Weekend Plans Post: Thanksgiving (American)
Every year at Thanksgiving, I listen to this song again:
A wonderful self-indulgent romp through nine-and-a-half minutes of a guy who listened to Bob Dylan and said “I could do that” and, you know what? He almost can.
This Thanksgiving we’re going over to the sister’s and will be enjoying the full catastrophe with everybody. Last year we didn’t. Last year we were distancing safely. This year? Heck, yeah! I’ll bring the pie! Pumpkin, Mixed Berry, and No Sugar Added Apple. The nephew is coming back down from university and I’ll get to hear stories about his freshman year and I’ll bore him with a story about mine and we’ll all sit around laughing and deliberately *NOT* talking about anything political and making jokes about football and college girls and about how much better this year is than last year was.
We might make the kiddos watch this clip from WKRP:
Tell them about watching it live. Tell them that it’s based on a true story. Tell them that the 70’s were so much better when it came to radio promotional gimmicks. Better music, too.
And eat way too much and take a nap on the couch and take home tupperwares full of leftovers and prepare myself emotionally for Christmas Music.
This year is so much better than last year, I’m reeling.
So… what’s on your docket?
(Featured image is a smug, smug Alice, letting us know that she has a long thanksgiving weekend every four days. Picture taken by Maribou.)
Alice’s Restaurant. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m57gzA2JCcM)Report
I listened to it. I was surprised to find that the story about the draft still hit hard. Even in the current year.Report
Oh yeah, it’s good stuff. Glad you liked it.Report
We had a major bummer with a breakthrough case of covid hitting my cousin. He is fine but the chain reaction resulted in my guest list cut in half. I am disappointed but making the best of it. And since I’m now only going to have to deep fry one turkey I can watch more football. Terrible match ups this year, but what can you do. The beer will flow and we will make merry anyway, and that’s all that counts.Report
I have friends who talk about “Dude, we smoked a turkey!”
I tell them stuff like “lemme know when you’ve deep fried one!”
They live in a cul de sac. When I’ve made fried turkey jokes in the past, they’ve made counter-jokes about lighting *ALL* of the houses in the neighborhood on fire instead of merely their own. What counter-counter-jokes do I need to tell them?Report
Why spend 8 hours making a turkey stinky when you can spend 90 minutes making it juicy?Report
They were worried about setting every house within 50 yards of the center of the cul de sac on fire.
I called them names, but it made no difference.Report
I’m not going to pretend I’m not perfectly capable of burning my house down but that’s weak sauce. My driveway goes into a big alley surrounded by townhouses (including my own). The fact that no one seems to be bothered by it speaks for itself.
I’ve been doing this for years though, with the first attempts made in college, and have even set it up at tailgates. All that matters is the Archimedes method for measuring the oil and not throwing the thing in frozen. Also good to turn the burner off while lowering the bird into the pot.
Seeing it done goes a long way to getting over the fear of a raging turkey inferno. You can get a kit for 100 bucks. Get one next year and lead them.Report
Living in a pine forest, frying a turkey is probably something I’ll never do…but it never occurred to me until you mentioned it how many of those ridiculous fires you see on the Youtubes resulted from throwing a frozen turkey into a hot oil bath. Yikes.
Next year I’m going to brine one. My wife’s prep is magnificent and the turkey comes out perfect every time, but I of course want to meddle.Report
About 90% of it is throwing a frozen solid turkey into 400 degrees of oil. The other two big errors are failing to account for displacement of oil when you lower the bird and/or leaving the burner running resulting in hot oil spilling into an open flame.Report
Yeah… as much as I like a good volunteer fire brigade fund raising video, it isn’t hard to fry a turkey… it’s only worth noting that there are things you should consider/look-up if this is your first time sort of thing.
Astonishingly, many people do not consider those things when it’s their first time.Report
Well, you know the instructions for doing it properly are hidden in the most obscure of places you’d never think to find them like the butterball turkey website.Report
Heat is so last year.
“Have there been any liquid nitrogen turkey videos?”, I asked myself.
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As much as I’d like to say challenge accepted I’d really need to see someone come out with something appetizing. Maybe the key is to season before freezing…Report
Hot oil seems like such an… uncertain way to set your house on fire. Using LOX to start your charcoal, now…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS7n4kVL5kAReport
My father-in-law loves to deep fry a turkey. While I’m not the world’s biggest turkey fan, I do admire the efficiency. The only quibble I have is it renders the skin, which is the best part of the bird, nearly inedible. For that, I’m foregoing my customary Thanksgiving prime rib. The joys of family.Report
This is why it’s critical to get a small-ish bird and do multiple for a big crowd. Your heart wants that 18-20 pounder but you shouldn’t ever attempt deep frying more than 15 lbs and I find the best result is with 12-13. That way it’s good and cooked inside before the outside gets over done.
But there’s always some trade off. On balance I find roasting in an oven is way harder without drying the whole thing out, even if it’s easier to get that great crisp skin.Report
Seriously, I would buy just the skin if I could.Report