Professional Chef Tips for Thanksgiving
It’s been an eventful week for me and I apologize for the disruption in the posting schedule. In my last post, I provided easy alternatives to organizing a full course Thanksgiving dinner for a low-stress holiday for those who don’t cook.
Today, we will go to the opposite end of the spectrum–organizing a sophisticated meal of culinary perfection. More and more people are becoming foodies and skilled cooks. These folks don’t dread Thanksgiving preparations but enjoy working in the kitchen. They enjoy testing new recipes and creating edible masterpieces for their family and friends. If you are planning a complex Thanksgiving meal, organization is even more important to your success.
If you feel overwhelmed by all that is required to prepare a Thanksgiving meal, take heart that even professional chefs find Thanksgiving menus challenging. For many restaurants, Thanksgiving is the biggest business day of the year. Professional chefs have to manage both meal preparation stress and the financial stress of turning a good profit. The meal has to be delicious and perfectly cooked. So, what tricks do professional chefs use? Below are 10 tips compiled from the wisdom of the Internet.
1. Have the right expectations. Thanksgiving is steeped in tradition and we have all been indoctrinated with images of whole turkeys served on platters as the pinnacle of Thanksgiving culinary perfection. Would you be surprised to know that fine restaurants almost never cook the turkey this way when serving their guests?
“Lesson No. 1 in preparing food for the holiday, chefs say: Cut up the bird before cooking. Abandon the Norman Rockwell ideal of serving a whole turkey in its golden-roasted splendor. If your bird looks like that, [Bobby] Flay said: ‘Something’s wrong. Something’s either overcooked or undercooked.’”
–Sam Sifton, “Chef’s Tips for the Thanksgiving Meal,” The New York Times, November 9, 2010.
How do you make the turkey if you don’t roast a whole bird? Try Ted Allen’s Deconstructed Holiday Turkey with Sage Gravy.
2. Option 1: Menu planning: Stick with the tried and true. Paula Deen, the queen of southern cooking, keeps Thanksgiving simple by sticking to old reliable favorites:
“I don’t mess around with Thanksgiving. It’s one of those holidays where a traditional meal really counts. Every year the family gathers in the kitchen and Jamie says grace, thankin’ the Lord for all of our many blessings. Then we pull up to a table overflowin’ with tried-and-true recipes like Aunt Peggy’s Sweet Potato Souffle, giblet gravy and my wonderful ambrosia cranberry sauce. And I don’t vary from that. I give everybody their favorites—the dishes that always deliver. In fact, I don’t recommend anybody using this holiday to pull out a brand new recipe. No surprises on Thanksgiving. Sometimes surprises work out all right, but real comfort food comes from doing what you’ve always done best.”
–Paula Deen, Holiday Dishes with a Southern Flair!, pauladeen.com
3. Option 2: Menu Planning: Get creative! Perhaps it is a regional difference but while Paula Deen aims to preserve tradition in her southern cooking, New York chefs have a different perspective:
“Boredom, in any event, is the enemy of all cooks, and of all successful Thanksgivings.”
–Sam Sifton, “Chef’s Tips for the Thanksgiving Meal,” The New York Times, November 9, 2010.
Ruly Reader Ben foreshadowed this tip in his comment on my last post:
“I have a standing request (from H) to make my garlic mashed potatoes, but enjoy branching out to make new things. . . . As fun as it is to make the same thing each year, I really like finding new challenges.”
While many of us would be thrilled to have a signature dish that always comes out perfectly and that our family and friends love, it is understandable that a professional chef finds little interest in making the same dishes over and over and over. Particularly for a meal as time consuming as Thanksgiving, I imagine professional chefs want to maximize their time in the kitchen by testing out new flavors and cooking techniques.
Still, almost every chef agrees that you can only stray so far from traditional Thanksgiving flavors without alienating your guests. People need to experience the flavors they expect, like squash, potatoes, cranberries, turkey, etc. but in a new way.
4. Organize Your Recipes. Martha Stewart shares a great tip for organizing Thanksgiving recipes so they are easy to access on the big day.
“Once your recipes are gathered, protect them with laminated cards and place in a loose-leaf ring. Should anything spill on the recipe, the lamination makes for easy clean-up.”
–Martha Stewart, Martha’s Thanksgiving Tips, marthastewart.com
This is also a great tip because if you do this, next year you just pull out your ring of recipes and add or replace as needed to speed meal planning next year. It could also be a great memory ring of Thanksgivings past.
