How to downsize your Thanksgiving feast

Let’s start with the good news: You probably won’t have to referee an argument over the drumsticks this year. That’s assuming, of course, you have any on the holiday table to begin with.

Thanksgiving dinner will look very different in many households this year, as COVID-19 concerns prompt many Americans to downsize the celebration. Unfortunately, that leaves a lot of home chefs without a template for what an intimate holiday meal should even look like.

Cynthia Graubart understands.

“People who (usually) go to someone else’s house for Thanksgiving, they probably have one dish that they make every year that serves 12 to 14 people, and that’s what they’re used to doing,” says Graubart, the James Beard Award-winning author of “Thanksgiving for Two (or Four): Downsized Recipes for Today’s New Thanksgiving Dinner” (Empire Press, $9.99).

“Now those people aren’t going to that big gathering,” she says. “They’re going to be at home. And they may never have put a Thanksgiving dinner on their own table before.”

If that’s you, have no fear. Graubart and Las Vegas chef Shabrayia Woodall (known professionally as Chef Bray) have a few tips that will allow anyone to replicate a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in a smaller format.

Dark or light?

“Probably the biggest question for Thanksgiving this year is, ‘Are we going light meat or dark meat?’ ” Graubart explains.

For those who want light meat, she recommends a boneless breast for smaller parties (two to four) or a bone-in breast for groups of six or more, or those who want plenty of leftovers. For the dark meat crowd, drumsticks are the obvious choice. But Graubart urges home cooks not to overlook turkey thighs as an entree option.

“They’re far more flavorful than a turkey breast, and they’re nice and rich,” she explains. “Skillet turkey thighs with mushroom and sage gravy is a traditional taste, but done in a new way.”

Talking turkey, or not

If you can’t decide between white and dark meat, Las Vegan Woodall, who works primarily as a private chef and special events caterer, suggests paying a visit to your local butcher.

“Have them cut a turkey in half and buy half a turkey,” she advises. “Rub it down with butter, inject it and season it, and put it in that oven with your mirepoix — your onions and your celery and your carrots.”

Another option, Woodall says, is switching to a smaller bird.

“You can use Cornish hens — roast that, and that can be dinner for two, depending on how much you eat. Or (use) a chicken.”

Stuffing or dressing?

Graubart agrees that Cornish hens and roasting chickens are great options. Moreover, she says, they’re far better than turkeys for making traditional in-the-bird stuffing.

“The problem with stuffing is getting it cooked all the way through,” Graubart says. “That’s why stuffing is frowned upon. But if you’re roasting a Cornish hen, you can stuff it, because the center of the stuffing is going to come up to a safe temperature in the amount of time it takes to cook a Cornish hen.”

For those preparing a partial turkey, Woodall has a tip for preparing your dressing outside the bird.

“If you can get the turkey neck, boil it down and get all of the juice, with some celery and some onions and a little chicken bullion. Fold that juice into your dressing and bake it, and you will have the same results (as stuffing a turkey).”

On the side

The biggest challenge many home chefs will confront this Thanksgiving is how to scale down a side dish or casserole recipe that normally serves a dozen or more people.

“Generally speaking, if it’s a casserole, you’re gonna be fine cutting (the recipe) in half,” Graubart advises. “Things get a little bit dicey when you deal in thirds, or if you go down into quarters. You’re going to start running into some texture issues — things being too wet or too dry — once you start getting into super-small quantities.”

She prefers making a larger portion and freezing the leftovers. But Woodall is more open to the idea of smaller portions of her favorite side dishes.

“What’s so great about savory cooking is you’re free to make the little mistakes,” she explains. “If it’s too runny, add a thickener. That’s really it: cornstarch, flour, bread crumbs, those are all great thickeners.”

Small and sweet

Desserts, specifically pies, might be the easiest dishes to adjust for a smaller crowd. Graubart recommends making your full recipe for each crust and filling, then freezing half of each for later. When it comes time to bake the smaller varieties, she says, you’ll have to be vigilant.

“In terms of temperature, it would be the same. But in terms of time, you want remember the visual cues for doneness, so you can watch and see. You take a pecan (pie) out while it still slightly jiggles in the middle, and before the pecans get too brown. Same thing for a pumpkin pie: You still want a slight wiggle in the middle.”

For those who want to scale down even more, both chefs recommend individual tartlets, which you can make with your own filling recipe and store-bought shells.

“Why cut (the dough recipe) when you can buy those little tartlets and put the filling in the tartlet?” Woodall says.

Leftovers

For many, the best part of making a big meal for a small group will almost certainly be having more leftovers. But again, doing things right this year will involve a little bit of planning.

“If you are going to have a lot of leftovers, the key is to deal with them right away,” Graubart says. “Package them, label them and freeze them. Because what you don’t want to have happen is for those leftovers to sit around for several days. Then you’ll feel guilty that you never did anything with them. But having them in the freezer when you are ready for another taste of turkey, you’ll be glad you did it.”

Contact Al Mancini at amancini @reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter and Instagram.