all those dishes on the go — to say nothing of the beer and wine that needs cooling — Thanksgiving will jam-pack even the largest refrigerator. With that in mind, bring those summertime coolers out of storage and into the kitchen so they can do double duty in the fall as extra storage space for items that need refrigeration.
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Mashed Potatoes Not Fluffy Enough?

Hack: Add Baking Powder If those mashed potatoes aren’t coming out as light and fluffy as you’d hoped, add a pinch of baking powder to the spuds — it reacts with the heat of the potatoes to form tiny air pockets that will add that extra-special fluffiness. To further kick mashed potatoes up to the next level, try adding ingredients such as bacon, caramelized onions and truffle oil for an extra jolt of flavour. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/creamy-garlic-mashed-potatoes/17219/" target="_blank">Alton Brown's Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes</a>.
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No Cheesecloth?

Hack: Wrap the Turkey in Bacon One tried-and-true method to ensuring moist turkey breasts is to soak a cheesecloth in melted butter and lay it over the breasts while cooking. An even more effective — and perhaps even tastier — alternative is to wrap the breasts in bacon, lattice-style, which offers the added bonus of infusing the delicious taste of bacon into the turkey.
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Limited Stove-Top Space?

Hack: Keep Mashed Potatoes Warm in a Crock-Pot With so many dishes being prepared simultaneously and only four burners on the stove, how do we keep prepared dishes from getting cold before they make it to the table? Use a Crock-Pot! Simply set it on low to keep mashed potatoes and other similar dishes warm until they’re ready to be served. This allows you to make the mashed potatoes well in advance while preventing them from cooling off and becoming thick and gluey.
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Not Enough Stuffing?

Hack: Bake Stuffing in Muffin Tins Nobody wants to run out of stuffing during Thanksgiving dinner, and a clever way to ensure there’s enough for everyone is to bake extra stuffing in a muffin tin. Not only will there be plenty for everyone, but your guests — especially kids — will go crazy for individual stuffin' muffins. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/herb-and-apple-stuffing/17169/" target="_blank">Ina Garten's Herb and Apple Stuffing</a>.
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Burnt Pie Crusts?

Hack: DIY Pie Shield It’s a given that, in most ovens, by the time that pumpkin pie is perfectly cooked inside, the outer rim of the crust will be approaching the consistency of a charcoal briquette. Prevent scorched pie crusts by creating a DIY pie shield out of aluminum foil, covering the delicate edges with loosely tented foil while allowing the centre to bake to perfection. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/ricardos-pumpkin-pie/17240/" target="_blank">Ricardo Larivée's Pumpkin Pie</a>.
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Gravy Too Lumpy?

Hack: Whip It In a Blender There’s no better way to transform your guests Thanksgiving glee to mild disgust when they witness big, clotted lumps come pouring out of the gravy boat. To prevent that from happening, ensure gravy is lump-free by giving it a quick whip in a blender or food processor and then return to the saucepan for reheating until it’s ready to serve. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/roasted-turkey-gravy/17102/" target="_blank">Tyler Florence's Roasted Turkey Gravy</a>.
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Too Many Potatoes to Clean?

Hack: Wash Potatoes in the Dishwasher It probably didn’t occur to you to use the dishwasher for anything other than washing dishes, but give this a try: place potatoes on the top rack of the dishwasher and run them through a rinse cycle (sans detergent, of course) and you’ll have squeaky-clean spuds without all that scrubbing — which can be considerable when cooking for a large crowd.
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Turkey Trouble?

Hack: Slow-Roast the Turkey Overnight In order to free up time on the big day, why not try getting the turkey into the oven on the day before Thanksgiving and slow-roasting it while you sleep? In fact, you can start roasting as far ahead as 48 hours (depending on size), at a low temp of 170F°. There’s less than 15 minutes of labour involved in the entire process, promising a tender, juicy bird at the finish line.
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Afraid of a Dry Turkey?

Hack: Ice Turkey Breasts Prior to Roasting Just before putting the turkey in the oven, apply an ice pack to the breasts for about 15 minutes, which will lower the temperature and cause the breasts to cook slightly slower than the rest of the bird. Some folks swear by this method, claiming it makes all the difference, resulting in a moist, juicy breast instead of one that’s overcooked and dry.
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Too Many Guests?

Hack: Get a Second Turkey, Not a Bigger One If you find yourself preparing to feed a small army at Thanksgiving dinner, you’re probably looking for the biggest turkey you can find. Instead, a much easier option is to simply get a second turkey instead. Larger turkeys tend to cook less evenly and take a lot longer; this way, you can cook two smaller birds to perfection side by side, or even cook one of them a day ahead, freeing you of the hassle of dealing with a brontosaurus-sized bird. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/herb-roasted-turkey-breast/17193/" target="_blank">Ina Garten's Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast</a>
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Gravy Getting Cold?

Hack: Keep Gravy Warm in a Thermos Here’s a great way to keep gravy warm and smooth until it’s ready to serve: store it in a Thermos or insulated coffee carafe. Simply pre-warm a Thermos container with warm water and ladle in as much gravy as it will hold; not only will this keep gravy warm, but it will also prevent it from coagulating. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/savoury-quinoa-stuffing-with-vegan-gravy/15072/" target="_blank">Vegan Gravy and Quinoa Stuffing</a>.
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No Room for Recipes?

Hack: Tape Recipes to Inside of Cabinet Doors Thanksgiving is a time when we love to honour our loved ones by using family-heirloom recipes for, say, Aunt Petunia’s famous stuffing or Grandma’s pumpkin pie. You can keep your kitchen counters free from scraps of paper, cookbooks, iPads etc. while maintaining easy access to those recipes by simply printing out the ones you need and taping them to the inside of a cabinet door.
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Need to Save Time?

Hack: Prep Ahead of Time Thanksgiving is a crazy time in any kitchen, but there are a number of steps you can take to ease the workload and make the experience of cooking the feast as easy and stress-free as possible. For example, make stuffing the day before (or even days before) and stash it in the freezer until it’s ready to cook. Other things you can do ahead of the big day include: toasting nuts (say, for a stuffing or green beans); making home-made dinner rolls and freezing until needed; prepping salad ingredients; making and freezing an unbaked pie; you can even pre-mix a batch of your signature cocktails and keep chilled until the crew is ready for a drink. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/haricots-verts-with-almonds-ricotta-salata-and-orange-honey-dressing/16192/" target="_blank">Bobby Flay's Green Beans Salad with Almonds and Ricotta</a>. Brent Furdyk is a freelance writer in Vancouver.
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