To brine or not to brine? NC chefs weigh in with their ultimate Thanksgiving tips

It’s time.

Thanksgiving is days away and now is the time to make your lists, prep your dishes and plan your meal.

This feast of feasts can be daunting, spanning days of cooking, miracles of oven coordination and planning and, somehow, roasting a bird that is famously difficult to cook and only consumed one day a year.

To help make the day a bit easier, the food a bit tastier, and the emotions a bit calmer, we reached out to local Triangle chefs, restaurant owners, bakers and beverage pros for any advice and perspective they could share.

They offered tips on turkey, meal prep, perfect wines and reminders to find gratitude even when you’re covered in flour and there’s mashed potatoes on the floor.

Enormous thanks to the Triangle restaurant leaders for their Thanksgiving thoughts.

Weekend shopping

Graham Weddington

Co-owner of Durham restaurants NanaSteak and Seraphine

My advice is always the same: prep ahead of time as much as you can. I try to have my casseroles ready the day before so I can hang out a little more on Thanksgiving Day. Shopping the day or two before can also be a pain, so I try to have all of my shopping done by Sunday or Monday. I also think it doesn’t get much more important than cranberry sauce. You need it to brighten up the 10,000 calories that you’re about to cram down your gullet!

Split up the bird

Oscar Diaz

Co-owner of Little Bull and Aaktun in Durham

My go-to move is butcher the turkey down into individual pieces (legs, thighs) and keep breast together. I think it cooks better that way and you can make it look really good for presenting. But my main move is to make some day-after turkey enchiladas with either a tomato or creamy tomatillo salsa. Or just make turkey flautas with guacamole. It makes good use of leftovers and completely changes the flavor so you don’t get fatigued by the same flavors over and over.

Ditch the turkey

Kim Hammer

Owner of Bittersweet and Johnson Street Yacht Club in Raleigh

Might be a hot take, but I say ditch the turkey. Most guests are excited for side dishes and desserts (I should know!). I always seem to have more turkey left over than anything else. Lately I find myself with a lot of vegetarians coming to dinner and that’s when I started opting for something smaller like ham or roasting a chicken. If you have someone that’s really excited about turkey you can always do something smaller like a turkey breast. Plus it frees up your oven for a lot more pies and casseroles, which is really what most people are showing up for — and they make for better leftovers anyways.

Embrace the potluck

Harry Monds

Chef and owner of Lula & Sadie’s in Durham

I find that even though Thanksgiving is supposed to be a joyous time when family and friends get together…it can of course be a great source of stress, especially on those trying to put together the Thanksgiving meal. One fun thing that we have done over the past few years is to have any of our guests, who are willing to bring a dish of their own, to do so. This lessens the load on the host and encourages involvement of others on another level. But, most importantly it starts a new fun tradition.

I either spatchcock the turkey, which allows for crispy skin and even cooking throughout and also a faster cook time. The other thing that I may do is cook the turkey upside down with the breast down and the legs and thighs on top. This allows for gravity to do it job and the juices from the legs and thighs help keep the breast from drying out. The latter doesn’t make for the greatest table presentation, but the bird sure comes out juicy and tasty.

Be okay with chaos

Coleen Speaks

Owner of Hummingbird and PoshNosh in Raleigh

In a nutshell: Brine that bird, KISS (keep it simple, stupid) and love the ones you are with. I guess it is never that easy though…maybe it’s best to always expect chaos so that way you are always 10 steps ahead.

Your turkey needs more rest

Jeff Seizer

Chef of Ponysaurus Brewing in Raleigh

Proper prep prevents poor performance. People think that making food close to dinner time is the way to do it. But my advice, make everything the day before except the bird. This way all you have to do is heat it up! And leave plenty of time for the turkey to rest. A well rested turkey will cut and eat way better. If you’re serving at 6 p.m., have that turkey out of the oven by 4 p.m. This way it has plenty of time to “chill.” Calm cooks make better food. So take your time before “the day” so that you can enjoy the holiday.

Big flavor injectors

Cheetie Kumar

Chef and co-owner of Ajja in Raleigh

Being a chef, you really learn how to prepare. So much can be done ahead of time. If you’re starting from zero on Thanksgiving Day, you’re making it hard on yourself. You can chop your onions, make your sauces three or four days in advance. Make yourself little kits to help on the day-of. If you’re making mashed potatoes, go ahead and get the herbed butter and cream ready.

