Whether or not the Pilgrims ate turkey at the first Thanksgiving is debatable, but one thing is not: if they'd had a propane tank and five gallons of hot oil they'd have deep-fried the turkey for sure. Alton Brown takes on the new American tradition of deep-frying the big bird in an effort to prevent future backyard disasters from flaring up. Along the way, he talks turkey flavor and texture to ensure that we all get the most out of our birds, without getting burned.
Today, Ree is creating divine dishes from the Thanksgiving leftovers. First, the Leftover Thanksgiving Panini -- the ultimate day-after sandwich. Turkey gets a makeover in Spring Rolls and a comforting Turkey Tetrazzini casserole. And for the ultimate incentive for the kids to finish their clean-up chores, pumpkin pie filling is transformed into Pumpkin Smoothies.
The Kitchen hosts give away their best Turkey Day tricks and recipes including Geoffrey Zakarian's Bone-In Turkey Breast with Lemon Caper Sauce. Learn the secret ingredients that add surprising flavor to Katie Lee's Sweet Potatoes, Jeff Mauro's Cranberry Sauce and Geoffrey's Pumpkin Pie. Chef James Briscione stops by with a Pumpkin Spice Crumble and Valerie Bertinelli makes her Apple Walnut Stuffing. The Kitchen Helpline opens up to answer your most important Thanksgiving questions, then Valerie has one more surprise with a secret-ingredient Party Mix while Geoffrey serves up a Moscow Turkey.
Cranberries are the most popular accompaniment for turkey, so in the pre-heat, the seven bakers must make a dessert combining cranberry with another flavor of the season. To combat the sleepiness that follows Thanksgiving turkey, the main heat challenges the bakers to create a sweet treat that pairs coffee with an unusual flavor of coffee syrup.
In the final qualifying round, host Jeff Mauro sends three new teams to battle it out down on the farm, where each team's turkey recruits a farm friend to ride and race in the first annual Turkey Trot! Judges Shinmin Li and Aarti Sequeira decide which team's Thanksgiving-inspired creations will move on, and who will be left in the cold.
The key to getting a moist, flavorful bird is to use traditional Thanksgiving herbs, like parsley, sage, rosemary, bay and thyme, and classic aromatics like onion and garlic.