Chef Ashton Keefe shares some of her turkey day tips to help take the stress out of Thanksgiving dinner.
Thanksgiving can be stressful, but Chef Ashton Keefe is sharing her turkey day tips to make your meal a big hit.
As you're prepping the Thanksgiving meal, you might forget some items that you need to cook but Keefe has a couple hacks for you.
If you wake up on Thanksgiving and realize you don’t have a rack for the turkey, Keefe says to take tin foil, roll it up and make it a circular shape and stick it in the bottom of the pan.
“The great thing about this is it allows air to circulate underneath the bird so the whole thing is crispy and it cooks easily,” she said.
Time is of the essence when you are cooking and making potatoes always is a chore. If you are in a time crunch and can’t peel the potatoes fast enough, there is a hack for that.
“Put your potatoes in whole and boil them for about 15-20 minutes,” she said. “Once our potatoes are done what we're gonna do is stick them in an ice bath for about 10 seconds and the skin is gonna come off real easily.”
If you have some gravy and it is bland, Keefe says to add some soy sauce to it.
“Gravy saves everything, a couple drops of soy sauce is going to add a nice umami and keep your guests eating and eating and pouring it over everything,” she said. “It adds nice flavor and color.”
If the gravy gets done early and you want to keep it warm, Keefe says to just put it in a thermos and cover it. When you are ready to serve, pour it out.
Stuffing is always a hit as a side during the big meal, but Keefe has a simple and fun way to make it.
"We're gonna make stuffing muffins and this is an awesome way to involve your kids,” she said. “Just scoop it in and the center will be moist and in the outside will be nice and crispy. So this also saves room on your Thanksgiving table.”
As you're getting ready to take out the turkey, Keefe has one more piece of advice to make it look like a picturesque bird.
“[To] that bird super Instagrammable for your guest is about 15 minutes before your turkey's done, you're gonna take some balsamic vinegar and just brush your turkey with it, it will make it nice a crispy and brown,” she said.
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