You can make little blends of big flavor injectors, like compound butters, spice oils and little dressings.

Then on the day-of, if you’re roasting winter vegetables, preheat your sheet pan dry in the oven. Then when you add the vegetables, toss them in the spice oil or ghee or butter you already made. Once you pop them on the sheet pan you’ll get kind of an oven saute. It’s the best of both worlds, you get the nice caramelization from the hot pan and the ambient heat cooking the vegetables.

Be brave and experiment

Yung Nay

Owner of La Montana and IZA Whiskey & Eats in Carrboro

There’s no right or wrong way to celebrate Thanksgiving. The most important thing is to surround yourself with people you care about and make it a meaningful celebration. Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone — experiment with a new dish or recreate something that moves you, something you’d be proud to share with your loved ones. At the end of the day, it’s all about creating memories together.

Easy wine; Skip the deep fryer

Paula de Pano

Owner and sommelier of Rocks & Acid wine shop in Chapel Hill

If you’re in charge of beverages, don’t overthink the wine. Unless you have an uppity wine snob in your guest list — who 1 out of 10 times will probably bring their own wine to drink anyway — guests just want something easy, fun and versatile. If you want to make an impression for a larger group of guests, a magnum or a double magnum will ensure that. It’s the same deal though: they’ll remember that they had a big bottle of red wine. Also, magnums aren’t as expensive as you think they are, they just look intimidating. A group of four can crush that bottle even before the turkey’s out.

And for the love of all that is holy, do not deep-fry your turkey. Spatchcocking is the way to go. I’ve never roasted turkey before but a bird’s a bird. Faster cook time, juicier meat crisper skin. You’re welcome.

Duck fat potatoes

Isaac Henrion

Owner of Isaac’s Bagels in Durham

Coming from the UK originally, I’m relatively new to Thanksgiving, and my closest reference has been the traditional British Christmas meal. For us Brits, it’s all about the roasted potatoes. We make them with duck or goose fat for the most indulgent possible result: ultra crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and always the first thing to disappear from our holiday table!

Get the grill involved

Sheri Castle

Renowned cookbook author

Literally write down the cooking and/or reheating times for every meal component to see how it all lines up. You don’t want to wind up with multiple side dishes that need to be in the oven at the same time, but at different temps, plus the turkey is all that will fit in the oven to begin with. Get creative in thinking of other ways to keep sides at safe and delicious warming temps, such as using slow cookers and instant pots to hold hot side dishes.

Don’t forget your countertop oven. Or, my favorite, use your gas grill as a warming oven; just set the temp to the lowest setting and use every square inch of grate space as surface area to hold dishes of prepared food.

Clean out the fridge before the big shop and prep days. I transfer as much of the usual stuff that fills my fridge (all those jars of pickles, jams, and condiments) to coolers to free up as much wide, flat, open shelf space as possible.

Get the vibe right

Andrew Ullom

Owner of Union Special Bread in Raleigh

It’s a rare day off for me. I put as much bandwidth into snacking during the day as I do into cooking for dinner. If the vibe’s not right, the food’s not right. Turkey is in brine days before we roast it, and most of the sides we eat are finished and chilled in the fridge before Thursday. We’ll roast a bird and reheat sides and snack while we veg out.

Give yourself more time

Jimmy Kim

Owner of Cucciolo Osteria in Durham and Cucciolo Terrazza in Raleigh

My tip would be cooking is part of the festivities and fun! Pour yourself a glass of wine or whatever your favorite drink is, play your favorite song and enjoy the process. Make sure you give a little extra time than you think you need and remember that tasting is the best “recipe” anyone can give you. Taste and adjust as you see fit!

Look beyond the turkey

Angela Salamanca

Owner of Centro and Gallo Pelon in Raleigh

If you don’t like turkey, don’t cook one. You can have Thanksgiving without it. I never dream of Thanksgiving turkey so this year since it is my turn to cook the protein at our Thanksgiving gathering, I am going to do something else!!