5. Maximize space in the fridge. Top Chef finalist Carla Hall teamed up with Wal-Mart to offer this great article on her Thanksgiving preparation tips. My favorite tip was her use of Ziploc/resealable bags to save space in the fridge.
“Take advantage of resealable bags. They lay flat, they stack and they’re see-through so you can see what’s in them. Also, if you’re marinating something, you’ll end up using less marinade when using a resealable bag and have less clean up. More room in fridge means more room for your family favorites on the table.”
–Walmartstores.com press release, “Walmart and “Top Chef” Finalist Carla Hall Offer Tips for Cooking with Love for Less this Thanksgiving,” November 12, 2010.
6. Maximize space in the oven. The oven is massively overscheduled on Thanksgiving Day and can be a limiting factor in being able to pull all the components of the meal together simultaneously. What does a professional chef do when working with the limited oven space of a home kitchen? A key factor is planning the menu to include a variety of things that don’t require the oven, including cold dishes. Another factor is utilizing all the cooking tools available to you in the kitchen.
“*** Don’t be afraid to put things in the microwave!!! If stove and oven space is limited, put the stuffing in the microwave, heat and cover. Same with the sweet or mashed potatoes, whatever else will help. Don’t make yourself crazy cramming stuff in the oven, one night won’t be the end of the world. If it is the difference between cold stuffing or potatoes, use it!!!!”
–Barbara Esmonde, “Thanksgiving Countdown Checklist,” Life in the Kitchen Blog
Food and Wine does not suggest using the microwave but does suggest the grill and the stovetop. A crockpot is another option.
7. Cook ahead. Fresh out of the oven? Not necessarily. Professional chefs know how to save time on the big day and ensure quality food by cooking ahead. Take this tip from Chef Gerry Garvin (a.k.a. G. Garvin).
“Doing your ham and turkey the night before is definitely the way to go. Cook stuffing and other dishes 75 to 80 percent ahead of time. That way the next day you’re just finishing up and it’s already made.”
— Charreah Jackson, “Chef G. Garvin Gives Tips for Thanksgiving,” Essence.com, November 19, 2010.
8. Know Your Limits and Cook Safely. Some parts of Thanksgiving cooking are downright dangerous! Chef Ted Allen provides this warning about deep frying turkeys.
“Beware of deep-frying. I’m not saying not to do it — deep-fried turkey is a delicious Southern confection. But unfortunately, every holiday season, a startling number of poultry Rambos burn their decks, their houses, their pets or themselves trying to make one. It’s so dangerous that Underwriters Laboratories won’t put its UL product-safety logo on any turkey-frying kit, arguing that none is truly safe for home use. If you are frying this year, get a fire extinguisher and make sure you use an oil with a high smoking point, like canola or corn (never olive). And lower the turkey very slowly and carefully into the hot oil.”
–Ted Allen, “Ted’s Tips for a Stress-Free Thanksgiving,” Food Network Magazine
9. Pay Attention to Visual Presentation. All professional chefs know that people eat with their eyes. Food has to look as good as it tastes. From a welcoming table to the presentation of food on the plate, a professional chef pays attention to all details of the meal. Better Homes & Gardens has numerous suggestions for setting a welcoming table, including this great tip for place cards consisting of a note of thanks personalized for each guest.
10. Let others help! Yes, even professional chefs who are capable of making every element of the meal perfectly usually don’t do it! Sometimes they don’t even cook at all on Thanksgiving and savor the work of others.
“I always think somebody else should do the cooking. The holidays are when everyone else enjoys cooking because I love it throughout the year. This is the time I get to be the guest and it’s fun. . . . [A]round the holidays, as a chef, every time I’m invited somewhere, I always end up in the kitchen. They’re like, ‘Yo, the roast ain’t looking right. Can you take a look?'”
— Charreah Jackson, “Chef G. Garvin Gives Tips for Thanksgiving,” Essence.com, November 19, 2010.
Last year, when you were at home slaving over the stove envisioning “What Would Martha Do?” know that Martha was out partying with friends, having brunch at Thomas Keller’s Per Se restaurant and dinner at The Four Seasons!
Hope you find some inspiration from these pro tips! How is your own Thanksgiving organization coming along? Please share in the comments.