Before I begin this post, let me be completely honest. Thanksgiving is the domain of my wife and woe be to those that try to interfere in her preparations. Unlike previous years, however, I’m no longer completely useless in the kitchen because now I’m packed full of food tech know-how. Here are some of the gadgets, devices and gizmos we’ll be using in the Albrecht house to make Thanksgiving 2018 that much easier.
Skip the Store (for Bulk Items)
Grocery stores are madhouses this time of year. Who needs to deal with that? Not you, thanks to the billions of dollars poured into delivery startups this year. While you’ll still want to pick out your turkey and veggies in-person (probably) there are plenty of items you can order online sight unseen. Get your potatoes, rolls, paper towels, sodas and more delivered to your door in advance to save yourself (and your arms) at least one trip to the store.
Get Ready (by Getting Caffienated)
Thanksgiving is a long day, and before you can entertain a house full of people, you need to prepare. And by prepare, I mean, wake up. And by wake up, I mean, get that coffee flowing. To maximize your caffeine intake, I recommend the Ember coffee mug. Embers ain’t cheap ($80 for the mug), but they keep your cup o’ joe at the same hot temperature until the bitter (but so delicious) end.
Keeps Tabs on that Turkey with Meater
The appropriately named Meater connected meat thermometer lets you wirelessly keep tabs on your turkey’s cooking temperature without the need to open up the oven door (which makes you lose all that heat). I like Meater’s mobile app, which charts your turkey’s temperature in real time, as well as its cooking guidance tips (like telling you when to rest the meat). And the one drawback — it’s as big as a nail and leaves a pretty sizeable hole in your meat — won’t be as noticeable with a whole turkey. Meater even has instructions to help you cook a classic turkey on its blog.
Use that June
My love for the second-gen June is well documented here, but I think it will actually come in extra handy this Thanksgiving. We now essentially have three ovens in the kitchen (two traditional + the June). The big one will be for the turkey, and now we don’t need to rotate stuffing or sides through the other oven. We can cook two more things at the same time and have everything served piping hot. Plus, with the June’s presets, roasting carrots or broccoli or beans will be a one-button snap.
Alterna-Meat Stuffing
Speaking of sides, this isn’t a gadget, but I saw that Beyond Meat posted a recipe for meatless stuffing. I’m not a vegetarian, but Beyond Meat ground/crumbles have evolved to the point where they can effectively act as a tasty “meat” component in stuffing. Bonus: Now there’s one more thing your vegetarian guests can enjoy.
All of this tech should help make this year’s Thanksgiving the best. One. Ever! The only gadget still on my wish list for the holidays is the Apple iWatch Series 4. I could use a device to help me keep track of all the exercise I need to do after all that pumpkin pie.
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