Microwaving Part of Your Thanksgiving Feast Is Smart and Good

Credit: Credit; Ian Moore

Welcome to The Cheater’s Guide to Thanksgiving. While there are plenty of tips out there for folks making scratch desserts and artisan loaves, the Cheater’s Guide focuses on the person who could use a helping hand—even from some unconventional sources. Some might call it “cheating” (like that’s a bad thing), but there’s nothing wrong with using modern technology and supermarket know-how to help you make a bangin’ traditional feast—with much less of the traditional work.

The microwave has been subject to harsh criticism when it comes to cooking, but this reliable appliance is actually a great partner when you’re preparing for a large dinner party, like Thanksgiving. I don’t have to tell you that it’s great at reheating fridge-cold dishes, but you can actually cook a few things in there as well. Nope, it’s not inferior-tasting, and it’s not dangerous to cook that way. Your microwave can actually help you Thanksgiving better.

Your microwave is safe, actually

If your first reaction to this article is, “microwaved food is bad for you,” this post probably isn’t for you. But I know one that is. If you’d like to read about why microwaves are just fine for cooking, Lifehacker’s Senior Health Editor is busting microwave myths right here. I think my favorite quote from the article is, “Actually, since microwave cooking happens so quickly, it is considered to be one of the best methods for preserving the nutrients in food.” Now then, back to lovingly nuking food for our families.

Your microwave gives you breathing room

The main trouble in the Thanksgiving Foods Venn diagram of “quantity” and “long cooking times” is the giant overlapping center. Since every dish has multiple servings and that extra volume requires both longer prepping and cooking times, you can easily run out of cooking surfaces and time, and you have no margin for error. I’m not saying you should microwave everything. Hardly that. What you need is something to speed up part of your menu so you can cook the other stuff—non-microwavables like turkey—in the oven. 

It’s not the soulless cooking appliance it’s been made out to be—you can microwave with love. And what shows love more than not stress-snapping at your mother-in-law?

Cook ahead, reheat, and crisp

This is basically the “Keep calm and carry on” of dinner party cooking—just cook ahead and reheat. Now, I wouldn’t tell you to microwave for Thanksgiving if it would result in bad-tasting food, but there is a right way to do this. After all, cheating at Thanksgiving implies that you’re trying to pass off the food as freshly made that day. Let’s make it taste that way.

The trick is to make one or two dishes the day before. Before dinner time, reheat them in the microwave. The best candidates are foods that have plenty of included moisture. That might be the mashed potatoes, certain fresh vegetables for steaming, well-hydrated stuffing, and some casseroles. 

Make sure the item is in a microwave-safe serving dish. Add a teaspoon or two of water to the dish; sprinkle with your fingertips or spritz it around. Cover the dish with a slightly ventilated lid or wrap and microwave it in bursts of 30 seconds or a minute, depending on the dish. Check on it, stir the edges inward if you can, and evaluate if it needs more time. If it’s a casserole or stuffing and you want it to have a crisp top, take it out of the microwave and pop it under the broiler in the oven for two or three minutes just before serving.

Oddly, mac and cheese isn’t my favorite for reheating in the microwave. In my experience, it gets very dry after spending a night in the fridge and reheating it makes the mac noticeably greasy.

Microwave from scratch

Beyond reheating, you can use the microwave as an actual cooking appliance. Here are a few Thanksgiving sides and desserts that can be whipped up in a fraction of the time in the microwave, compared to classic preparations.

Make the roux for soups and sauces

A roux is the flour-and-butter base that makes gravy thick and silky. It can also lend flavor if you brown the roux with a little extra cooking time. Doing this in the microwave can cut down on your stovetop cooking time by around 50%. Add the fat and flour to a microwave-safe measuring cup and microwave it for an initial four to six minutes, then whisk and continue heating with one-minute blasts until you’ve achieved your desired color, from blonde to chocolatey brown. Go here for more details on the method. Use this roux for gravy or soup cooking on the stove—or keep it going in the microwave as follows.

Complete gravy

Once you have a roux, you’re more than halfway to gravy. Pour in a cup or so of warm turkey stock (or milk for béchamel sauce, or another broth or liquid you’re using to make sauce) into the measuring cup. Whisk it in well and heat it for another 30 seconds in the microwave. It will start to thicken. Keep heating and adding liquid to reach your desired consistency, and heat the gravy in intervals of 30 seconds to one minute until you have your desired gravy consistency. Stir in seasonings, cooked meat bits, and herbs as you normally would. 

Steam veggies

I generally do this with sides of peas and corn (mashed potatoes’ two best friends). If you’re steaming other veggies, make sure they’re all cut about the same size, then put them into a bowl or serving dish with a splash of water. Stir in salt and seasonings, but err on the light side; you can add more if necessary after tasting. Cover the dish with an off-set lid to vent it, and microwave. The amount of time depends on what you’re cooking and how long, but I’d start with about a minute for two cups of vegetables. Take it out and stir, cover the dish and go for another round if needed. The veggies are done when cooked to your liking. I like to add a pat of salted butter and stir it in while they’re still hot.

Curds and custards for dessert 

The microwave is the last place anyone expected to make something soft and often rather finicky, but the joke is on all of us for stirring custard over a hot stove top for 15 minutes. It turns out, if you microwave the ingredients for citrus curds and some custards in one-minute increments (whisking in between heating sessions), you’ll arrive at the target temperature in around five to seven minutes and have a silky, cooked emulsion ready for the nearest tart shell. You’re unlikely to overcook it if you’re pausing every minute, but I suggest stopping while the mixture is slightly looser than you want because it’ll thicken and set as it cools. If you’re at all concerned about stray coagulated egg bits, as a fail-safe, pour the finished custard through a sieve.