Posts tagged: turkey
The Pig's Top Turkey Tips
Thanksgiving is ONE WEEK AWAY! It always sneaks up on us and no matter how well-prepared we think we are, there are some last minute questions that always come up. We're rounding up our top Thanksgiving tips for you this year to make sure you're on your game! Look no further pig-lovin' friends, we've got your Thanksgiving covered.
Don't forget how long defrosting a turkey actually takes! You can thaw your bird either in the refrigerator or cold water. If you're using the refrigerator, use the equation of 1 day to thaw for every 4lbs of meat. Short on time? No problem. Cold water thawing is much faster at a rate of 30 minutes to thaw for every pound.
No one likes lumpy gravy... Bust out the sieve or strainer! This will get all those gross lumps right out. You can also use your good ol’ blender to puree the lumps outta there.
Did you mail-order a Pig of the Month BBQ Feast, Whole Turkey, or Smoked Turkey Breast? First off, high five for being a Thanksgiving genius. You just made your life SO much easier. Now that you've got the main attractions covered, it's time to think sides that go with all the POM deliciousness. If you want to make something extra, go for the veggies. For a quick fix, grab your fav veggies, chop them up and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder or chopped garlic. Roast on a lined, rimmed baking sheet at 400 degrees until tender. Have everyone else bring the rest of the fixings and kick up you feet to watch the Thanksgiving parade.
Come on, you can do better than plain ol' canned cranberry sauce. We'll solve this with one word – ORANGE. Add about 1 tsp of orange zest and 1/2 Tbsp of orange juice (or more if you prefer). This will brighten up that plain old canned cranberry sauce so much that your guests will be asking for the recipe. Shhhhh, we’ll keep the secret for ya!
Aren't Thanksgiving leftovers the BEST? Answer = YES. The best (and safest) way is to cool everything down. Pack leftovers in shallow containers instead of big deep containers so they cool faster. Yes, it’s a bit of work with all those containers and playing refrigerator Tetris, but the small containers will help your leftovers stay fresh and take up less space in the fridge!
This is the tip that will save you countless times in the kitchen on Thanksgiving Day. Chicken stock is your ultimate Thanksgiving savior. Simply keep a large saucepan of chicken stock warm on the stove throughout the day. It can rescue dry stuffing, too-thick gravy, dry turkey, and countless other emergencies that pop up at the absolute worst time. Anything you have leftover can be stored or frozen for later use, or use it as a base for leftover turkey soup! Who's ready to conquer Thanksgiving? You are! Don't forget to check out our mega list of 50+ Thanksgiving tips for even more turkey day wisdom! If it's all too much and you're tired of basting a bird for 6+hours, let us do all the work and order you smoked turkey today! Ships free with code "novship"
Thanksgiving Leftovers Cups
What to do with all those Thanksgiving leftovers....? That's the question that always haunts my brain when I wake up the day after Thanksgiving. You have so many tasty things stored up in containers, but eating plate after plate of the same thing is not exactly the most exciting thing in the world...
So I packed everything into these little crispy wonton cups to make the best, most portable Thanksgiving leftovers deliciousness known to man!
These cups layer up all the flavors that you love from Thanksgiving in the easiest and most delicious way possible. It's essentially Thanksgiving in a cup! If you have any parties to attend over the weekend and don't want to worry about making something from scratch, use up those tasty leftovers instead! Easy, delicious, and all the flavors that no one will ever get tired of. YUM!
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Thanksgiving Leftovers Cups from Pig of the Month BBQ on Vimeo.
INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Place one wonton wrapper flat in the palm of your hand with a corner pointing towards you. Brush with canola oil and place another wonton wrapper on top without a corner pointing towards you (so it looks like a square). Press stacked wonton wrappers into one muffin tin. Repeat with remaining wrappers. Add mashed potato, then turkey, and then stuffing. Top with 1 Tbsp of gravy. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and top each cup with 1 tsp cranberry sauce. Garnish with parsley and serve.
*Recipe, photos and video by Meghan Bassett
