November 12, 2021

Thanksgiving Day Timeline

Planning a meal for many people is no small task. It requires coordination and a timeline to make sure everything is hot and ready at the same time. I find the Thanksgiving meal to be one of the more challenging because that greedy turkey takes up the oven space for so long…making it hard to make your other dishes.

Conveniently, for a holiday such as this, I have two ovens. Don’t be envious though – while I have two ovens one is a REALLY small oven and the other is not even a full sized oven. Quarter sheet pans are my friends cause half sheet pans don’t stand a chance of fitting. So in reality, I probably have about the same amount of space as a regular single oven but I have the ability to cook at two different temperatures. I am going to make this post relevant to those with only one oven though and if you have two then bonus for you!

Here’s what I’m making so you can get an idea how to plan these items. Other side dishes will be brought by guests.

Turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Stuffing (from a box – gasp)
Gravy (from a can – double gasp)
Green Bean Casserole
Corn Casserole
Dinner Rolls
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie

So how does the planning work? See the inner workings of my brain below…

Start with the Turkey

That oven hog needs a lot of time and everything has got to be build around its needs. Butterball.com is a very handy site whether you’re cooking a Butterball brand turkey or not. (Side note: did you know that they have a hotline for turkey questions?). On Butterball’s site I can look up that for 6 adults, who want leftovers, who are big eaters I’ll need a 12lb turkey. I always like to aim on the larger side. I know that for my 12lb turkey I’ll need 3 days to thaw so that bird is coming out of the freezer on Monday morning. A 12lb turkey will take 3-3 1/2 hours to cook. I’d like to take my turkey out 1 hour before I’m planning to serve food to allow time for resting, carving and so I can use my oven for side dishes.

Work backwards from Dinner Time

I’d like to serve my meal at 5pm. So based on my turkey’s needs it will need to go in at 12:30pm and come out between 3:30pm and 4pm. That means my oven is unavailable during this time. It also means I’ll need to get my turkey out of the fridge and prepped around 12:00pm and start the oven heating then.

Mashed Potatoes in the Crock Pot

I don’t want to be peeling potatoes for my Mashed Potatoes recipe right before my guests arrive so I get this done way in advance and let them hang out in the crock pot on warm for a couple hours. This also allows me to wash that big pot and get it ready for stuffing which will need to be cooked right before the meal is served.

The Morning

If you want to make fresh baked bread it has got to be done the day of. Use the morning hours before your turkey goes in the oven to get those baked.

The Final Oven Hour

After my turkey comes out I’ll need to get The Kitchn’s Corn Casserole in immediately because that needs almost an hour to cook. I’ll also be making Serious Eats’ Green Bean Casserole which cooks at the same temperature and only needs about 30 minutes. The corn casserole will need to be mixed up right before baking but the green bean casserole can be mostly made and assembled the day before.

Moments Before

You’ll need to get that stuffing in and heat up your gravy.

All the Desserts the Day Before

Speaking of the Day before. Get those desserts done and out of the way!

Now that you’ve seen how I get to a schedule like this you can hopefully create your own or feel free to make exactly what I’m making and use the below! Happy planning!
The day before:
Prepare all desserts
Make Green Beans up to the baking step, put in fridge

10:00am Start Making Rolls
12:00pm Rolls in the Oven (15 mins)
12:00pm Turkey Prep
12:30pm Turkey in the Oven (3-3.5 hours)
2:30pm Start Making Potatoes
3:00pm Start checking the Bird’s Temp [continue to do so until cooked]
3:30pm-4:00pm Turkey Out of the Oven
3:30pm Potatoes Done and in the Crock Pot
3:30pm Prepare Corn Casserole
4:00pm Corn Casserole in the Oven (50 mins)
4:30pm Green Beans in Oven (30 mins) & Boil Water/Butter for Stuffing
4:30pm Get Someone Else to Carve the Turkey
4:45pm Heat Gravy & Put in Stuffing Mix
5pm Dinner!