Looking for creative ways to make your Thanksgiving dinner preparations go more smoothly? Look no further than an East Texas family’s smokehouse.
Robbie Shoults, the third-generation owner of the Bear Creek Smokehouse in Marshall, Texas, spoke to CBS about his family’s unconventional food prep method.
The Shoults family has found that an easy way to take some pressure off the cook during the holidays is to heat their turkey in the dishwasher. Keyword: “heat,” not “cook.”
“So many people, we tell them that, and they look at us like, ‘You have lost your mind,'” the Shoults shared laughingly.
This hack clears up the much-needed oven and stove space. The Shoults family method involves putting a fully-cooked turkey on the bottom rack, leaving it in its wrapper, and running the dishwasher on a normal cycle to heat it.
Shoults emphasized that the turkey or ham must be full-cooked and in its original, vacuum-sealed wrapper.
Using the dishwasher also gives the cook peace of mind, because you cannot overcook a turkey in a dishwasher. Additionally, clean-up is much easier.
Shoults’ creativity does not stop with the main dish. He brings Tex-Mex spins to his side dishes. Instead of standard cranberry sauce, he makes cranberry salsa with cilantro and jalapeno. His roasted sweet potatoes will not be topped with marshmallows but with chili powder and cayenne pepper.
Another time saver with these dishes is that they can be prepared the day before Thanksgiving or even two days before. However, cooking Thanksgiving dinner is more than convenience.
“You know, nowadays, we’ve got so many electronic things, and sometimes it’s so easy for parents and kids to become disconnected,” Shoults stated. “I think it’s so great when you can come in and get your kids involved in the kitchen (and they love activities), and actually, you’re going to be making memories that are going to last a lifetime.”
The best Thanksgiving hack, according to Shoults, is to involve the family when cooking. Cooking and counting blessings with family creates long-lasting memories.
