The Hungry Mouse’s Online Guide to Thanksgiving Dinner

I have no idea how it’s Thanksgiving week already!

If you’re like me, you might be scrambling around for a few last-minute holiday ideas.

Now, we’re not big on turkey here at the Mouse House, so I’m the last one to be dishing out advice on making the big bird.

There is, however, a lot of culinary inspiration online these days. Here’s a guide to some of the best Thanksgiving content I’ve run across.

Online Guide to Thanksgiving Dinner: Thanksgiving round-ups

A lot of sites have published “all-inclusive” type Thanksgiving guides.

The New York Times has a whole compendium of articles—ranging from recipes to history—that’s worth a read. So does Boston.com.

Epicurious has put together a similar list at their Thanksgiving Headquarters, including a first-timer’s guide for preparing a holiday feast that’s loaded with good tips for planning and staying organized while you cook.

Yankee Magazine also has a good list of tips and recipes for entertaining.

Love her or hate her (or both), Martha Stewart is always worth checking out around the holidays. From 12 complete menus with recipes—from classic, to Southern style, to buffet.

Martha also has 22 pie recipes that range from traditional (apple, pumpkin, pecan) to more contemporary (mini-cranberry meringue, pear and sour cherry, and honey-walnut).

The guys over at The Bitten Word have put together a great list of this year’s Thanksgiving menus according to the big food magazines. (Thanks to fabulous foodie Emily Szopa from the Chicago Dining Examiner for tipping me off to this.)

Online Guide to Thanksgiving Dinner: Turkey talk

More and more people start their Thanksgiving bird by brining it overnight in a solution of sugar, salt, and water. This helps keep the bird plump and juicy as it cooks. While I haven’t brined a turkey before, I have done this many times with chicken with fantastic results.

They also have an interesting technique for injecting your turkey with olive oil to keep it moist and flavorful.

If you don’t feel like roasting your bird for hours, take a gander at Mark Bittman’s tried-and-true method for butterflying and roasting a whole turkey in 45 minutes.

Boston Globe Food Editor Cheryl Julian demonstrates the butterflying method really well here:

Bittman’s braised turkey is also pretty interesting.

Not sure how to tell when your turkey is done? Here’s a quick video for visual reference of just how to take your bird’s temperature.

If you’re feeling adventurous, Chef Emory Davis has a really thorough series of videos on how to deep-fry a turkey. If you’re looking for an exact recipe, Alton Brown‘s deep-fried turkey with brown-sugar brine sounds amazing.

If you’re after a turkey fryer, this 30-Quart Outdoor Turkey Fryer Kit seems to be one of the standards out there.

As part of their 2008 Thanksgiving Guide, the San Francisco Chronicle hosted a reader-judged Iron-Chef style cook-off between four-star chefs Michael Mina (of Michael Mina restaurant) and Douglas Keane (of Cyrus).

Online Guide to Thanksgiving Dinner: Last but not least?

The New York Times has a great video on turkey carving that shows you just how to get the most meat off your bird.

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