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Thanksgiving should be one of the least stressful holidays—the sole achievement you’re trying to unlock is to eat yourself into a coma, which many of us can do any time, with zero prep. But there are some sneaky sources of stress, from the expense of pulling it all together to the travel arrangements needed to make sure everyone arrives in time for appetizers—not to mention the stress of cooking Thanksgiving dinner. The unlucky host has the responsibility of not only feeding a large group of people, but making sure everything comes out more or less on time—and then cleaning up the spectacular mess afterward.
Luckily, modern science and engineering have occasionally turned their genius toward the kitchen, and the result is a list of tools and gadgets you might not immediately think of, but that can make cooking, serving, and cleaning up after Thanksgiving dinner a lot easier.
Automatic pan stirrer
Do you have an automatic stirrer? Probably not. Do you need one? Probably yes. One of the key stress points of Thanksgiving dinner (or any large dinner party) is the balancing act of cooking multiple dishes so they’re all ready at the right time. Plenty of dishes require constant stirring to ensure they thicken correctly, don’t lump up, and don’t burn, but it’s one of the easiest things to forget when you’re juggling a dozen other things. Having one of these on hand means you’ll never burn the gravy ever again.
Electric turkey fryer
If you’re a purist, you think of a Thanksgiving turkey as something that gets pulled from the oven with much fanfare. If you’re a little adventurous, you might try to deep-fry your turkey, which results in injuries and property damage every year (because turkeys tend to explode when deep-fried), including about five deaths each year. But if you want a faster, crispier turkey than your oven can give you, invest in an electric turkey fryer. You’ll get a crispy, tender bird in much less time without the danger of your turkey transforming into a bomb. Plus, using this will leave your oven free for other things, giving you a little more capacity.
Stuffing cage
Don’t have a stuffing cage? That’s okay, no one has a stuffing cage. But you should get a stuffing cage, because it makes getting all that stuffing out of the turkey much easier. You form your stuffing into the cage and insert it into the bird, and when the cooking’s done you just pull it out and you have all your stuffing ready to go—no annoying scraping and much less mess.
Fat separator
You will be judged on many aspects of your Thanksgiving meal, but people get judgier about gravy than anything else. If you want smooth, silky, delicious gravy, you want a fat separator. Just pour your drippings in and let it filter out the solids. The fat will rise to the top, and then you can pour those delicious, filtered drippings into a bowl for gravy preparation. It’s a simple tool, but its impact on your gravy game will be striking.
Electric buffet
Here’s the secret: No one gets the timing right. Your sides will be ready before you’re ready. Something will delay the main course, and you’ll have bowls of mashed potatoes or stuffing sitting around. Or dinner will be generally delayed, or your guests will be delayed, and your hot appetizers will glaze over and go cold. Enter the compact buffet: Keep several dishes nice and warm for as long as you need. Whether you need to buy time with side dishes so you can finish a recalcitrant turkey or your guests are delayed by traffic jams, this is the difference between a microwaved Thanksgiving and having piping hot food ready to go.
Digital measuring spoons
Measuring stuff can be maddening. You pour, weigh, then scoop and hope you don’t spill any. At some point every year, I just give up measuring things accurately and start winging it, eyeballing everything. By the time guests start arriving, I’m usually just tossing stuff into bowls and pots with something that could be described as “wild abandon.” A digital measuring spoon cuts out the middle step of using a scale or measuring cup. Just scoop what you need and pour off the excess until you have the right amount. Then dash it into your dish and move on to the next ingredient you need to measure. Over time, those saved seconds will add up.
Mini pie-maker
Are you making some pies for Thanksgiving? Does everyone on your guest list agree on the pie they want? Or will you make four full-sized pies that will be half leftover when everyone’s gone? Leftover pie isn’t exactly a crisis, but if you’re not going to dedicate your life to eating pie, it can be a huge waste. A mini pie-maker means you can a) make a variety of pies for your guests that b) won’t be left over. Plus, it can bake up pies quickly, so if you miscalculate how much pie you need you can whip up a few more at the last minute.
Food-warming mats
Keeping food warm is a challenge for most Thanksgiving cooks. Dishes come off the stove and then sit for a while while you figure out the rest of the meal, herd the crowd from the television into the dining room, and go through the ceremony of toasts and carving. By the time the gravy gets passed around, it’s lukewarm, the temperature of disappointment. A warming mat is the solution. While an electric buffet can keep side dishes warm, a warming mat can keep everything else ready to eat, and all you have to do is set plates and bowls on it until they’re needed.
If you’re me, you know that you lose significant minutes searching for tools when you’re cooking a big meal. First, you can’t find what you need. Then, you find what you need, but after you use it, it needs to be cleaned for its next use. Then it gets buried under the pot holders or kitchen towels, and you spend a frantic two minutes searching for it while trying to affect a cool, calm demeanor to your guests. Make life easier with this 5-in-1 tool or something similar. It combines a cutting tool, a spoon, a spatula, a slotted spoon, and a turner into one silicone wonder. Use, wipe clean, use again—and eliminate the need to have all those extra implements crowding your counter space.
Whisk wiper
If you’re going to be using a hand mixer to make some of your Thanksgiving dishes, like mashed potatoes or desserts, the whisk wiper is a must. Instead of having to scrub your whisks and bowls in the sink to prep them for the next dish on the menu, you can wipe them clean in seconds and jump right back into the fray. Plus, it lets you scrape every last bit of your food into the serving, so you’re not dumping a big glob of it down the sink.
Splatter guard
If you fry stuff, you know that a splatter guard is a necessity. But traditional screens make it tough to stir and flip food while you’re cooking, because you have to keep lifting the guard away. This splatter guard works differently, protecting your surroundings from, well, splatter while giving you full access to the cooking surface and your food so you can flip, stir, baste, or season as needed without risking a splatter disaster. This won’t necessarily speed up cooking, but it will make the eventual cleanup a lot easier and faster, since you won’t need to scrub down the walls.
Turkey lifter
If you’ve cooked a turkey (or a roast), you know that there’s a “last mile” problem: Getting it from the pan to the serving dish or carving station. If you’ve done your job, your turkey will be tender and easy to pull apart, which can make transferring it a comedy of messy errors. A Turkey Lifter is the dumb solution you didn’t know you needed. Place the lifter under the turkey when you put it in the oven, and when it’s finished, you can just lift the whole thing out easily.
