Size Matters: Turkey For a Small Holiday

Photos by Michael Piazza / Styled By Catrine Kelty

Most years, our Thanksgiving feast is a meal for a gang of 20—or more—family and friends. There are never enough chairs (someone ends up sitting on an ottoman or step stool) or turkey legs. We’ve found that one big bird was difficult to cook—hours in the oven, leaving no room for anything else—and it often ended up tough and dry.

Recently, we changed our strategy, and since pulling off a traditional Thanksgiving meal really is about a good advance plan, we get two or three smaller turkeys instead. One is traditionally roasted—the presentation bird to “ooh” and “ahh” over at the table—and the other two are spatchcocked (butterflied) and cooked the night before. No harried juggling of oven space, no fighting over just two drumsticks, plus we get extra bones for broth.

This year the big Thursday feast may look a little different for many of us: maybe less like hosting a gang; fewer planes, trains and automobiles; less visiting with others. Our usual 20 will likely be three or four. But the size of our feast doesn’t diminish the importance of taking time to give thanks and to spend some time in the kitchen preparing a great meal with some new traditions. This got us thinking about other ways to cook turkeys, since the size of our birds will be important, both for the smaller number of guests and also for quicker and easier cooking.

Poke around our recipe section for a dizzying number of delicious options for side dishes, from Brussels sprouts to cranberry sauce. And peruse the rest of this issue for more inspiration.

Some of the following recipes require a bit of planning ahead, so if you buy a frozen bird, remember it will take a few days to defrost safely in your refrigerator.