When you are planning your holiday menu, you can’t forget about the Thanksgiving turkey. It’s a classic entrée that most people expect to see on the table for your meal. Of course, many people also choose to serve other meats at Thanksgiving, but the turkey is pretty much a staple in most homes this time of year.
When you host Thanksgiving dinner, you are likely in charge of cooking the bird. That can be a lot of pressure. What if it’s dry? What if it doesn’t have any flavor? What if you totally mess it up and can never show you face at another family holiday ever again? This Thanksgiving turkey recipe is simple and will give you a juicy and flavorful bird to serve on Thanksgiving day.
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What Foods Can Be Served With Turkey on Thanksgiving
This is where you really get to have some fun and put some of your family’s traditions into play. Turkey is such a versatile entrée that you won’t have any problems finding sides to serve with it. It goes well with mashed potatoes, green beans, green bean casserole, stuffing or dressing, cranberry sauce, and even sweet potatoes. If you enjoy other holiday sides, you can fix them instead. There’s no wrong side to serve with the delicious Thanksgiving turkey recipe.
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Serving The Thanksgiving Turkey
Let’s be honest; serving your turkey at Thanksgiving is a big deal. You worked hard to make it perfect now you want to make sure it looks nice too. There are a few ways you can serve this turkey to ensure it impresses your guests from the moment they catch sight of it. This turkey comes out golden brown. Just add some glaze or butter to it and serve it alone on a platter for a traditional display
If you want to take some of the time out of serving the turkey, you can carve it before you bring it to the table. This gives you, even more, serving options. You can serve each cut on a separate platter so guest can easily find their favorite part. You can also divide it by dark or white meat.
You can also serve your turkey whole or carved, on top of some of your sides. You can add some stuffing to a bowl and add the turkey on top. You can also do this with rice, noodles, or even roasted vegetables. No matter how you choose the serve this turkey, there’s no doubt it will be a hit.
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Thanksgiving Turkey
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- Total Time: 11 hours
Ingredients
- 1 turkey
- ½ cup butter
- 2 (12 fluid ounce) cans cola-flavoured carbonated beverage
- 1 apple (quartered)
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon salt, 1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
- 4 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 Tablespoon seasoned salt
Instructions
- Preheat an outdoor smoker to 225 to 250°F (110 to 120°C).
- Remove all innards from the turkey and reserve for gravy, if desired.
- Rinse turkey under cold water and pat dry.
- Place butter or margarine, cola, apple, onion, garlic powder, salt and ground black pepper into the cavity of the turkey.
- Rub the crushed garlic over the outside of the bird and sprinkle with seasoned salt.
- Place the turkey in a 10×15 roasting pan and cover loosely with foil.
- Smoke at 225 to 250°F (110 to 120°C) for 10 hours, or until internal temperature equals 180°F (80°C).
- Prep Time: 60
- Cook Time: 600
The image featured at the top of this post is ©circlePS/ via Getty Images.