Thanksgiving is around the corner, so we've compiled a list of cooking utensils that will help make the classic Thanksgiving dishes even easier to cook up, so you can spend more time being thankful for the things you love, and less time worrying about the consistency of your gravy (thankfully).
Turkey
Find out the best way to brine and roast your bird, plus the best tips for carving it. Want to try something new this year (that will get your turkey cooked in half the time)? Learn how to spatchcock your turkey. However you cook it, these tools will help you get it done right, and if you're cooking a Thanksgiving turkey for the first time we recommend a few additional tools to help.
Flavor Injector: Add butter and herbs, or other marinades, directly into your turkey for a more flavorful and juicy bird. Try any of these flavor injector recipes this year.
Angled Baster with Cleaning Brush: Because making your turkey tender and juicy is all about the baste. The length of this baster ensures you don’t have to get too close to the heat.
Silicone Basting Brush: Let’s be honest—crispy turkey skin is the best. Cook yours to perfection with this handy basting brush. Before cooking, simply use a Basting Brush to apply a thick layer of clarified butter to the outside of turkey for crispy, delicious skin. (Tip: the brush can also be used to “paint” egg yolks on a pie crust for a nice glossy finish.)
Thermocouple Thermometer: Make sure the star of your Thanksgiving meal is perfectly cooked. The Thermocouple Thermometer will give you professional-grade results, in as quick as three seconds, as your bird roasts in the oven.
Stuffing
Vegetable Chopper with Easy-Pour Opening: Does the thought of dicing onions have you in tears? Easily dice onions and chop apples to add some sweet flavors to your stuffing.
Gravy
Good Gravy Fat Separator: Make perfectly lean gravy with ease (and no mess), and leave the unwanted bits behind. Plus, get more tips on how to use a fat separator to make gravy.
Casserole
Glass 3-Qt Baking Dish with Lid: This casserole dish can go from freezer to oven without cracking, so if casserole is part of your Thanksgiving meal, why not prepare it in advance? All you have to do the day of is take it out of the freezer, warm it up in the oven, and serve! (You don’t even need to let it thaw!)
Mashed Potatoes
Nylon Potato Masher: Mashed potatoes, the old fashioned way. This nylon tool won’t scratch nonstick cookware, so you can mash the potatoes right in the pot (don’t forget the butter).
Potato Ricer: For extra smooth mashed potatoes, try this handy tool.
Can’t decide which one to try? See Which Potato Masher is Right for You?
Cranberry Sauce
Silicone Spoon: If you’re making your own cranberry sauce, it’s important to have a good spoon for two reasons. Reason 1: it prevents the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan, and 2: taste tests are crucial. Plus, the silicone coating on this spoon makes cleanup easy!
Sauce Pan: Cranberry sauce has a mixed reputation on the Thanksgiving spread. On the one hand, it’s a classic. On the other hand, it’s likely you’ve had a traumatizing run-in with slabs of cold, canned cranberry sauce. Making cranberry sauce from scratch is surprisingly easy—just take a bag of cranberries, a quarter cup of water, a half cup of sugar, and a quarter cup of orange juice, and cook in a covered sauce pan over low heat until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries pop. No more cold, canned cranberry sauce…unless you prefer it that way.
Pie
Silicone Dough Rolling Bag: Perfectly round crusts are the key to the best pies. Place your dough in the bag, zip it closed, and use a rolling pin to create a perfect circle.
Pie Plate: Pie from scratch is the best thing ever, and homemade crusts are surprisingly easy. Check out these tips for making perfect pie crust. Bonus: this glass pie dish is so sleek, it’ll look great on the table, as opposed to cowering in a flimsy aluminum tin.
Steel Pie Server: This is the Thanksgiving tool you can’t live without. Serrated sides make cutting slices easy, and the wide surface perfectly accommodates large slices (read: more for you).
Ready to start cooking? Get our best tips for hosting Thanksgiving, easy Thanksgiving salad recipes, and fun ideas for the kids table. What are your essential Thanksgiving tools?