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Stress-Free Thanksgiving Dinner Planning & Timing Guide

Maximum Recommended Turkey Weight Using The Roasting Method in This Book

The cooking technique shown in this book requires HIGH oven heat (450 degrees Fahrenheit/230 degrees Celsius). I therefore recommend only using turkeys weighing up to 15 pounds for this method of roasting. If you’re planning to serve more than 20 people and want to use the cooking technique shown in this book, I recommend using two smaller sized turkeys, which are more tender than larger turkeys anyway, instead of one very large turkey to meet your serving needs.

How Much Turkey Do I Need?

Plan to feed at least the same number of people as the weight of the turkey in pounds. For example, a 12 pound turkey will feed at least 12-16 people; a 15 pound turkey will feed at least 15-20 people.

Fresh or Frozen Turkey?

It’s really your preference because the quality of frozen and fresh turkey meat is about equal. Frozen turkeys are less expensive and can be stored in the freezer for at least a month with no loss in meat moisture and tenderness but require time to defrost. Fresh turkeys are more perishable and are therefore more expensive because of how they have to be handled to get them to market safely. Fresh turkeys should be refrigerated until they’re ready to be prepared for roasting and should be cooked within a day or two of purchase to ensure maximum freshness.

Week of Thanksgiving: Buy all the ingredients you’ll need for the recipes you want to make (see Thanksgiving Dinner Shopping List Organized by Grocery Store Aisle for the all the ingredients listed in this book).

2-3 days before Thanksgiving:

•If you’re using a frozen turkey, see HOW TO THAW A FROZEN TURKEY in the Roast Turkey recipe for the thawing method that best suits your needs.

1 day before Thanksgiving:

•Prepare stuffing and refrigerate it covered in plastic wrap until an hour before baking it so that it can start to come to room temperature for more even cooking (see Bread Stuffing recipe, except don’t preheat oven in step 7).

•Make fresh cranberry sauce (see Fresh Cranberry Sauce recipe).

Thanksgiving Day: For a 12-15 pound turkey, start your preparations 4 1/2 - 5 hours before mealtime. As a rule of thumb for any turkey weighing up to 15 pounds using the cooking technique shown in this book, plan 1 hour to clean, season and let the turkey rest at room temperature for more even cooking. Then plan to roast the turkey for 10 minutes per pound without filling the turkey with stuffing - stuffing the turkey only adds more cooking time, which causes the meat to dry out and toughen. Finally, allow an additional 30 minutes after roasting for the turkey to rest so that the meat juices settle before carving.

4-5 hours before dinner:

•Clean, season and let the turkey rest at room temperature for 1 hour before cooking (see Roast Turkey recipe, through step 6).

•Peel or clean, then cut and cover potatoes with water for mashed potatoes (see Mashed Potatoes recipe, through step 3, except don’t turn on the stove).

About 2 ½ hours before dinner:

•Preheat oven to 450 degrees (230 degrees Celsius) and start roasting the turkey (see Roast Turkey recipe, steps 7 and 8).

1 hour before dinner:

•Turn the turkey breast-side up for last 30 minutes of roasting (see Roast Turkey recipe, steps 9 and 10).

45 minutes before dinner:

•Cook potatoes for mashed potatoes (see Mashed Potatoes recipe, steps 3-6).

•Put cranberry sauce on the table.

½ hour before dinner

•Take the turkey out of the oven, check for doneness and let it rest for 30 minutes before carving (see Roast Turkey recipe, steps 11 and 12 ).

•Bake stuffing (see Bread Stuffing recipe, steps 8 and 9).

•Make turkey gravy (see Turkey Gravy recipe).

•Finish mashed potatoes (see Mashed Potatoes recipe, steps 7-11).

Dinner time

•Carve turkey (Roast Turkey recipe, steps 13-15).

•Serve and enjoy a happy Thanksgiving!