It’s probably time to thaw your turkey

Bill Smith

Former chef of Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill

Actually, the first thing that came to mind was the number of people I know who have forgotten to take their turkey out of the freezer in time to cook it. I prefer a fresh bird, but sometimes, that isn’t an option. (Or people couldn’t resist the off-season sale prices.) People should remember that Thanksgiving is supposed to be fun, not nerve-wracking, so don’t show off. There’s always too much food anyway. And it’s OK to open a can of cranberry sauce.

Big, big bottles

Anthony Guerra

Owner of Oakwood Pizza Box in Raleigh

My Thanksgiving hack would be magnums or larger for wine service. Champagne magnums always make a party. And assigned seats at the table — whoever has the middle is a critical position. Could make or break the entire meal. Not enough conversation about this.

Work out a plan

Jason Smith

Owner of Cantina 18 in Raleigh

My advice is take your time planning and preparing. Enjoy the moment. Cooking food for friends and family is a privilege and primal all at the same time.

You’ve only got two hands

Brandon Sharp

Chef and owner of Próximo, Hawthorne & Wood and Bluebird in Chapel Hill

1. Delegate.

2. Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.

Don’t brine small birds. Do this instead

William D’Auvray

Chef of East End Bistrot and Giorgios Epicurian Market (GEM) in Raleigh

My advice and tip: If it’s easier, do one thing and get the rest from other places. For instance, cook the turkey and get sides and desserts from your favorite places (like GEM). Or vice versa, make your favorite sides and desserts in stages and pick up a turkey to roast Thanksgiving Day.

If you’re cooking a turkey under 14 pounds, don’t bother to brine it. Rub a mixture of salt, a little bit of pepper, and a mix of your favorite savory herbs (rosemary, thyme, marjoram, savory, whatever you like) inside the cavity, getting mainly towards the breast and let it sit for a minimum of 36 hours. Rub the outside down with butter, salt, pepper, and little bit of Chinese dark soy afterwards and roast.

Give yourself space

Zweli Williams

Chef and co-owner of Zweli’s Kitchen and Ekhaya in Durham

My biggest Thanksgiving hack to a great meal is always to space out my time between prepping my proteins and veggies and actually cooking them. It can be overwhelming trying to prep and cook a large meal all in one day. If the prep (cutting all your veggies, measuring ingredients and marinating proteins) is done at least a couple of days before, actual Thanksgiving cooking becomes so much easier and quicker.

Give it up for the dishwasher

Matt Fern

Owner of (ish) Delicatessen in Raleigh

Thanksgiving prep is one of my favorite days of the year. Life is a little easier when you have a professional kitchen at your fingertips. There is something completely relaxing to be in a space that gets used to feed so many guests, and use it to feed loved ones. Easily one of the biggest pros is the dish machine. Maybe there’s a little Bailey’s in the coffee, and maybe the wines get opened a little early to make sure they are the ones we want.

Pro tip: Volunteer to bring items that can be made well in advance, the coffee always tastes better that way.

Ideal Thanksgiving cocktail

Gary Crunkleton

Owner of Crunkleton cocktail bar in Chapel Hill

Given the cold weather and the warmth that comes when families gather for Thanksgiving, I like serving room temperature drinks. These temperate cocktails allow the drinker to taste the subtle flavors found in each spirits poured as well as them melding together.

This Thanksgiving, we are serving the “Pillow Fight.” It’s built on three parts of Rittenhouse Bonded Rye Whiskey and two parts Nonino Quintessentia Amaro. Pour these two spirits into a small rocks glass with a swath of orange peel rubbed around the rim. Nothing is chilled. Sip this frisky, yet relaxing drink with ease until it is gone and you can enjoy another.

Season your turkey with love

Giorgios Bakatsias

Owner of more than 12 restaurants in the Triangle

Truly dive in the moment of gratitude. Honor nature and its gifts: Walk the forest in silence, find someone alone and tell them they are not alone, share and inspire, cherish your friends and family. Keep it simple, tasty and honest.

If you are roasting a turkey, season and massage with lots of love overnight. Start breast down with mirpoix veggies — not too dry. The last few minutes turn up the heat — to get golden. Be well, laugh much.

Season your turkey with bacon

Katsuji Tanabe

Co-owner of Flour & Barrel in Raleigh

I like to season my turkey in with this recipe: 10 teaspoon of kosher salt, 3 teaspoon of MSG and a thick slice of bacon between the turkey breast skin and the meat. And let sit overnight in the refrigerator to create a much better color and crispiness.

