Friendsgiving Menu - Bacon Turkey!!

I have to say, I am quite impressed with all of the food we served on Sunday. Our turkey was a HUGE hit. Our friend even told Andrew he was too young to cook a turkey that well!

We decided that we wanted to brine the turkey because Andrew's family did that last year, and he said it was the best turkey he'd ever eaten. We found this recipe from the Pioneer Woman for our brine. We used a brining bag and left it in the fridge for almost a full 24 hours, flipping it once.

Once we were ready to cook the turkey, we followed these steps by Alton Brown.  We rinsed the turkey thoroughly so it wasn't too salty, then patted it dry and followed his instructions. The only thing we did differently was baste the turkey, while he advises against it.

Now, the fun part! We added our own twist to the recipe. Andrew wanted to make a bacon weave for our turkey. We made a weave of bacon and placed it in wax paper in the fridge. When there was about an hour left before our turkey was finished roasting, we took the bird out and laid the bacon weave over the breast. We sprinkled brown sugar and cracked black pepper on top, then placed it back in the oven to finish roasting.

Oh my word....this turkey was amazing. Our friend said her husband talked about it the entire drive home. So please, from now on brine your turkeys. And a little bacon never hurt anything either. I'm not sure if I'll ever try a different method!

In addition to our amazing turkey, our friends brought some delicious recipes as well! My favorite appetizer was the crab stuffed mushrooms, they were to die for! Our friend Corrie went crabbing in the bay on Saturday, and caught a TON of fresh crab. I'm so happy he decided to share with us. Andrew also made his sisters famous cheese ball that was a big hit. It's really simple, I'll post the recipe soon!

It was such a fun day, and we get to do it all over again tomorrow! I can't wait!! Thank you to all of our friends for bringing so many wonderful dishes to share and making our first annual Friendsgiving so wonderful!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Safe travels to those of us who will be on their way to visit family!