Thanksgiving Recipes

This meal over a campfire is "not so easy" but it is worth it.



Rotisserie Turkey over campfire



The night before rinse thawed turkey. Place turkey in a Brine bath. (1/2 cup of Kosher Salt to 1 gallon of water.) For our 10lb turkey I used 1 1/2 gallons of water and 3/4 cup of K. Salt. Place turkey in large pot and add water. Make sure the salt is mixed well before adding. I also added 1 tsp of thyme, and 1 tsp of basil to the water. Place pot in refrigerator overnight.



On Wed. night, I prepare my seasonings for the turkey. This is as follows:

2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp. Paprika

1 Tbsp. Kosher Salt

1 Tbsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. of Cayenne pepper

(once on the turkey - this is not spicy. It you want spice add 1 Tbsp of Cayenne pepper instead of 1 tsp.)



Fresh Creamed Corn



12 ears of Corn (cut off the cob)

1/2 cup of milk

salt and pepper to taste

4 pieces of bacon (cut into small pieces and cooked)

2 Tbsp. of diced onions



Fry bacon and onion in pan. Add bacon, onion, milk, salt and pepper to corn. Mix together.

Cook until hot. Stir often

(This can be done in microwave, stove top or in our case over a campfire in a cast iron pot.)



Cornbread Stuffing



2 (8x8 pans) of cornbread (cooked and crumbled)

6 pieces of bacon (cut into small pieces)

1/4 cup of onion (diced)

1 Chipole Chili in Adobe Sauce(cut up in small pieces)(can be omitted)

1 box of chicken stock (or broth)

salt and pepper to taste



Cook bacon, Chipole Chili and onion. Do not drain. Add to crumbled cornbread. Pour in box of chicken stock, mix well. Add salt and pepper to suit your taste. (I would also add 1 tsp poultry seasoning, and 1/2 tsp of sage if I wasn't having a cowboy Thanksgiving.) Mix well.

Place in 9X13 pan or in our case 2 round cast iron pans. Cover with foil.

Place over campfire until done. In oven, I would bake 375 for about 45 minutes and if it wasn't done then I would turn up the heat to 400 until done.



Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar Topping



8 Sweet Potatoes (baked)

(We double wrapped ours in heavy duty aluminium foil and placed them in the coals until done.)



1 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of pecans (chopped)



Once potatoes are done, scoop out potato and place in bowl. Stir together. Place in pan (square aluminiun pan)

Mix Brown Sugar and Pecans. Pour over Potatoes. Cover with foil.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until bubbly. (We put ours on the coals of a campfire and it took 30 minutes.)



Cowboy Beans



1 (1lb) bag of dried Pinto beans

6 slices of bacon (cut into small pieces)

1/4 cup onion (diced)

salt and pepper to taste



Soak beans overnight in water. Rinse the next morning. Cook bacon and onion in pan. Do not drain. Add beans to pot and fill with water. Cook on low-med for several hours. Stir occasionally.

(Our beans took 5 hours on campfire. They were boiling most of the time. Jeff added water twice to keep from drying out.)

If you cook these on the stove - WATCH BEANS - the water will cook out quick and you will need to add more water throughout the cooking process. You should be able to cook these in a crock pot.



Red Potatoes



2lbs of red potatoes (washed)

salt



Double wrap in heavy duty foil. Place on coals. Cook until done. Unwrap. Cut in half. add salt to top and serve.



(Jeff loves these because he doesn't like Sweet Potatoes.)



Down Home Gravy



1/2 cup butter (1 stick) (softened)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 box chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste



Cut in butter and flour. Keep cutting in butter until starts to form a small ball. Make ball with hands - flatten - knead in hands. Set to the side.

Bring stock to a boil. Add half of the butter mixture. Using a whisk - briskly stir - breaking up dough until it liquefies. Add more butter mixture until you have desired consistency. I used all but 1 Tbsp of dough. (You can add 3 Tbsp of turkey dripping, or 1 Tbsp of bacon grease. Also you can add poultry seasoning to increase the flavor. I will do this next year. We loved this quick and easy gravy.)



Cranberry Sauce

(Open a can - Slice and serve)



This meal is not low calorie or highly nutrious but it sure is delicious!!