Inside the cavity I add one whole garlic bulb cut in half, plus 1 onion, 1 tablespoon peppercorns, 1 tablespoon anise seeds or fennel, 3 sprigs of rosemary and thyme plus 4 sticks of cinnamon. This will make your house smell amazing.

Go ahead and order takeout

Jake Wood

Owner of Lawrence Barbecue in Boxyard RTP

If you’re feeling nervous or anxious about feeding your family this year, think about using a local restaurant of your liking that is cooking meals. Take the stress out of it and rest assured someone else will be to blame if it all goes south. After all, Thanksgiving is about getting together around a table with your loved ones and friends to be together, not who is cooking the best meal. Oh! And always keep those bones and bits and pieces. Leftovers are almost always better than the day of.

The freezer is your friend

Ricky Moore

Chef and owner of Saltbox Seafood Joint in Durham

The freezer is your friend. This is the perfect example for us chefs to speak to the philosophy of mise en place. You can start prepping stuff now. Since last weekend, we’ve started making our bases. The gravy is already done. We bought turkey wings and necks and made stock and it’s already in the freezer. The cranberry sauce is done. The collard greens are done. Start doing the little small things now, because you can’t enjoy yourself on the day because you’ve burned yourself out cooking everything.

Unleash the butter

Matt Kelly

Owner of Mateo, Nanas and Mothers & Sons in Durham

I think a big part of Thanksgiving starts before the cooking. I don’t want to sound like a cheesy person, but it’s looking out at your community and finding ways you can show your thanks.

As for the cooking, it’s all about keeping the basics, honing in and making them well. I like Yukon gold for mashed potatoes and it’s the time of the year you don’t skimp on the (flipping) butter. Other times, I get it, but Thanksgiving is not the time to (mess) around. It’s a time to indulge, it is the time to unleash the beast. So use that extra pound of butter.

Your sense memory and the nostalgic flavors are something I think Thanksgiving is a great time to pass down. It’s really special to take the time to cook something that someone in the past used to make. If you have someone new in the family you can share it and maybe talk about them and make it together.

The new mac & cheese

Chris Prieto

Owner of Prime Barbecue in Knightdale

A lot of people are backing away from the traditional cooked turkey and lighting their pits instead of turning on ovens.

From a sides perspective, there are so many different sides, but the one to really focus on is the stuffing. I really think when we’re talking about barbecue, it’s the barbecue sides that elevate a dish to a new standard. I’m overly obsessed with the stuffing. First you need to focus on the quality of bread — we use homemade brioche — let it sit out for a day. Then hand cube it. Use fresh herbs, make a signature stock. We like to use the drippings from the smoked turkey. People lose their minds. This is the new mac and cheese to me.

Batched punches

Sean Umstead

Co-owner of Kingfisher, Queeny’s and QueenBurger in Durham

Nobody wants to play bartender on Thanksgiving! I’d suggest making it easy on yourself. Go with batched punches. Make plenty the night before, put it in a pretty pitcher and let your guests serve themselves. I promise they’ll be just as impressed as if you were shaking to order. Just don’t forget to add in some dilution! Just do 3 parts punch to 1 part water.

Dry brine

Eric Montagne

Director of operations at Locals Seafood in Raleigh and Durham.

My advice is would be to brine your meats! Even a dry brine (2:1 salt:sugar at around 3% weight of protein) goes a long way. Also, think about a menu that can be prepped ahead of time. Stews and braises are great for the holiday. Can be made day(s) ahead and give you more freedom to spend time with your loved ones instead of stressed and about the meal.

Find the timing

Kevin Ruiz

Chef at ORO in Raleigh.

I find that the most important thing for thanksgiving / holiday cooking is to plan ahead. Not just what you’re cooking but at what time it needs to be ready and think of what could be prepped before hand. A little coquito in hand also goes a long way when managing incoming family members and outgoing plates. Keep it simple and make it with love and you should have a pretty delicious thanksgiving dinner.

This story was originally published November 21, 2024 at 10:59 AM with the headline "To brine or not to brine? NC chefs weigh in with their ultimate Thanksgiving tips."

Drew Jackson

The News & Observer

919-829-4707

Drew Jackson writes about restaurants and dining for The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun, covering the food scene in the Triangle and North Carolina.