Planksgiving© Prep

It's simple- everyone says so, but at the sweet, young age of twenty-three, this is my first time. I can't help but be nervous- I'm preparing my first traditional Thanksgiving dinner, except it will be going down the Friday before the big day.

I unwrapped my turkey, looked it square in the gizzard and said "I'm not scared of you!" It's important to establish dominance right off the bat. As Cesar Millan would say- "be the pack leader." Or in this case, the flock leader? Well, whatevs, I just need to plank this bird for the first annual Planksgiving© (copyright symbol- this mean, y'all F&F-ers!) which is tomorrow and we are already having some logistical problems.

The bird has been thawing for three days and it's still pretty frozen and this thing needs to hit the heat in t-minus 20 hours. A quick trip to wikihow's HOW TO DEFROST A TURKEY taught me...

As a rule of thumb, you'll need 24 hours for every five pounds of bird, so a 20-pound bird will require four full days of defrosting time. As I am 24 hours behind the curve, I am going with an alternative. Overnight brining.

Here's how I made my brine...

I grabbed whatever homemade stock I had in the freezer, some coarse sea salt, a couple bay leaves, fresh thyme, cracked black pepper, and a PBR for good measure. Cooked it all together and then plopped the bird in the largest pot I could find- it was a tight fit. Then I covered the bird and brine with cold water and put the whole unit back in the fridge.

Ok, turkey is brining, now for the ribs. We're going to go for a traditional Thanksgiving dry-rubbed short rib, just like the pilgrims shared with Squanto that first Thanksgiving.

* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 cup paprika
* 1 tablespoon black pepper
* 1 tablespoon Johnny's Sea Salt
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1 tablespoon garlic powder
* 1 tablespoon onion powder
* 1 teaspoon cayenne

Combine all these in a bowl, mix 'em together, then rub your ribs. Wrap your ribs in foil and they take a spot in the quickly dwindling refrigeration space as well.

Tomorrow, we will be planking these two main attractions, but for an extra smoky kick, the gas/charcoal will be forgone in favor of Hickory smoking chunks.
Now I'm off to chop some veggies and make some pies, but the bird and ribs are prepped for the big day. Stay tuned for more Planksgiving fare.

Welcome to your Planksgiving weekend! -KB