Ina Garten’s Trick for Making Thanksgiving Turkey Ahead Is Pure Genius

It totally reduced my holiday cooking anxiety.

A few months ago I listened to an episode of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ podcast, Wiser Than Me, where she interviewed my culinary idol, Ina Garten. The episode is fabulous, and if you are a huge fan of Ina like me, I highly recommend you give it a listen.

What I found most interesting during the interview was to hear that after all of her success with catering, a specialty food store, cookbooks, and a popular TV show, Ina still gets a little anxious when it comes to entertaining. She said, “I have to say, I’m not a comfortable cook. If I’m giving a dinner party, I’m beside myself with anxiety that it’s not going to come out right. Even after all this time.”

Ina, she’s just like us! I can highly relate to this feeling. Even though I was classically trained and have cooked professionally for years, I still have a high level of anxiety around dinner parties and holiday hosting. Perhaps it's because my expectations are too high or I know too much about what could go terribly wrong. Whatever the reason, my coping strategy has always been to plan extensively ahead. Whenever I am entertaining, I prepare as much as possible in advance, so I have the best chance of setting myself up for success.

Thanksgiving turkey is one of those dishes that still causes me stress, even though I’ve been making it for years. The stakes are incredibly high, oven space is hard to come by, and absolutely no one wants a dry turkey. Luckily, per usual, Ina has a solution for this.

Ina’s Brilliant Trick for Preparing Turkey Ahead of Time

In her book, Make It Ahead, Ina shares a game-changing method for preparing your holiday turkey (and gravy!) in advance so you can spare yourself the last minute turkey carving chaos. What I love about this recipe is she cleverly utilizes a make-ahead gravy that is rich in onion and sage flavor. This gravy can be fully assembled a few days ahead, then once the turkey is roasted, the gravy is reheated and fortified with the addition of pan drippings to give it that classic holiday flavor.

Now here comes the magic. Once carved, Ina layers the sliced turkey on top of a thick layer of gravy that has been spread on an oven safe platter. At this point the turkey can sit at room temperature for up to one hour, which frees the oven up for finishing off casseroles, rolls or other side dishes. Once you are ready to serve dinner, you pop the entire turkey platter into a low oven just until it has been warmed through. Since the turkey is sitting on flavorful gravy, it will retain its moisture beautifully. How easy is that?

The turkey itself is pretty simple, but she uses some of my favorite tips for ensuring a juicy bird with crisp skin. First, she opts for a dry brine which deeply seasons the meat and helps it to retain moisture. Plus, salting the turkey in advance allows the skin to thoroughly dry out in the fridge, which is key for that perfectly crisp and golden brown skin.

She also accounts for different parts of the turkey cooking at different rates, which is a common downfall for a lot of home cooks. She instructs the reader to roast the turkey until the breast is cooked through (165˚F on an instant read thermometer), then remove the legs and thighs and return them to the oven until they reach 180˚F on an instant read thermometer, which is the safe temperature for dark meat.

No matter how you choose to prepare your bird, reheating the carved turkey on top of prepared gravy is a trick that will work for nearly any turkey preparation. Speaking from experience, it’s the little tips that make all the difference when it comes to pulling off a successful holiday dinner!