Thanksgiving is my favorite time of the year. I love turkeys and all the trimmings. Last year for Third Sunday Dinner we did the entire Thanksgiving meal, from the turkeys to the dressing and everything else. It was great, the problem is that after cooking the entire meal for Third Sunday Dinner, I am all cooked out for my family for Thanksgiving. So this year a good friend recommended changing the menu. So this year we did Turkeys, smoked to perfection. We decided to do smoked turkey tacos with all the trimmings.
Tacos
Tamales, Pork and Green Corn
Refried Beans
Rice
Chipotle Cornbread
Chips and Salsa
Strawberry Trifle
Slaw for the tacos
Etc.
It was great. The tacos were amazing and everything else was great and the best part is that I am perfectly in the mood to cook the traditional dinner for my family on Thanksgiving Day.
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| The turkeys were prepared in a Brine and are ready to smoke for 12 hours. |
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| After 12 hours of smoking the turkeys are done. For tacos this can be ahead of time. I like to do them and chill them down and cut the meat off the bones and dice it up in small pieces. I place the meat in a pan that I can warm it in. Ready to go and this was done a day before the dinner. |
This is a chipotle cornbread. I used pureed whole chipotle chilies and I love to add whole corn.
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| Good help is so hard to find. I love the youth at my church. They are amazing, they come every month and do whatever I need, and they are super. |
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| Cooking tortillas for the tacos. |
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| This dessert was amazing. At the bakery cafe where I work I noticed that the cake tops are not used all the time. So I saved them in the freezer. The day of the event I defrosted them and made a Trifle. It was fabulous. |
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| Wow, Rainy is excited. |
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| Some of the food. |
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| Refried Beans |
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| Happy Faces, we feed the homeless often. This guy loved the food. He even carried masking tape in his backpack to wrap around the plates. I was thrilled he could have a great meal. |
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| More happy faces |
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| And new friends. |
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| Thumbs up. I guess they are happy. |
To brine the turkeys I place sugar, kosher salt, and seasoning in a couple gallons of water. Mix well and cover the turkeys and place them in the frig overnight. Brinning adds moisture and tenderizes the meat. I would not do a turkey without brinning.
This is the pulled pork we used in the Tamales. It was great. We made dozens of tamales, green corn and pork. Tamales are easy to make and can be done ahead of time. I make them and place them in the pans I am going to steam them in and place them in the frig until the day of the dinner. It takes about 1 hour or longer to steam and it is good to let them set before serving.
This picture is hard to see, but so cool. We made mole negro. It is black chocolate chili sauce that we used on the tacos. One of the steps in making mole is burning to ash the seeds and stems of all the chilies used in the sauce.
Once again another Third Sunday Dinner Success. I love Third Sunday Dinner. I love gathering with friends, family, and strangers to build and strengthen relationships. Every month I am amazed at who God leads to my home and I feel the responsibility of making sure they feel loved and fed.
Greatest success to you in your endeavors to bless the lives of those around you.
Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy
