Thanksgiving Recipes

[Lidig8r 1874]

8 hours ago, mchookem said:

no idea how this is gonna taste... i'm cooking at altitude as well as doing all this for the first time 😄 also...didn't have Grand Marnier after all...subbed Cointreau 😏 if I fucked it up, i have a can of the jelly stuff 😁

anyway... look right?

also progress on baked goods... mom's pumpkin cake and a 30 year old recipe called Denise's Killer Chocolate Chip Cookies. and no, i have no idea who Denise was but her cookies are awesome. 

Looks good!  I like mine to not be completely smooth. The different textures adds added flavor and interest.

[Texzilla58 4742]

I’m in Scotland this week visiting my kid, so no dressing. I guess it’s to be haggis. Will report back.
In the meantime if somebody makes my dressing for the first time, a couple of things:
1) this is a forgiving recipe but the ratio of liquid to solid in the Z Tejas version is waaay too high and you should not go near that point. If anything, cut a couple of tablespoons from mine and mix in slowly to achieve your desired gloppiness- cornbread and tamales vary.
2) add tamales pieces last and fold in. Try not to break up the chunks 
3) your dressing will be MUCH better with stale cornbread. Make it today if you can or buy yesterday’s cornbread at HEB.
4) I’ve come to the conclusion that goat cheese is essential. 
5) don’t use fancy tamales- HEB La Comida or Hill Country Fare pork tamales work best. You want thick, firm masa shells.
6) a genius DM’d me once about this, so let me answer their question here: yes, you should remove the husks. 

My wife had a great idea to make the tamale dressing, then scooping back into the husks and steaming like tamales. I haven’t tried it though.

[Bozo_Casanova 26521]

18 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

My wife had a great idea to make the tamale dressing, then scooping back into the husks and steaming like tamales. I haven’t tried it though.

That’s a very nice plating idea. Might be a good idea to rinse and smoke them first.

[Texzilla58 4742]

I would actually get new husks and make fat tamales. She got the idea as she was thinking of those tenderloin tamales at Reata.

Might be interesting inside a grilled poblano relleno.

[Bozo_Casanova 26521]

Daaaaaamn

[Brisketexan 105200]

I would actually get new husks and make fat tamales. She got the idea as she was thinking of those tenderloin tamales at Reata.

Might be interesting inside a grilled poblano relleno.

Ever had the fried tamale balls at the state fair after we kick the shit outta OU? Shades of that.

[Anastasis 23481]

They should give a food booth at the fair to the surly brain trust.  Not to run, cause that would be a total clusterfuck (taxes are hard).  But just to create the menu. 

[After irth 1243]

On 11/22/2022 at 11:02 AM, Bozo_Casanova said:

I’m in Scotland this week visiting my kid, so no dressing. I guess it’s to be haggis. Will report back.

In the meantime if somebody makes my dressing for the first time, a couple of things:

1) this is a forgiving recipe but the ratio of liquid to solid in the Z Tejas version is waaay too high and you should not go near that point. If anything, cut a couple of tablespoons from mine and mix in slowly to achieve your desired gloppiness- cornbread and tamales vary.

2) add tamales pieces last and fold in. Try not to break up the chunks 

3) your dressing will be MUCH better with stale cornbread. Make it today if you can or buy yesterday’s cornbread at HEB.

4) I’ve come to the conclusion that goat cheese is essential. 

5) don’t use fancy tamales- HEB La Comida or Hill Country Fare pork tamales work best. You want thick, firm masa shells.

6) a genius DM’d me once about this, so let me answer their question here: yes, you should remove the husks. 

It was a real winner. I made a white queso and even threw a few fried eggs on top. 

[Texzilla58 4742]

Back to my cranberry sauce recipe that applies to everyone’s recipe. Do Not Walk Away! Watch the pot, which should be twice the size it should be.

I made the mistake of cooking several other things while doing the cranberries this time. Turned my back and it boiled over like fucking Mt St Helen’s. Hot liquefied sugar lava all over the stove. What a fucking mess.

[strangulation! 1716]

On 11/26/2022 at 11:54 AM, After irth said:

It was a real winner. I made a white queso and even threw a few fried eggs on top. 

do you have the full recipe by chance? i want to make some test runs before thanksgiving.

[luke duke 6413]

https://www.chefclub.tv/en-us/recipes/original/5b24ef63-19fb-4c6c-85d9-8ba85f9a66b9/2-in-1-thanksgiving-turkey-with-built-in-cheesy-mashed-potatoes/
 
 

I’ve seen that scene.

[Steamboat1874 4075]

No need to brine your turkey if you use one of these......

