Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner Recipes for One Person

Are you spending Thanksgiving alone this year? Do you think that means you have to do without the traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner? While it stands to reason that even the smallest of turkeys is likely to be too much for one person, the good news is that this absolutely does not mean that you cannot enjoy a freshly prepared, Thanksgiving turkey dinner, with all the trimmings of your choice. It simply means that you may have to be a little bit more creative with your Thanksgiving dinner menu and make the most of what will be very specific cuts from the bird.

Supermarkets in modern times offer a wide choice of turkey meat, in small, manageable portions, which do not involve buying a whole bird. You may wish to buy a drumstick, a thigh, a breast steak or portion, or even simply some diced meat from the breast or thigh. There are any number of ways in which these turkey portions can be made to form a delicious turkey dinner for Thanksgiving or any time of year. Why not take a look at what your supermarket offers in this line and plan what you are going to come up with?

This page is devoted to looking at the traditional - and the somewhat less than traditional - in terms of turkey recipes, in an attempt to help anyone spending Thanksgiving alone at least enjoy their dinner on the big day.

There is a strong possibility that although you do want to enjoy turkey when spending Thanksgiving alone, you do not want to put in a great many hours' preparation on a meal for one person. This makes a turkey stir fry the perfect choice. It is quick and easy to prepare but still includes that principal ingredient of fresh turkey.

Ingredients

½ lb diced turkey breast meat
1 egg white
1 tsp corn starch
½ red bell pepper
½ white onion
Generous handful of bean sprouts
2 medium closed cup mushrooms
½ tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
Salt and white pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

Method

The first step is to begin the process of velveting the turkey meat. This is a Chinese procedure, used to help protect what is usually chicken from the intense heat of the stir frying process and keep it deliciously tender and moist.

Add the egg white to a glass or stone bowl, large enough to subsequently contain the turkey and allow you room to stir it around. Spoon in the corn starch and season with up to a quarter teaspoon of salt. Stir to form a smooth, fairly thin paste before adding the turkey and stirring to coat it evenly and well. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate for twenty to thirty minutes.

While the turkey is velveting, use some of the time to prepare your vegetables. Remember when stir frying that the different foodstuffs should be cut in to fairly large pieces and be as uniform in size as possible. Half the onion again and split it in to leaves. Deseed and slice the red pepper and thickly slice the mushroom. The beansprouts should be washed and shaken dry.

It is important to drain the turkey when you remove it from the refrigerator. Pour it in to a colander and stir well to remove as much of the liquid as possible. Add some oil to your wok and bring it up to a high heat. Stir fry the turkey only for about a minute until it turns evenly opaque and is sealed. Remove it to a small dish or bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add a little more oil to the wok if required and bring back up to heat before adding the onion and red pepper. Stir fry for about a minute. Put the turkey back in, along with the mushrooms and chilli flakes and season. Stir fry for another minute before adding the beansprouts for a third and final minute.

You could serve this stir fry with rice or noodles but this is a fairly generous portion and it will depend on how hungry you are likely to be and perhaps how many other courses you have decided to prepare. Plate the stir fry and garnish with a little freshly chopped parsley.

This recipe is based on the Austro/German dish, schnitzel. Turkey is a very popular choice for making schnitzel in some parts of Germany and Austria and this recipe is a fairly straightforward idea for your Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingredients

6oz turkey breast fillet
1 egg
2 slices of bread, made in to crumbs
Large Brussels sprouts
Small baby new potatoes
Butter
Pinch of ground nutmeg
½ tsp dried dill
Salt and pepper
Wedge of lemon and parsley sprig to garnish

Method

The quantity of potatoes and Brussels sprouts which you choose to use in this recipe are down to personal choice and essentially how big an appetite you are likely to have. The potatoes should be started first. Wash them but do not peel them and add them to a pan of slightly salted cold water. Place on a high heat until the water boils and then reduce to simmer for twenty-five minutes.

