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Whether you’re cooking for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other holiday, these kitchen hacks are just for you.
In this post you will learn how to keep your turkey moist, how to make perfect pies as well as tricks to help you prep for holiday cooking.
Keep scrolling below to check out these awesome holiday cooking tips!
Holiday Cooking Tips
Affiliate links included. Full disclosure here.
1. Use a cooler to keep your food warm.
Via The Krazy Koupon Lady
Using a cooler is a great idea for storing extra items that won’t fit in your fridge on Thanksgiving day as well as place to to store food until it’s ready to serve.
2. Add a few pinches of baking soda to your mash potatoes…
This trick works wonderfully and here’s how: Baking soda when mixed with an acidic ingredient such as buttermilk creates carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a form of gas that creates bubbles. So when you add these two things together, you’ll get extra fluffy mashed potatoes! Yum!
…or simmer potatoes in milk to make them super moist.
Full recipe on Makes and Takes
3. Label all your pots and pans the day prior to cooking.
Via Fresh Direct
To help keep organized in the kitchen, before the big day label all pots and pans with sticky notes with the names of the dishes that will go in each pan.
4. Use muffin tins to bake your dressing as single servings…
Via Serious Eats
Use a muffin tin to bake your cornbread into single servings. This will save you a ton of time and space in the oven.
…or use a waffle iron!
Via Serious Eats
These stuffing waffles look absolutely delectable, wouldn’t you agree?
5. No roasting rack? Roll up a piece of aluminum foil or use vegetables as a base.
Via Saveur
6. Use ziplock bags to hold ingredients for your stuffings and casseroles.
Storing your ingredients, such as chopped veggies and stuffing, in ziplock bags will save you so much time simply because once you are done you can easily toss them in the trash. No extra dishes to wash!
7. Soak a cheesecloth with butter and cover your turkey before baking to keep it moist…
Soak a cheesecloth in butter and use it to cover your turkey while it bakes so that it won’t dry out when cooking. You can get the full tutorial on this method here.
…or use bacon.
Via A Pretty Life in the Suburbs
The fat from the bacon will not only help to season your turkey but to keep it juicy and tender as it bakes.
8. Freeze your pie crust before baking.
Freezing your pie crust before baking helps prevent the pie from baking with a soggy bottom.
9. Use vodka in your pie crusts.
Via The Kitchn
When making your pie crusts, add a splash of vodka to the batter. It will make them a little bit more flakier and tender.
10. Use your slow cooker to keep your side dishes warm.
If you want to keep your side dishes such as your mashed potatoes, casseroles and dressings warm while the rest of Thanksgiving dinner cooks, place these items in a slow cooker on the lowest setting.
11. Use soy sauce or parmesan cheese in your gravy.
Add more flavor to your delicious gravy by adding a few teaspoons of soy sauce or parmesan cheese while it cooks. Everyone will be left wondering what the “secret” ingredient is!
12. Ice your turkey to prevent it from drying out.
Prevent your bird from drying out while cooking by placing a couple of bags over it for a few minutes.
13. Slow roast your turkey overnight to free up oven space.
Not only will your turkey come out absolutely perfect, you will also free up so much space in your oven to cook your side dishes and desserts.
…or use a tiered oven rack!
This collapsible tiered oven rack will save you so much space and time. Use it to cook multiple dishes at once.
You might enjoy: 31 Mind-Blowing House Cleaning Tips That You Need to Know Now!
14. Fix lumpy mash potatoes by baking them.
If you make a mistake and undercook your mash potatoes, throw them in a pan, cover with shredded cheese or a topping of your choice, place and the oven and bake it for a few minutes to turn it into a quick casserole side dish.
15. Use a cold measuring cup as to separate fat drippings for gravy.
Place your measuring cup in the freezer for a few minutes. Take it out and pour your stock in it. The fat will rise to the top!
16. Prep your veggies the night before.
Always prep and cut your veggies the night before the big holiday. It will save you so much time! Simply chop them up, place in a ziplock bag and throw your prepped ingredients into the freezer for the next day.
17. Keep your gravy warm by pouring it into a thermos.
Not only will you free up space on your stovetop, a thermos will keep your gravy nice and warm until it’s time to eat.
18. Need veggies really fast? Run to the your local grocery stores’ salad bar.
Oh no! Did you forget to pick up onions for your casserole? Have no worries! Just run to your local grocery store’s salad bar for fresh chopped veggies on the go.
19. Hide pie cracks with whipped cream.
You’ve finished backing your delicious pie and it has an unsightly crack running down the middle. Simply use whipped cream to top it off. That will do the trick!
20. Grate your butter while it is cold to add to handmade pie crusts.
If a recipes calls for butter in making your pie crust, place your butter in the freezer for a few minutes, take it out and grate it so that it’s easier to mix.
21. Tape your recipes to your cabinet doors for easy access.
No need to flip through any cookbooks or scroll through your phone. Print out your recipes the day before and tape them to your cabinet doors for ease of access.
22. Boil potatoes in their skin to make them easier to peel.
Using a sharp knife, cut around the skin of the middle of the potato. Boil your potatoes for a few minutes, drain water and pour cool water into the pot. Gently rub the skin off your potatoes with ease.
23. If you accidentally overcook your turkey, pour warm chicken broth over it.
Save a dry turkey buy pouring warm chicken broth over it. The moisture will help revive the turkey meat.
24. Use duct tape to easily open tightly screwed jars.
Place a stripe of duck tape around the jar lid and yank it a few times to open it with literally no effort.
or you can use a handy-dandy jar opener such as this…
this under-cabinet jar opener is a kitchen tool for opening those tight lidded jars and it’s perfect for those with arthritis.
25. To quickly cool drinks, wrap in a wet paper towel and place in the fridge.
Forgot to put your wine in the freezer? Wet a paper towel and wrap it around the bottle. Place in the freezer for a few minutes and you will have an icy, cold beverage in no time.
26. Wrap your pie crust in aluminum foil to prevent the crust from burning.
When baking your pies, wrap the edges in aluminum foil to prevent them from burning.
27. When cutting apples, pour Sprite over them to prevent browning.
The citric acid in Sprite acts as a preservative and will make your apples slices stay crisp.