[Etexhorn13 3052]

21 hours ago, strangulation! said:

do you have the full recipe by chance? i want to make some test runs before thanksgiving.

 

On 11/20/2019 at 12:35 PM, CooterBrown said:

Jack Allen's Tamale Dressing

INGREDIENTS
1 ½ pounds corn bread (use your favorite recipe)
6 tablespoons butter
1 ½ cups onion, chopped
1 ½ cups red bell peppers, chopped
2 cups poblano [peppers], chopped
3 large jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 tablespoon sage (fresh), chopped*
1 ½ tablespoons oregano (dried)
¾ cup cilantro (fresh), chopped
1 ½ cups corn chips, crushed
1 ½ cups corn kernels, can be frozen or fresh (but thaw out before baking)
1 dozen tamales, remove the shuck and chop into 1 inch pieces
3 cups chicken stock
1 ¼ cups cream style canned corn
*Note: The 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh sage can be substituted with 4 teaspoons of dried sage.

PREPARATION
Corn bread preparation: Melt the butter in large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Next, add the onions, bell peppers, poblanos, jalapeños, sage, and oregano into the mix. Begin to sauté until all of the vegetables are tender. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl containing the corn bread. Then, mix in cilantro, corn chips, kernel corn, cream style corn, and heated chicken stock. Add tamales at the end and do not break them up beforehand. Finally, add salt and pepper as needed to increase the overall taste. If the stuffing is considered too dry, just add a little melted butter until dryness leaves. Stuffing preparation: Pre-heat the oven to 325° and place the butter in a baking dish measuring 13 x 9 x 2 inches. Then, pour the mixture into the baking dish and cover the dish with foil. Next, bake the mixture approximately 45 minutes. Finally, remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes until the stuffing has browned.

More info on page 1

[After irth 1243]

On 11/22/2022 at 11:02 AM, Bozo_Casanova said:

I’m in Scotland this week visiting my kid, so no dressing. I guess it’s to be haggis. Will report back.

In the meantime if somebody makes my dressing for the first time, a couple of things:

1) this is a forgiving recipe but the ratio of liquid to solid in the Z Tejas version is waaay too high and you should not go near that point. If anything, cut a couple of tablespoons from mine and mix in slowly to achieve your desired gloppiness- cornbread and tamales vary.

2) add tamales pieces last and fold in. Try not to break up the chunks 

3) your dressing will be MUCH better with stale cornbread. Make it today if you can or buy yesterday’s cornbread at HEB.

4) I’ve come to the conclusion that goat cheese is essential. 

5) don’t use fancy tamales- HEB La Comida or Hill Country Fare pork tamales work best. You want thick, firm masa shells.

6) a genius DM’d me once about this, so let me answer their question here: yes, you should remove the husks. 

I know you made improvements over the Z Tejas version, and that I made your version last year.  Like a dumbass, I didn't write it down, and it's vanished along with Shaggy.  Care to grace us once again with your culinary vision?

[Bozo_Casanova 26521]

15 minutes ago, After irth said:

I know you made improvements over the Z Tejas version, and that I made your version last year.  Like a dumbass, I didn't write it down, and it's vanished along with Shaggy.  Care to grace us once again with your culinary vision?

I’m traveling today but will dig up pics and post fresh guide tonight

[Bozo_Casanova 26521]

Considering we've been working off a recipe posted while tipsy 15 years ago on the shag that used pics that disappeared, we've done pretty well, but I figure I would refresh this for posterity with new pics and consolidate some of this to make it easier to follow. 
This is an adaptation of the Jack Allen recipe printed in Texas monthly that incorporates some of my own ideas and my grandmother's instruction on technique.  I think mine is better 
INGREDIENTS (see pic)
2 packages of HEB cornbread or make your own. Either way, it should be a minimum of 2 and ideally 3 days old.
a stick of butter
1TB yellow mustard seeds
1/2 TB whole cominos
2 Red bell peppers
2-3 poblanos
celery
1 chopped sweet yellow 1015 onion
as much or little chopped fresh garlic as you want
2 large jalapeños
1TB each dry Sage, oregano (dried)
Fresh chopped rosemary and thyme
fresh cilantro
4-5 crushed tostadas
one bag frozen cord
1 dozen tamales chopped into 1 inch sections (these go in LAST)
chicken stock (just enough)
1 can cups cream corn
1 package crumbled goat cheese
2 finely chopped chipotles in adobo sauce (and a little of the sauce)
Salt and black pepper to taste

 

ideally you would make this the day before, because it's always better the next day. 
BEFORE YOU START: GREASE THE FUCK OUT OF A CASSEROLE DISH USING THE STICK OF BUTTER. This will consume about 1TB of butter or so. Preheat your oven to 325.
First - melt the rest of the butter in a cast iron dutch oven or very deep skillet. Add the mustard and cumin seeds and cook over medium heat.
 

