The thanksgiving dinner meal can be traditional or new, blending different family favorites as the guests change from year to year. But sometimes it’s nice to start with a base menu. For the last several years we’ve been celebrating Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa’s ranch in Texas, so smoked turkey on the Traeger smoker has been the centerpiece of our meal. We’ve stuck to simple sides and lots of food. I’ve made my contribution of these side dishes once-a-year for more years than I care to admit, but I’m always a little concerned that I won’t get it right this time. So I’m taking notes this year. And a few pictures too.
This year we remembered to pack the Cold Duck, which we always serve with dinner at Thanksgiving. It’s getting harder and harder to find since it apparently fell out of favor decades ago. It was a popular sparkling sweet wine in the 1970’s. I suppose someday we’ll have to try something new. But not this year.
You’ll notice there is no recipe for Ham below. That’s because we just wrap in in aluminum foil and throw it on the smoker next to the turkey for about 1.5 hours. The general rule is 10 minutes per pound of spiral cut ham. It’s fully cooked, so we’re just trying to heat it up. Ham made it onto the Thanksgiving menu because it comes free with a turkey purchase, and it makes for great sandwiches the next day.
- Pete’s Smoked Turkey
- Ham
- Turkey Gravy
- Mildred’s Cornbread Dressing
- Cranberry Sauce
- Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes
- Green Bean Casserole
- Spinach Casserole
- Pecan Pie
- Apple Pie
- Pumpkin Pie
Pete’s Smoked Turkey
Equipment
- Outdoor smoker grill (Grandpa uses his Traeger)
- 5 gallon brining bucket
Ingredients
- 12 lb turkey
Brine:
- 1 gallon unsweetened tea
- ½ gallon buttermilk
- ½ cup salt
- 4-5 sprigs of thyme
- 4-5 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence spice mix or substitute poultry seasoning
Instructions
- Start brining the turkey on Tuesday night.
- Mix the brine in a large brining bucket.
- Add the turkey, then cover the top with ice.
- Refrigerate until Thursday morning.
- To cook, remove the turkey from the brine, and wipe it all over with olive oil. Season generously with Traeger Chicken Rub and/or Fish and Fowl Rub. Loosely fill the cavity with additional thyme and rosemary sprigs.
- Heat the Traeger smoker to 325. Place the turkey in a foil pan, and place the pan on the grill uncovered. Cook for 3 to 3 ½ hours or until the internal temperature reached 165 degrees F.
Turkey Gravy
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup flour
- 4 cups of water
- 4 teaspoons Better than Bullion Turkey Base
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet, and then add in the flour.
- Cook and stir the butter and flour unti the flour is fully cooked.
- Add water and turkey base while whisking to blend. Continue cooking and stirring until the gravy boils and thickens.
- Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Mildred’s Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 package Pepperidge Farms Stuffing Mix
- 1 pan of cornbread recipe follows
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2-3 slices of bread torn into ½ inch pieces
- 1 diced green pepper optional
- 1 diced red pepper optional
- 1 cup diced carrots optional
- 3-4 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- Cook diced vegetables in a skillet with a little bit of oil until vegetables are softened.
- Break up the cornbread into a large bowl. Combine it with the stuffing mix, bread chunks, and cooked vegetables.
- Add chicken broth and stir to combine until all the bread is damp but not soggy.
- Transfer to a casserole dish, reserving any overflow stuffing to finish cooking later. We cook the rest with the leftovers tomorrow.
- Bake covered in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. The timing is pretty arbitrary – you just want the stuffing to be heated through. You could remove the cover and bake an additional 5 minutes to slightly brown the top.
Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup cornmeal
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Add milk, vegetable oil and egg and stir until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Batter will be slightly lumpy.
- Pour into a greased 8 or 9 in. pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes. Top should be golden brown.
Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 12 oz package fresh cranberries rinsed
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan.
- Cook and stir until mixture reaches boiling. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally another 10 minutes, or until the cranberries burst open.
- Cover and cool, then refrigerate until ready to serve.
Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
- Slow cooker
Ingredients
- 5 lbs. Russet potatoes
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel potatoes and cut them into cubes, about ½ to 1 inch each.
- Place cubes in a slow cooker and cover with water
- Cook on high for about 4 hours, or low for about 7 hours.
- It’s OK to leave fully cooked potatoes on “warm” until shortly before serving, up to 2 hours.
- Check that the potatoes are fully cooked, then drain the water.
- Add butter, milk, salt and pepper.
- Turn the slow cooker off. Mash with a potato masher right in the slow cooker. Add more salt and pepper if needed.
Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes
Equipment
- Slow cooker
Ingredients
- 5 lbs. sweet potatoes
- 3 tablespoons butter
- Brown sugar to taste
Instructions
- Peel potatoes and cut them into cubes, about ½ to 1 inch each
- Place cubes in a slow cooker and cover with water
- Cook on high for about 4 hours, or low for about 7 hours.
- It’s OK to leave fully cooked potatoes on “warm” until shortly before serving, up to 2 hours.
- Check that the potatoes are fully cooked, then drain the water.
- Add butter and some brown sugar.
- Turn the slow cooker off. Mash with a potato masher right in the slow cooker.
- Serve with a bowl of brown sugar on the table so everyone can have the sweetness they prefer.
Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 cans French cut green beans drained
- 2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
- ½ to 1 package of Lipton dried onion soup mix
- 2.8 oz. can French’s French Fried onions optional
Instructions
- Combine green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and dried onion soup mix in a large sized casserole dish.
- Stir until thoroughly combined.
- Bake covered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
- Top with dried onions, and bake uncovered an additional 5 minutes.
Creamed Spinach Casserole
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- 3/4 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ cup flour
- 3 ½ cups half-and-half or whole milk
- 2 lbs. chopped frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet, melt the butter and saute the onion and garlic in the melted butter until the onions are softened.
- Add the flour and spices, and continue cooking and stirring another 2-3 minutes.
- Slowly add the half-and-half, stirring until blended. Bring the mixture to a boil. Continue cooking and stirring until blended and thickened, another 5-8 minutes.
- Add in the spinach and parmesan cheese. You could cook it in the pan and serve immediately at this point, or transfer it to a casserole dish and refrigerate until later.
- When you’re ready to serve, heat the casserole at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until heated through.
Pecan Pie
Ingredients
- 1 prepared pie shell for 9 in. pie frozen or refrigerated
- 2 cups pecan halves
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Press pie dough into 9 in pie plate and crimp the edges. Line the pie dough with parchment paper, then pour pie weights on top of the parchment paper and spread evenly. Prebake the pie crust for 20 minutes. Remove the pie weights and parchment, and bake an additional 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, spread pecan halves on a cookie sheet and bake them for 7-8 minutes until lightly toasted.
- In a medium saucepan, combine sugars, corn syrup, flour, milk, bourbon, vanilla and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat, whisking constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Whisk eggs together in a large bowl. Slowly add sugar mixture, whisking constantly.
- Spread the pecans across the bottom of the pie crust. Pour sugar mixture evenly over the pecans. Stir gently until all pecans are coated and evenly distributed across the pie shell.
- Bake pie in preheated oven until pie is set and crust is golden brown, about 40-45 minutes. Cool completely before serving.
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