Long Beach
We Americans are pretty much obsessed with food. Come to think of it, that’s likely part of the human condition in general.
But where else can you find an entire holiday dedicated to food? Our Thanksgiving revolves around the feast — it is a celebration of the harvest, after all.
I’m well aware that the story of Indians and Pilgrims gathering together that I and others of my generation grew up with is neither historically nor politically correct. But the concept of working together to provide food for all was one that made sense, and seemed good reason to give thanks — to God, to nature, to our fellow hungry humans.
And we’ll be celebrating with plenty of food at the Saltzgaver house this year. Our oldest daughter, Aimee, will be here with grandkids Korie and Carter. Maria has been planning the meal, off and on, for the last couple of weeks.
For the last several years, at least when we’ve had Thanksgiving at our home, Maria and I have sort of split the chores. She handles pretty much everything else while I wrestle with the turkey. To her credit, Maria leaves me to my own devices, as long as she has drippings to make the gravy.
I’ve cooked a dozen or two dozen birds in the oven, toying with different seasonings, experimented with plastic bags versus tin foil, and mostly managed to end up with something edible. I can even carve the thing with the famous electric knife my father taught me how to use.
But in my old age, I’m getting bored with the same old same old. And, as I think I’ve told you before, I’m obsessed with my back yard grill. Finally, it’s nice to get out of Maria’s kitchen and into my own environment, especially when she’s got multiple creations in the works.
I thought, very briefly, about the deep-fry style that was all the rage a few years ago. But using five or six gallons of oil in a specially designed fryer seems anti-environmental, not to mention dangerous.
So I’m going to introduce young Tom Turkey to the six-burner I’m in charge of (I have, at least, avoided giving the grill a name). I’m still doing my research — Googling “how to grill a turkey” over and over again — but I think I’ve boiled it down to a couple of options.
I’ve had pretty good luck with beer can chickens — roasting a chicken on the grill while it stands up, with help from a can (root beer for me) stuck up its nether end. My cookbooks assure me the same can be accomplished with a turkey, as long as it’s reasonably small (12-pounder, check) and I can come up with a Tall Boy to fit the bigger nether end.
That’s still a possibility, but I need to make sure there’s enough room between grate and grill top to allow Tom T. to stand upright. Then there would be the can search.
There’s also an option where you put the bird directly on the grill, with a drip pan underneath — apparently between the burners and the grates’ underside — with requirements for frequent turning and basting. We’re talking messing with Tom every 20 or 30 minutes.
That would make watching football tough, but it would keep me out of Maria’s way in the kitchen. Definitely a possibility.
One way or another, we will be sitting down to a feast this afternoon, Thanksgiving Day. And I have so very much to be thankful for.
That includes you, and you, and you, gentle readers. Your generosity and care are legendary, at least with me. That stretches from Long Beach Gives to the Grunion Gazette Gift Card Drive to help domestic violence victims being served by WomenShelter of Long Beach.
Your care for your community is just as impressive. I’m thankful I live in such an engaged community.
So here’s hoping you don’t burn your turkey, or tofu, and you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanks for being you.
