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Pictured recipe:Slow-Roasted Rosemary Turkey with Peppercorn Gravy
You can always trust Ina Garten to have tips at the ready whenever a big food and entertaining holiday comes up. We’ve relied on the Barefoot Contessa for everything froma delicious holiday cocktailto full menus for summer holidays likethe Fourth of JulyandMemorial Day. Thankfully, Garten has already revealedher 2021 Thanksgiving menu, which we’re definitely going to copy. Now Ina is sharing some of her favorite tips and tricks for a make-ahead Thanksgiving dinner that we can’t wait to try out.
Her first tip has to do with the star of the show: the Thanksgiving turkey. Garten’sMake-Ahead Turkey & Gravyis packed with delicious flavors like onion, sage and thyme—and Garten says it’s the best turkey she’s ever made. “After years of stressing over the turkey, I found that roasting and carving it ahead of time, arranging it on an oven-proof platter over a bed of gravy, and then putting it in the oven before dinner is SO much easier than trying to carve a hot turkey at the table!,” Garten wrote on Instagram. “It’s also the best turkey I’ve ever made.”
Commenters chimed in to double-down on Garten’s turkey recipe being the best around—including Clinton Kelly, who wrote that Garten’s gravy recipe is a Thanksgiving “go-to” that he calls “super yum.” And while others chimed in to say they were concerned about slicing the turkey well enough to serve it carved, Garten responded with her philosophy for perfectly sliced poultry. “I cut off each breast in one large piece, then sliced it thickly so each slice has some meat and skin,” she wrote. “It’s moister and looks better on the platter.”
Think of pairing your turkey with Garten’sParmesan Smashed Potatoes, which she gave make-ahead instructions for on Al Roker’sCooking Up a Stormpodcast, and herMake-Ahead Cranberry Sauce, which is on her menu for this year’s turkey day. (You could also try out some ofour favorite make-ahead Thanksgiving sidesfor a relaxed holiday.)
For more make-ahead winners, pick up Garten’s 2014 cookbookMake It Ahead, or get started right away with one ofthese tasty make-ahead dinners.
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