Bon Appetit’s Best Green Bean Casserole
Recipe Overview
This is not a quick side dish. It’s a process. It’s from scratch. And it tastes like it. So, if you want some really good green bean casserole, make BA’s Best Green Bean Casserole.
Ingredients List
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds green beans
- Salt & Pepper
- ¾ cup fried onions
Mushrooms
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced & divided
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 4 large sprigs thyme
Béchamel
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
- ½ cup parmesan
Step 1: Cook the Green Beans
Preheat oven to 375°. Working in batches, cook green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until bright green and half way to tenderness, about 3 minutes per batch. Drain and let cool; trim stem ends.
NOTE: I made this a second time and trimmed the ends before we cooked the green beans. I found it substantially easier to trim the uncooked beans and it didn’t make any difference in the dish.
Step 2: Cook the Mushrooms
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook half of mushrooms, without stirring, until golden brown underneath, about 2 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, tossing occasionally, until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes more. Add 2 Tbsp butter and 2 thyme sprigs to pan. Cook, tossing occasionally, until butter browns and mushrooms are dark brown and very tender, about 4 minutes longer. Season with salt and transfer to a plate. Repeat with 2 tbsp butter, salt, and remaining oil, mushrooms, and thyme.
Step 3: Make the Béchamel
Melt remaining 2 Tbsp of butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking occasionally, until roux golden brown and smells mildly nutty, about 4 minutes. Whisk in milk and cream. Increase heat and bring to a simmer, whisking often, and cook until bechamel sauce is thick and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in garlic and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper
Step 4: Assemble and Cook
Arrange green beans and mushrooms in a 2 quart baking dish. Pour sauce over (it may not look like enough, but it will get softer as it bakes). Cover tightly with foil and bake until sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until casserole is lightly browned on top and around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Top with fried onions and continue to bake just until onions are slightly darker and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes to set before serving.
NOTE: I just layered the green beans, then mushrooms, then poured the sauce on top because I didn’t know what “arrange” meant. It worked fine!
Conclusion
This recipe ended with me shoveling green bean casserole out of the baking dish and into my mouth. My whole family quickly joined me. I guess that’s all you really need to know about this one. Lol. So long as you have the time and are willing to do a fair amount of dishes, this one is a keeper!
Smoked Turkey
Recipe Overview
If Traeger were my kid, it would be in deep trouble for the complete lack of effort put into this recipe. I mean, I’d grade it a D at best. The written recipe is woefully inadequate, with the video expanding tenfold the steps needed to complete a Traditional Smoked Turkey. Luckily, I figured this out before I turned my Smoked Turkey into a hockey puck. Annoyingly, actually smoking the Turkey correctly yielded a deliciously moist dinner. But the sins of Traeger’s written recipe shall not be forgiven because I’m sure they’ve ruined someone’s Thanksgiving.
Ingredients List
Ingredients:
-
- Turkey – size is up to you. Think 1lb per person.
- For the Brine
- ½ cup salt
- ½ cup sugar (white or brown)
- You may add anything else such as garlic, leeks, apple cider, bay leaves, orange peel, sage, rosemary….the list is endless. Or you can just use salt and sugar, which is what I do.
- For the Turkey Butter
- ½-1 Pound butter
- 6 Cloves garlic, minced
- 8 Sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 Sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 Tbsp cracked black pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt
- Olive Oil, plus salt and pepper to taste
- Chicken Stock
Step 1: Brine the Turkey
Boil sugar and salt in 2 cups of water until both dissolve. Transfer brine to a pot big enough to submerge your turkey in water. Do not put the turkey in hot water. Put cold water in the pot and wait until the water is cold if you have to. Submerge turkey in brine for 6-24 hours (think day before) in the refrigerator.
NOTE: I can a lot of jelly – your water bath canner works great for brining your turkey.
Step 2: Prep the Turkey
In a small bowl, combine softened butter with minced garlic, thyme leaves, chopped rosemary, black pepper and kosher salt. Depending on the size of your turkey you may increase or decrease the amounts in this step – more butter makes things taste better.
Prep the turkey by separating the skin from the breast creating a pocket to stuff the butter-herb mixture in. Spread the butter mixture between the breast meat and the skin. If you’re not sure how to do this, watch the video.
Paint the entire turkey with olive oil and salt & pepper. NOTE: there is no basting in this recipe so the salt & pepper will stay in place and you’ll get a mouthful of it with the skin. This made me use less than I would on a baked turkey.
Place the turkey in a roasting pan on a rack with chicken stock and the neck in the bottom of the pan. I used about 2 cups of stock, but this is your preference and dependent on the size of your pan and bird.
Step 3: Prep the Smoker
Set the grill temperature to 300℉ and preheat, lid closed for 15 minutes.
Step 4: Cook the Turkey
Place turkey on the grill and smoke for 3-4 hours. Check the internal temperature, the desired temperature is 175℉ in the thigh next to the bone, and 160℉ in the breast. Turkey will continue to cook once taken off grill to reach a final temperature of 165℉ in the breast.
NOTE: a 17lb turkey took more than 4 hours. While Traeger seems to think that cooking time doesn’t increase with bird size, experience tells me that it does. A 12lb turkey took 3:45. A 17lb turkey took 4:15 but we pulled at 160. A friend’s 20lb turkey was raw at 4 hours and had to go in the oven.
Conclusion
Smoked Turkey is great, just don’t follow Traeger’s instructions. Which is super irritating to be honest. My oven was free all day, allowing me space to make all of my other concoctions. That is significant upside value. The turkey is moist, crispy, and delicious with a delectable smokey flavor that transmits to your gravy too!
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