Have you ever had a holiday disaster that made you rethink how you celebrate the holiday altogether? I have. Two years ago while prepping for Thanksgiving, we did as most people do and cleaned our oven. Luckily our oven has a self-clean option where it gets super hot to make it easier to scrub down. All the cleaning was finally done, along with the pies I always make a day or two in advance.
As we started our early morning preparations on Nov. 28, 2019, we preheated the oven and started cleaning the turkey. Unfortunately, we noticed an hour later that the oven had yet to preheat. We figured it was just a glitch and unplugged and plugged the oven back in, hoping that that would fix it. Sadly, the oven still refused to preheat. I was in a fit because I now had a turkey, two macaroni and cheese dishes, and a sweet potato casserole that would go uncooked. Even worse, three very excited children that love Thanksgiving would be disappointed. I called my mom to see if I could use her oven, but of course, it was already cooking her turkey for her family get-together.
Feeling defeated, I was ready to give up on the Thanksgiving traditions for the year. My husband said we could use the grill for the turkey. I was thinking, ‘how are we going to grill a turkey?’ As it turns out, it is possible and it was delicious and better than in the oven. I was also able to get my sides done in time, thanks to my amazing neighbors who loaned me the use of their oven.
We use a charcoal grill and start the turkey around 11 a.m. Be sure to baste the turkey often to make sure it stays tender. We use the grill as a kind of smoker, by setting the charcoal on the sides instead of in the middle like you would when making hamburgers. How long you keep it on the grill depends on the size of the turkey. We usually do dinner around 3 p.m. My husband always says whenever using the grill, it’s best to keep the temperature low and cook things slowly to make sure the meat is tender and juicy. No one enjoys a dried-out turkey.
So even when disasters occur, look for a solution and never give up hope. You may discover a hidden gem that makes it an even better holiday for years to come. Ever since we have been making grilled turkey and our family has nominated us to host the Thanksgiving feast.
Sarah Collins
Reporter
Reader Sent In:
I was born on Thanksgiving in 2001 and a lot of funny stories came from that day. I was born in the evening, so everyone had to eat the hospital Thanksgiving food while they waited for me to arrive. I’m still given grief because they had to eat the rubber-textured turkey served with purple gravy at the hospital! My dad said that it felt like a hidden camera prank, except it wasn’t. My grandpa, who lives near Toledo, was rushing to the hospital and actually got his first speeding ticket on my behalf. The fact that it’s been nearly 20 years and he hasn’t received another ticket makes me feel special, but he, however, has many words for the cop who gave him a ticket on Thanksgiving while rushing to the hospital.
-Clara Walton, Sinclair student
One Thanksgiving, my family and I were visiting my grandparents. We sat in the living room playing board games and watching the Macy’s parade while we waited to eat.
Everything was fine until all of a sudden we heard a loud boom! We all rushed to the kitchen to see what was going on and my grandpa was laughing hysterically. He could barely articulate any words because he was giggling so hard! Moving closer to the oven, we were able to see that the turkey had exploded which prompted that loud boom. With this, we all laughed hysterically wondering what had happened or what to eat instead.
Thankfully, we had ham in addition to the turkey. However, this hilarious turkey explosion lives on as one of my most cherished holiday memories.
– Kaylee Raines, Sinclair alum (2020)