Thanksgiving turkey is good until Sunday or Monday, not the following Thursday. The storage times worth knowing, and three recipes that use up a lot of turkey before the clock runs out.
Stuffing or dressing: the honest answer is mostly about where you grew up. What actually changes the dish is where you bake it, and the one step that keeps the middle from going to paste.
The last 20 minutes before Thanksgiving dinner are when gravy goes lumpy. Make it from roasted turkey wings before the day, and all that is left is reheating it and stirring in the drippings.
Shaving slices off the side of the bird at the table gives you stringy meat and a carcass still covered in turkey. Taking it apart in the kitchen first is faster, and every slice comes out tender.
The pop-up timer and the clear-juices test both get it wrong. Here is the timetable to plan with, the three spots a thermometer has to go, and the fix when the breast is done before the legs.
A 20-pound turkey needs five days in the fridge, so the start date sneaks up fast. Here is the date to begin for your bird's size, and the cold-water rescue if you are already late.
