What To Have In Your Kitchen on Thanksgiving

You want to make your Thanksgiving cooking experience an easier and more flavorful one? I would suggest having the following kitchen tools at your disposal.

1. Probe Therometer

The number one thing you need to have a moist turkey on Thanksgiving Day is a probe therometer. The best way to tell if your bird is done is to check it's temperature. Ignore those pop-up therometers that come in some birds,  I would never trust those. Also ignore what it says on the package for how long to cook per pound. There are too many factors that figure into play to make that an accurate method. A therometer is the only way and a prop one gives you the ability to follow the temperature without letting heat out of your oven by openning the door.

2. Roasting Pan w/Rack

You will need something to cook that turkey in and the best thing for the job is a roasting pan that comes with a rack that has handles. This will enable you to remove the turkey from the pan and to the cutting board without any trouble. The last thing you want to do is try to move the turkey to it's carving place directly from pan and accidentally send it to the floor

3. Electric Knife

No one wants to spend all day carving their turkey, so reaching for an electric knife is an obvious choice. No Thanksgiving dinner should be without one.

4. Stock Pot

Once all that remains of your turkey is bones, you might be tempted to just throw them away. That would surely be a waste. Those bones with a little help can be turned into a great tasting turkey stock. What I did last year, is I cooked a turkey breast before Thanksgiving Day and turned those books into a stock that I used as the basis for the best testing gravy around. In order to do this your going to need a stock pot. A stock pot can also be used for preparing a brine to add flavor to your Thanksgiving bird.

5. Heating Pad

No, this isn't for the person that hurt their arm, by using it too much to stuff too much food down their gullet. One of the biggest problems Thanksgiving Day is trying to keep all those dishes warm while waiting for the turkey to finish and guests to arrive. By placing a heating pad underneath your food, you will be able to keep it warm so that it can be at its best when everyone is ready to dig it.