The Easiest Way to Tackle your Turkey

With Thanksgiving only 2 days away, I began to ponder just how I would cook 2 turkeys and all the trimmings for 24 people with one stove, one crock pot and one instant pot but then a phone call made everything better. Here’s the advice I got:

“Why don’t you cook your turkeys the day before”

GASP!!! Whaaaaatttt???!!! Then the obvious questions came pouring out – “can I do that?”, “how do I do that?”, “will people care?” followed quickly by the realization that it just might be the most genius way to make my hosting simpler and less stressful. 

The Research

Of course, I went straight to the source, the U of G (university of google), because that is where all the smart kids go and got to researching just HOW to properly cook a turkey ahead of time. What I found was that this process means there will not be a Pinterest worthy turkey sitting on my table to be carved. Could I live with that? I thought so, so I kept reading. 

The general idea is to cook the turkey fully (not overcooking) and then carving it and covering to re-heat the next day so that you are leaving lots of time and space for all the other unsung heroes to use the precious oven space. So I rounded up some good links to walk you through just how to do this amazing trick: 

This link from Williams-Sonoma makes for a quick read with simple instruction on how to roast your turkey ahead of time.

and this post from Heavenly Home assures you that YES YOU CAN do this and that quite frankly, you totally should! Hello more time with you guests!

Just Do It

Let’s face it. Holidays, in general, can either be an event that leaves you feeling like you were spun around on a crazy carnival ride and you emerged just as everyone left and your house was destroyed, leaving you sitting with a glass of wine wondering ‘what the heck just happened’ OR you can find ways to simplify your holiday tasks and actually get time to enjoy the people who came to spend time with you and your family. 

This year, I give you permission to reclaim your holiday. Reclaim precious stories with family you don’t often see. Give yourself permission to choose simple over extravagant. Chose connection over occupied. 

I know which one I am choosing! Have you ever pre-cooked a turkey? Do you plan to try it this year? Leave me a comment below. Now that you’ve got the turkey ordeal simplifed, it’s time to get some tips on making the rest of the day go as smoothly. 

I love new friends!