18 Thanksgiving Hacks for a Headache-Free Turkey Day
The holidays can feel a little overwhelming at times, so it’s a good thing we’ve got your Thanksgiving covered. With a few super handy and genius tips, you won’t need to worry about spending precious time thawing butter, peeling stubborn potatoes or running out of fridge space. Here are 18 absolutely essential hacks to help make your Thanksgiving a breeze, whether you’re a novice or a pro.
1. Freeze and Preserve Fresh Herbs in Olive Oil: Have herbs ready to plop into your Thanksgiving soups and other dishes with this ingenious hack. (via The Kitchn)
2. Keep Chicken Broth on Hand: This is a turkey day essential — from making gravy to moistening dry stuffing, chicken broth can prove quite handy during feast day. Whip up your own with this quick and easy recipe or pick one up from the grocery store. (via Back to Her Roots)
3. Grate Your Butter: Say goodbye to waiting for frozen butter to thaw. Not only does grated frozen butter soften much quicker than when it’s whole, but it also melts super quickly into any recipe. (via The Kitchn)
4. Sprinkle Rolled Oats on the Bottom of the Raw Crust: Prevent icky, soggy pie crust with this simple trick. The oats absorb excess liquid, and once baked, they’ll disappear into the deliciousness of that filling. (via The Busy Baker)
5. Cut Biscuits Using a Wine Glass: Create perfectly symmetrical biscuit rounds in seconds with any wine glass or cup. (via South by Southeast)
6. Make a Makeshift Carving Board: If you don’t have a carving board day-of, don’t fret. Place a cutting board into a large rimmed baking sheet to catch the juices that run when you’re carving. Bonus: those juices might come in handy for something else — like this next tip. (via The Kitchn)
7. Use Those Turkey Juices to Make Gravy: Save and refrigerate those precious turkey juices and you should be left with separated liquid and fat. Whether you lighten things up with just the liquid or use both, you’ll have a gravy that screams turkey goodness. (via A Beautiful Mess)
8. Use Tongs to Crimp Pie Crusts: Create a decorative crust for your pies with this clever trick. (via Bakepedia)
9. Freeze Unbaked Pies: Save time on the big day by prepping and storing unbaked pies in the freezer ahead of time. (via The Kitchn)
10. Keep Ham Moist With Coca-Cola: Who knew? Pour some of this sweet drink over ham for a delectably classic Thanksgiving dish. (via Coca-Cola)
11. Fix Too-Salty Soups With a Potato: If you’ve ever experienced the ails of an overly salted soup, this handy tip is one to remember. Now you can save a perfectly good broth from going to waste with a potato or two. (via The Kitchn)
12. Boil Potatoes for Easy Peeling: Boil potatoes with their skin on, then dunk them in ice-cold water for easy-to-peel spuds. (Photo via Jonas Tana/Flickr)
13. Roast White Meat and Dark Meat Separately: Roasting your turkey whole might leave certain parts underdone or overdone. Prevent uneven roasting by separately roasting white meat + dark meat. (via Know Whey)
14. Prep Veggies the Night Before: Chopping, dicing and smashing veggies can take a while. Prep them the night before Thanksgiving and refrigerate until you need them the next day. (via Personal Creations/Flickr)
15. Shake Your Garlic Loose: Peeling garlic can take ages. Why not shake them apart? Simply place a full head of garlic in a bowl, cover the top with a bowl of the same size and shake! (via The Creek Line House)
16. Bake Stuffing in a Muffin Tin: Create convenient single servings of stuffing with this clever tip. (via A Cozy Kitchen)
17. Brine Your Turkey Overnight In a Cooler: If your fridge is overflowing, let your turkey soak overnight in an ice-filled cooler. (via A Beautiful Mess)
18. Rinse Potatoes and Other Veggies With Your Dishwasher: If you’ve got too many vegetables to scrub each one individually come Turkey Day, stick them in the dishwasher for a quick rinse. (via Oola)
How many of these hacks will you be trying out this Thanksgiving? Let us know which ones YOU swear by!