Break the egg in to a flat bottomed bowl, season with salt and pepper and lightly beat. Spread the breadcrumbs on a dinner plate. Bring a little oil gently up to heat in a non-stick frying pan. Draw the turkey steak through the beaten egg and pat on both sides in the breadcrumbs. Repeat this process for a thicker and more even coating. Fry gently for seven or eight minutes each side until done.

The sprouts will take ten to twelve minutes to cook, depending upon their size. Trim the very end only off the remaining stalk and remove any loose or withered leaves. Do not make a cross in the base of the sprouts - this serves only to make the sprouts fall apart in the cooking water, significantly and adversely affecting presentation. Add the sprouts to a pan of lightly salted boiling water and adjust the heat to achieve a gentle simmer.

Drain the potatoes and return them to the empty pot. Add a little butter and the dried dill. Swirl to coat the potatoes in the seasoned butter.

Drain the sprouts and return them to their pot. Add butter and the ground nutmeg. Swirl again to coat.

Plate the turkey and arrange the potatoes and sprouts alongside. Garnish with the lemon wedge and parsley and serve.

The way that the fries are prepared for this recipe means that they will require to be started a couple of hours in advance of service.

A modest sized baking potato makes a decent portion of fries. Peel the potato and slice and chop it in to fry shapes. Put the fries in to a wire basket and a pan of cold, unsalted water. Bring to a boil on a high heat before reducing to simmer for five minutes only.

The basket makes it easy to lift the fries from the water rather than draining them through a colander at the risk of breaking them. Pour the water out of the pot and fill it with cold water before lowering the basket of fries back in to it for five more minutes. This helps to cool the fries quickly and prevents them turning grey or black. Lift the basket back out the water, allow to drain and place the fries carefully in to a plastic dish with a lid and in to the refrigerator for at least half an hour.

Lay the chilled fries on one half of a clean tea towel and pat them dry. Fry them at 300F/150C in oil for five minutes. Drain on kitchen paper, cover and allow to cool. Put them back in a dish and the refrigerator for a further half hour.

You can now move on to preparing and cooking your burger and the remainder of your meal.

Ingredients

½ lb ground turkey
¼ white onion, finely diced
½ tsp dried sage
1 tbsp mayo
1 small garlic clove
1 soft bread roll
Salt and white pepper

Method

This is a really simple burger recipe with no breadcrumbs, egg or other often added ingredients. Put the turkey, diced onion and sage in to a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the ingredients well by hand before rolling in to a ball. Flatten the ball between your palms to form a burger between three-quarters of an inch and an inch thick.

Bring a little vegetable oil up to a medium heat in a non-stick pan. The burger will require to be gently fried for around ten to twelve minutes on each side until done, depending upon thickness. Do not press down on the burger as it cooks, as you force the juices out in to the pan. Turn it only once and check for doneness by piercing with the point of a sharp knife and checking the juices run clear. Push the pan off the heat to rest the burger while the fries are finished.

Put the fries back in to the fryer at 350F/170C for a further five to six minutes. Put the mayo in a small bowl and hand grate in the peeled garlic clove. Stir well.

Remove the fries to some fresh kitchen paper and allow to drain. Cut the bread roll in half horizontally and toast under a hot, overhead grill. Lay the two halves of the roll on your serving plate, cut sides uppermost and the fries alongside. Lay your burger on the bottom half of the roll and spoon on some mayo before service.

The potential reasons why someone is spending Thanksgiving alone are many and varied. There are even some who will be spending the day alone very much through personal choice! In most instances, however, it will not be through choice and particularly for elderly people forced to spend Thanksgiving alone, the despondency can be overpowering.

Can you bring joy to someone this Thanksgiving? Can you perhaps fit an extra chair in at your table and serve another portion from your turkey? It may be a distant family member you haven't considered, or simply an old friend who lives nearby. If you can save someone from sitting alone to eat their Thanksgiving dinner, your simple act of kindness may bring a level of joy which you can't begin to imagine...

Hopefully you will have a wonderful time this Thanksgiving, however and wherever you happen to be spending it. If you are spending it alone, hopefully these dinner recipes have given you some idea for how to make your day a little better.

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