Whether you are catering to the whole family clan or a big group of friends, the right restaurant equipment can help make Thanksgiving food preparation faster, leaving you with more time at the table.  When cooking for large numbers, efficiency is the name of the game.  Mixers, combination ovens, and even Gen2 fryers can make life in the kitchen easier.  Here are some things to consider when putting together your own delicious Thanksgiving feast:

Start cooking your turkey first so it is guaranteed to be finished by the time everyone is settled at the table.  There is nothing worse than a table (or two, or three) full of guests and no main course.

If you decided to deep fry your turkey, be absolutely sure it is completely thawed.  It will probably take 3 to 4 days in a refrigerator to take a turkey from totally frozen to fully thawed and ready for the fryer.   If you’re not sure it’s thawed… wait some more.  Trying to fry a frozen turkey results in splattering oil that can cause a major fire if it comes into contact with a flame.

Be sure to consider your guests’ food preferences and allergies.  Nuts, shellfish, dairy, eggs, and certain fruits are some common food allergies to be wary of.  Also, be careful to keep any allergy-friendly dishes apart from each other on your restaurant equipment.  Clean surfaces and containers thoroughly that may have been contaminated by the allergens.  Additionally, the kids’ table may be pretty picky, so in addition to your famous spicy Andouille sausage dressing have some kid-friendly sides on hand, too.

Be creative!  Think outside the box when it comes to your Thanksgiving meal.  Roast your sweet potatoes with lime and ginger, make a pumpkin coconut tart instead of traditional pumpkin pie, add a little curry to your macaroni and cheese, bake some garlic and sun-dried tomato corn muffins… the possibilities are endless.

Now that October is coming to a close, it’s time to put away our spooky decorations, throw away the piles of empty candy wrappers, and make room for cornucopias, copious amounts of football, and a delicious autumn feast. This Thanksgiving consider using one of our Gen2 fryers to help you prepare a tasty fall meal in deep fried style. (Tis’ the season to treat ourselves, right?) Here are some of our favorite dishes that we know will complement any holiday meal.

Sides

Fried Stuffing on a Stick
 This is exactly what it sounds like: your favorite stuffing recipe battered, stuck on a stick, and dropped in one of our Gen2 fryers. Stuffing kebabs make it even easier to eat your favorite holiday side. And with the GEN2-F3-NAT, one of our most economical Gen 2 fryers, it’s never been easier to prepare your favorite seasonal fried foods. With a 40-pound capacity, you’ll be able to make enough stuffing to last you until New Year’s Eve.

Deep Fried Cranberry Sauce Fritters
Classic cranberry sauce is one of our favorite autumn traditions, but this new twist of a dish might just surpass the classic. You’ll need the gelatin-based cranberry sauce sliced into thin cylinders to make these disc-like servings of fried goodness. The GEN2-F3-NAT, or any of our other Gen2 Fryers, will help you get the perfect temperature to create a crunchy outside and a gooey delicious inside.

Main Course

Deep Fried Turkey
Fried turkey is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to prepare this classic holiday headliner. Deep frying the bird leaves the meat crisp and crunchy on the outside and juicy and moist on the inside. Although this method is popular, it can also be dangerous. Here’s a trick to know how much oil to put in: place your turkey in the fryer then fill it with water until the turkey is fully submerged. Take the turkey out, and the water line remaining is how much oil you need. Just don’t forget to wipe all of that water out before adding new oil! With the GEN2-F5-NAT, one of the largest of our Gen2 fryers, cooking the holiday turkey is almost as easy as eating it. And with an automatic safety shut-off, frying your favorite poultry has never been safer.

Dessert

Pumpkin Empanadas
Empanadas, or hand pies as they’re called in northern regions, are tiny fried pies with delicious filling tucked into the center. This seasonal favorite is sure to make all of your guests happy. People love pumpkin pie. Now just imagine how much they will love fried pumpkin pie. With either the GEN2-F3-NAT or the GEN2-F5-NAT, or any of our other Gen2 Fryers, making these delicious pockets of pumpkin-goodness is simple, safe, and sure to leave every holiday guest coming back for seconds.

Greetings!

Happy Thanksgiving!! It’s my favorite holiday – when you gather with friends and family and remember to give thanks for all that you have. It’s a great sentiment and one that I try to remember all year long. All of us at ShortOrder are thankful for you our customers, followers and friends. What are you most thankful for? Post it on our FaceBook page – Inspire others to be thankful too.

Quick reminder: Check out our special discounting program for those with a ShortOrder account. Don’t have an account? Create one today! Just log in with your first and last name and your email address, and you will be able to see steep discounts on many of our most popular items.

Enough about us! Please join me in congratulating John Heathcock – October’s winner for our product review drawing! You can earn some money while helping other people out. Go to Shortorder.com and submit a product review! We’re giving away a $50 ShortOrder.com Gift Card to one reviewer per month.

Don’t miss the clearance section, full of scratch and dent and discontinued inventory! These products have only minor physical imperfections and are protected by the full manufacturer warranty. Clearance inventory changes often so check our clearance section often for the best deals.

In this issue: some tips on maintaining a clean Thanksgiving buffet, a recipe for Pumpkin Pie, and our Featured Items: Eagle hot food tables, Beverage Air kegerators and Scotsman ice machines.

Remember, this newsletter is for you and if there is anything you’d like to know more about – give us a shout! We’d love to hear from you.

Enjoy!

Tylee Van Waes

A Feast to Remember!
So your guests remember the food not the illness….

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and with large meals and many guests, the meal often turns to a buffet. When food is out on display for self-serving, it is the responsibility of both the guest and the host/restaurant to follow the food safety tips.

For the guest:

• Wash up! Clean hands are the first step in a safe and healthy food environment.
• Use a clean plate for every trip to the buffet. This will prevent germs from being transferred between guests.
• If you are at a buffet and notice someone re-using a dirty plate, inform the manager. Some people may not have seen the sign requiring a fresh plate for each trip.
• Respect the sneeze guard! If there is one available, serve yourself with your hands and keep your eyes, nose and mouth above the glass barrier.

For the restaurant/server:

• Wash your hands before preparing food.
• Keep the kitchen, dishes and utensils clean and always serve food on clean plates.
• Cook food thoroughly – Fresh and frozen raw meat, poultry and fish should be cooked hot enough to kill the bacteria, parasites and viruses that may be in the product. The temperatures shown below are recommended for home preparation of food. Always use a meat thermometer to check temperatures.
• Hot foods hot, cold foods cold!
• Hot foods should be held at 140 degrees or warmer
• Cold foods should be held at 40 degrees or coolerTwo Hour Rule! Food should not be at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Replace empty dishes – do not refill them.

There you have it folks – not the most exciting subject, but one of the most important! Food safety tips are always important and especially this time of year when buffets are more prevalent.

Enjoy the holiday season – happy feasting!