"the turkey often gets in the way. I have made multiple Thanksgiving feasts already this year while testing Thanksgiving delivery meal kits -meals complete with multitudes of sides and dessert. One problem remained constant: oven space. With a turkey in your oven for hours at a time, plotting the logistics of cooking five sides started to feel like a spreadsheet endeavor to rival corporate forensic accounting."
"My father's stalwart belief-never stated out loud but clear to all observers-was that the best place to be when you have 23 people in your house is on the back patio. So while I was growing up, that's often where he was: outside, cooking meat. It's a perfectly useful activity that provides perfect deniability-a reason to leave the house that can't be questioned."
"After all, our family is big. Farm-family Catholic and Lutheran big. Big is busy. And big is loud, especially by the time the third bottle of wine is uncorked. If you needed him, Dad was on the deck cooking a pork roast, a pork loin, whatever it took. One by one, the uncles would follow. They'd go out for a cigarette, then stay to "help" the same way old guys help at a construction site, by watching, and jawing a little."
Thanksgiving turkeys monopolize oven space and complicate cooking multiple sides. Sides often constitute the most beloved parts of the meal, yet oven time for a large bird forces complex scheduling. Using a grill or smoker outdoors frees critical oven capacity, simplifies logistics, and turns the holiday into a backyard celebration comparable to July Fourth. Outdoor cooking also offers social benefits: the cook exits to the patio, family members gather and socialize around the grill, and multiple roasts or meats can be cooked concurrently. Adopting grilling or smoking as a Thanksgiving tradition reduces stress and centers the meal on both sides and convivial outdoor cooking.
Read at WIRED
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