My Big Green Egg Thanksgiving Menu

Attention!!!

***I’ve updated the recipe, and created a video, for the smoked turkey with this post***

With Thanksgiving one week away I thought I would post my menu. My parents are coming to Atlanta this year and I wanted to give them yet another taste of what can be done with turkey and the Big Green Egg. This Thanksgiving will be the second one that I’ve had the Big Green Egg. Last year I grilled the turkey without adding any wood chips for smoke. This year I am going to brine the turkey in an apple juice based brine and smoke the turkey. The other dishes will be fairly traditional but will be done in a “low fat environment” because my Father eats a vegetarian, low fat diet.

The Menu

The inspiration for this year’s menu came from a fellow “Twitterer”, @jwd2a, who fixed a smoked turkey based on a recipe from the Virtual Weber Bullet, which is a great place for people who use the Weber smoker (and every other smoker) that I don’t visit near enough.  In addition to the turkey I we will have:

1. Sourdough stuffing with apples, adjusted to minimize fat (no bacon & minimal butter).  I’ve made variations of this before and it always comes out great.  This recipe came from “Pinch My Salt” which is a good blog I came across that’s dedicated to recipes. Check it out.
2. Regular gravy made from the turkey drippings as well as fat free gravy from Trader Joe’s for my father.
3. My Mother’s “famous” (at least in our small family) cranberry sauce.
4. Mashed potatoes made with skim milk and a little bit of butter to add some creaminess.
5. Baked sweet potatoes with orange juice glaze.
6. Various veggies like broccoli, green beans, and brussels sprouts.  These will be steamed and then quick sauteed with a little bit of olive oil, onions, garlic, and some almonds or walnuts.
7. Dinner rolls.
8. Pumpkin pie.

All in all it’s a pretty traditional menu.  I’m especially looking forward to the smoked turkey as I haven’t done that before.  I just need to get some apple or cherry chunks for the smoke.  I will at least take pictures of the turkey as I go through the process and post them as a followup.  If I’m motivated I might actually do a video.  Stay tuned for the followup the week after Thanksgiving…

Everyone have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!