Special Sauce with Ed Levine Turkey Day Reheat: Kenji and Stella Parks Take Calls from Listeners
Nov 21, 2025
Join culinary wizards Kenji Lopez-Alt and Stella Parks as they tackle Thanksgiving cooking dilemmas! Kenji shares tips on the reverse-sear technique for turkey and warns against stuffing it with the bird. Stella offers invaluable advice on perfecting pie crusts, recommending optimal salt and butter choices. They also discuss ingenious ways to manage holiday cookie decorating and reduce sweetness with toasted sugar. Tune in for expert insights that'll elevate your Turkey Day feast!
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Reverse Sear Works If You Separate Parts
- Separate turkey legs and breasts if you want to use a reverse-sear method to get both juicy white and well-done dark meat.
- Roast low, remove pieces at their target temps, then blast at 500–550°F to crisp skin for 10–15 minutes.
Fix Salty Or Dry Pie Crusts
- Use the same type of salt a recipe specifies or measure by weight to avoid overly salty pie crusts.
- Choose a richer dough (equal butter to flour by weight) to get flakier, less soggy crusts.
What To Bring When Traveling With Food
- Bring desserts or composed salads with dressing separate when traveling for an hour to avoid imposing on a host's kitchen.
- For hot dishes, bake, wrap in foil and pack in an insulated cooler; add crunchy toppings just before serving.