At the moment you hear the first seed pop, add all of the chopped vegetables, spices,  and herbs other than cilantro.



when the veggies are soft, remove from heat. 
In a large bowl, crumble the cornbread, and mix in the cilantro, crushed tostadas and frozen corn

mix in the vegetables


Then add the goat cheese and the cream corn, and just enough broth to be gloppy, but not slurry. I start with about a cup of broth and go from there. It really depends. It's easier to add more than deal with too much. 
Chop your tamales like so


FOLD those into the glop and do not break them up, Gently transfer to casserole dish. It should look about like this


Cover in foil, bake for 45 minutes at 325, then remove foil and bake for another 20-25 at 400 to brown the top. 
Then refrigerate, reheat covered at 350 for 50 minutes, and at 425 uncovered for 15 more. 
The finished product looks like this.


Happy Thanksgiving and don't forget to drink heavily

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by Bozo_Casanova

[After irth 1243]

You are THE MAN!  Thank you for reviving it.  It was wonderful last year when I made it, and I plan on making it twice this holiday season.  

Cheers to you, my Surly brother!

[NoName 16369]

18 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Considering we've been working off a recipe posted while tipsy 15 years ago on the shag that used pics that disappeared, we've done pretty well, but I figure I would refresh this for posterity with new pics and consolidate some of this to make it easier to follow. 
This is an adaptation of the Jack Allen recipe printed in Texas monthly that incorporates some of my own ideas and my grandmother's instruction on technique.  I think mine is better 
INGREDIENTS (see pic)
2 packages of HEB cornbread or make your own. Either way, it should be a minimum of 2 and ideally 3 days old.
a stick of butter
1TB yellow mustard seeds
1/2 TB whole cominos
2 Red bell peppers
2-3 poblanos
celery
1 chopped sweet yellow 1015 onion
as much or little chopped fresh garlic as you want
2 large jalapeños
1TB each dry Sage, oregano (dried)
Fresh chopped rosemary and thyme
fresh cilantro
4-5 crushed tostadas
one bag frozen cord
1 dozen tamales chopped into 1 inch sections (these go in LAST)
chicken stock (just enough)
1 can cups cream corn
1 package crumbled goat cheese
2 finely chopped chipotles in adobo sauce (and a little of the sauce)
Salt and black pepper to taste

 

ideally you would make this the day before, because it's always better the next day. 
BEFORE YOU START: GREASE THE FUCK OUT OF A CASSEROLE DISH USING THE STICK OF BUTTER. This will consume about 1TB of butter or so. Preheat your oven to 325.
First - melt the rest of the butter in a cast iron dutch oven or very deep skillet. Add the mustard and cumin seeds and cook over medium heat.
 

At the moment you hear the first seed pop, add all of the chopped vegetables, spices,  and herbs other than cilantro.



when the veggies are soft, remove from heat. 
In a large bowl, crumble the cornbread, and mix in the cilantro, crushed tostadas and frozen corn

mix in the vegetables


Then add the goat cheese and the cream corn, and just enough broth to be gloppy, but not slurry. I start with about a cup of broth and go from there. It really depends. It's easier to add more than deal with too much. 
Chop your tamales like so


FOLD those into the glop and do not break them up, Gently transfer to casserole dish. It should look about like this


Cover in foil, bake for 45 minutes at 325, then remove foil and bake for another 20-25 at 400 to brown the top. 
Then refrigerate, reheat covered at 350 for 50 minutes, and at 425 uncovered for 15 more. 
The finished product looks like this.


Happy Thanksgiving and don't forget to drink heavily

 

incredible - THANK YOU

[Born to Run 6569]

I smoke stuff, and this turkey tasted like ash. However I did make stock out of carcass yesterday. I am wondering if it was smoked for too long or somebody got some bad wood. 

Coming out of the way back machine, but Mike Levy used to send us one every year and they were always perfect. They inspired me to start smoking turkeys again. *
You must have been unlucky and got a dud.

* I still prefer Thomas Keller's recipe for my birds

[jimmyjazz 46045]

Not sure if it's made the thread so far, but I've shared this a couple of times and people seem to like it.  Super simple and delicious, possibly more suited to XMas and prime rib, if that's your thing.  I modified a couple of different online recipes to zero in on this, and as I recall it ended up pretty much like one of the ones I took as inspiration.  The long and winding road . . .

