Common Thanksgiving Mistakes

How To Avoid Common Thanksgiving Mistakes

1. Lumpy Gravy

This is one of the most common mistakes made on Thanksgiving day and the easiest to resolve. Most people use either cornstarch or flour to thicken the turkey juices and drippings into a gravy consistency. Never add the thickener directly into hot liquids! Instead, put a small amount of cold water into a cup and then blend the thickening agent into the cold water until completely smooth. This liquid can then be added slowly to the hot liquid. Stir the cold thickening liquid again before adding, if it has been sitting ready for awhile.

2. Dry Breast Meat

There are two different ways to attack the problem of a dry turkey breast. Since the breast tends to cook faster than the leg and thigh, which is where you test for doneness, then it makes sense to separate the two before cooking. An intact breast can be served with the same elegance as the whole bird. The other route to a moist breast is to place slices of butter both underneath and on top of the skin covering the breast meat. The butter will melt into the breast meat and at the same time allow for cooking the skin from both sides, making it super crisp and browned. Alternately, a Butterball brand turkey will provide a moist breast because they have injected butter underneath the skin for you. Be sure to check for internal temperature.

3. Lumpy Mashed Potatoes

Cooked potatoes can be whipped smooth. If you are finding lumps in your potatoes, then they were not cooked thoroughly before whipping. Try to cut your potatoes into equal sized pieces before boiling to ensure that they cook evenly. Before pouring off the water from your boiled potatoes, be sure to test your potatoes with a fork. Pierce several pieces in order to be sure that the fork slides through easily.

4. Cold Mashed Potatoes

Since potatoes are usually done and mashed in the last few minutes before dinner is served, they run the risk of being done too early and then, after the addition of milk or cream, cool off prior to serving. A mashed potato casserole can be prepared the day before using a little extra cream and cheese to ensure moistness and then baked along with your other casseroles on Thanksgiving day. Keep it in a covered casserole to be served hot and remain hot throughout dinner.

5. Sticky Stuffing

Use bread that is close to or past its best by date when making your stuffing. Actually, the drier the bread the better – so even toasted bread is better to use to make stuffing than fresh bread. Just be sure your bread hasn’t passed its eat by date and is completely mold free.

6. Burned Buns

Buns go in the oven at the last minute. While you’re busy de-stuffing and slicing your centerpiece bird, it’s easy to forget about the rolls. The easy suggestion is to choose soft buns that are so fresh that you wouldn’t even think about warming them up. Alternately, simply wrap your buns in aluminum foil before placing them into the oven. They’ll be warm and soft, but also place a bun warmer that you heated along with the buns into your basket before serving to ensure they stay that way.

7. Liquid Jello

The best solution to jello that runs all over the serving platter is to make it the day before. When you dip it in hot water before releasing it from the mold, be sure it’s just for a few seconds.

8. Runny Pumpkin Pie

A pumpkin pie is done when a knife inserted comes out clean. If this doesn’t happen, then the pie is not fully cooked and will ooze liquid when sliced. An even easier tell-tale sign of a cooked pumpkin pie is when a small crack appears in the top of the pie.

9. Soggy Pie Crust

Pies that begin with plenty of liquid can easily form a soggy crust by absorbing some of the filling liquids. This makes the crust seem uncooked, even though it may actually be cooked. To prevent this from happening, you can partially cook the pie crust before adding the pie filling. If you are baking the crust before filling, you should brush the inside of the crust with a whipped egg white before baking to provide a moisture barrier.

10. A Forgotten Dish

This final thanksgiving mistake can attack both new and seasoned thanksgiving entertainers. That’s right, even after years of repeating the same Thanksgiving day menu, it’s still possible to be looking for a place to store your leftovers only to discover a dish that you completely forgot to serve! So, make a list the night before of everything that you’ve prepared and stick it somewhere so that you can glance at it when serving up the Thanksgiving day feast.