 

Horseradish cream sauce:

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup grated prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

[dcbc 14506]

I made a turkey gravy credited to Anthony Bourdain that was in Food & Wine in 2016.  I started by roasting a small, "stunt turkey" on Sunday.  I Reserved the pan drippings and vegetables from the pan (Carrots, celery, onion), and made stock from the carcass. 

 

The gravy is excellent.  Here's the recipe:

2 shallots (chopped)

3 quarts of Turkey stock

2 Cups of dry, red wine.

Add the above to a pot and simmer until reduced by one-half.  Strain, and set aside.

 

In a large sauce pan over moderate heat, melt a stick of butter and add 1/2 cup of flour.  Stir until golden brown.  Add back the reduced wine/stock mixture.  Add 1/4 cup of pan drippings.  Simmer until you reach a desired thickness, whisking occasionally.  This took a while.  When you get to the desired thickness, add 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce and 1 tsp of fish sauce.  Stir this in, and add salt and pepper to taste. 

 

Supposedly, it freezes well.  That's what I did.

 

 

 

[jimmyjazz 46045]

Sounds good.  One could short circuit with hopefully little penalty just by using chicken stock instead of roasting the stunt turkey?

[South Austin 52552]

Sounds like work, dcbc.  Can I just swing by and pick up a few cups of the finished product?

[Jerry Callo 8716]

Pro-tip:  make turkey stock the day after T-giving and freeze until next year.  I always have enough for gravy and dressing.  Bags designed to hold breast milk work great for freezing stock.

[dcbc 14506]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Sounds good.  One could short circuit with hopefully little penalty just by using chicken stock instead of roasting the stunt turkey?

Yes.  One could.  And I keep plenty of boxes on-hand.  But for the holidays or when I otherwise really want to do it up right, I make stock.  Roasting the stunt turkey was the easiest, least time-consuming part of the process.  Plus, pan drippings are a crucial ingredient, in my humble opinion.  And since my primary bird is smoked, the best I end up with from that process is smokey butter, which is not without its charm, but . . . . 

Edited November 15, 2023 by dcbc

[dcbc 14506]

1 hour ago, South Austin said:

Sounds like work, dcbc.  Can I just swing by and pick up a few cups of the finished product?

I would, but 3 quarts went into the gravy.  What's left will go into the dressing.  I made chicken stock a few weeks back, and that's going into the gumbo. 

 

So

 

 

Edited November 15, 2023 by dcbc

[locodos 5388]

Make this now for Turkey day and save the rest for xmas...

 

[Texzilla58 4742]

Not sure if it's made the thread so far, but I've shared this a couple of times and people seem to like it.  Super simple and delicious, possibly more suited to XMas and prime rib, if that's your thing.  I modified a couple of different online recipes to zero in on this, and as I recall it ended up pretty much like one of the ones I took as inspiration.  The long and winding road . . .
 
Horseradish cream sauce:

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup grated prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

This sauce is good on anything.

[utee94 15842]

2 hours ago, locodos said:

Make this now for Turkey day and save the rest for xmas...

 

Dude, we have an entire thread for that.

 

 

[locodos 5388]

15 hours ago, utee94 said:

Dude, we have an entire thread for that.

 

 

[pops 7006]

Going to do braised short ribs this year. Every recipe kind of looks the same...sear, trinity, tomato paste, wine, braise. Anyone got a recipe that kicks it up,  or is it just how it is?  Never made them for reasons I don't really know. 

[Mo Horn 8853]

Pretty hard to mess with perfection, but if you do want to do something different you can do Korean style beef ribs. 

[jimmyjazz 46045]

2 hours ago, pops said:

Going to do braised short ribs this year. Every recipe kind of looks the same...sear, trinity, tomato paste, wine, braise. Anyone got a recipe that kicks it up,  or is it just how it is?  Never made them for reasons I don't really know. 

I've made a recipe that Giada showed on one of her shows, and it rules.  It's definitely braised, I'm thinking it had pearl onions, red wine, many of the usuals, served over penne pasta?  I don't have time to search at the moment.  It's definitely a fall/winter comfort dish, but holy smokes it was glorious.

[dcbc 14506]

3 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

I've made a recipe that Giada showed on one of her shows, and it rules.  It's definitely braised, I'm thinking it had pearl onions, red wine, many of the usuals, served over penne pasta?  I don't have time to search at the moment.  It's definitely a fall/winter comfort dish, but holy smokes it was glorious.

She cooks?

[Texzilla58 4742]

She cooks. She just doesn’t eat. There are spit buckets near her on set at all times.

[Wiler77 1567]

4 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

I've made a recipe that Giada showed on one of her shows, and it rules.  It's definitely braised, I'm thinking it had pearl onions, red wine, many of the usuals, served over penne pasta?  I don't have time to search at the moment.

I do. Was it this one?

 

[Brisketexan 105200]

I do. Was it this one?

 

That’s an excellent damned recipe.

[DalTxHornFan 3114]

8 hours ago, pops said:

Going to do braised short ribs this year. Every recipe kind of looks the same...sear, trinity, tomato paste, wine, braise. Anyone got a recipe that kicks it up,  or is it just how it is?  Never made them for reasons I don't really know. 

Yep.  I pretty much riff off of Julia Child's famous Beef Bourguignon recipe when I do short ribs.  Don't skimp on the pearl onions or on browning them well.  (I've done shallots before and was pleased with that, too.}  I'd seen some folks using cognac in addition to the wine and tried that to good result, especially when deglazing the pan after the browning is done  Oven is way better than stove top -- set it and forget it.

Importantly, it is going to taste better the next day or two after you cook it, so start early and have a leisurely Thanksgiving Day knowing that you only need to heat it up before serving it.

Bon Appetit!

[Underdog 28764]

Tits & Teeth. 

[dcbc 14506]

My roll game is strong this year. Test batch for office party.

[South Austin 52552]

Needs more butter.

[dcbc 14506]

2 hours ago, South Austin said:

Needs more butter.

Yeah, right.  I blotted the butter in between the rolls with a paper towel after that picture.

[DoobieWah 1454]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!.gif

[Jerry Callo 8716]

174 turkeys cooked for the community.

[Etexhorn13 3052]

Tamale dressing ready to go for my South Louisiana in-laws tomorrow. 

All I can think about when adding the tamales to the rest of the mixture 

Edited November 22, 2023 by Etexhorn13

[Bozo_Casanova 26521]

55 minutes ago, Etexhorn13 said:

Tamale dressing ready to go for my South Louisiana in-laws tomorrow. 

All I can think about when adding the tamales to the rest of the mixture 

Ooowee! 

[mchookem 16358]

not hosting this year but bringing cornbread dressing (ready for the oven in the morning), mashed pots... and the same pumpkin cake i made for the first time last year, my late mom's recipe.

but of course this year i put my own spin on it 😁

Edited November 23, 2023 by mchookem

[Etexhorn13 3052]

My only conclusion after having a small batch to taste test, is don’t be afraid to add plenty of salt in the “salt and pepper to taste” step. Caveat being that my in-laws only had table salt which I’m always afraid to add too much of, but a couple of cranks on top of my test batch proved useful. I’m going to add a handful of cranks of sea salt tomorrow before mixing again and rebaking, but it definitely needed some. 

[Texzilla58 4742]

I don’t see any folks having some of the typical traditional awfulness of the Texas Thanksgiving spread. And where do we put stories about your irritating drunk brother in law or annoying nephew your sister spawned.

I’m unlike many in that I hate pumpkin pie and sweet potato anything. I also don’t like lazy. Cold prefab rolls in a little tray. Canned cranberry sauce. A tub of country crock on the table. Sides from Popeyes or grocery in the store containers.

My worst things:

Cornbread oyster dressing. My grandmother made it for an uncle with the limestone county luxury item of canned oysters. Horrible. Tastes like fish slime and machine screws are I. Your dressing. And stinks the house up.

Congealed salads. An unfortuntradition of Texas cuisine. My grandmother and an aunt would bring new ones each holiday. Barf jelly in a mold. Lemon jello, tuna fish, canned English peas, cottage cheese.. Lime jello, mayo, Pineapple, avocado, baby marshmallow, canned baby shrimp. Dr Pepper, cherry jello. Pecans, pimento, cool whip. The list was long. My dad hated them so they were one of the few things that fell outside the “one bite so you might actually like it” rule.

Weird oddball shit. Chicken fried deer heart. Squirrel egg rolls. First Thanksgiving food: “it’s pimmican!” “It’s spelt gruel!”. Kale brownies. Leave it at home.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Hope your family is close and happy.

[Anastasis 23481]

I wanted to posrep that post but just couldn't do it with the "I hate pumpkin pie" bit. 

8 hours ago, mchookem said:

not hosting this year but bringing cornbread dressing (ready for the oven in the morning), mashed pots... and the same pumpkin cake i made for the first time last year, my late mom's recipe.

but of course this year i put my own spin on it 😁

 

Recipe please. That looks great.