Skip to content

Top Navigation

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Recipes
  • Cooking 101
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
SUBSCRIBE
Pin FB

Explore Cooking Light

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 31-Day Healthy Meal Plan

      Our 31-day calendar of meals and tips shows you how to cook more and love it with fun, family-friendly meals that come together quickly and deliciously. Read More
    • Dinner Tonight: Quick and Healthy Menus in 45 Minutes (or Less)

      Hundreds of delicious recipes, paired with simple sides, that can be on your table in 45 minutes or less. Read More
    • Our Favorite Healthy Air Fryer Recipes

      Who ever said that chicken wings, doughnuts, and pizza couldn't be healthy? Read More
  • Recipes

    Recipes

    See All Recipes
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Drinks
    • Recipe Makeovers
    • Quick & Healthy
    • Diabetic
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegetarian
    • Cooking Light Live
  • Cooking 101

    Cooking 101

    See All Cooking 101
    • Essential Ingredients
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Meet the Chef
    • Cooking Resources
    • Budget Friendly
    • Smart Choices
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living

    Healthy Living

    See All Healthy Living
    • Weight-Loss
    • Health
    • Fitness
    • Home
    • Travel
    • Nutrition 101
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Cooking 101
  3. Use It or Lose It: Thanksgiving Kitchen Tools

Use It or Lose It: Thanksgiving Kitchen Tools

November 05, 2015
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey
We've sorted through the kitchen cupboards and drawers to determine which gear will make Thanksgiving prep easy and streamlined—and which gadgets you're better off tossing.
Start Slideshow

1 of 6

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Roasting Pans

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

Even the heaviest-duty disposable aluminum foil pan is just a little too flimsy for a big bird, potentially bending or folding just when you need it to hold up. Plus, without handles, removal from the oven can get rather dodgy. Instead, use a heavy-gauge stainless steel roasting pan with a fitted rack to elevate the bird from its drippings and allow vegetables on the bottom to cook evenly.

Try All-Clad's Petite Roti pan ($160), which can fit up to a 12-pound turkey and includes an easy-to-clean nonstick rack. 

1 of 6

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 6

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Manual Rotary Beaters

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

This apparatus stands the test of time for batters, egg whites, or whipped cream. OXO's Good Grips Egg Beater has rustproof gears and detachable, dishwasher-safe beaters. ($20)

2 of 6

3 of 6

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Nonmetal Pie Plates

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

For a beautifully browned piecrust, stick with tempered glass or ceramic pie plates. Old or new, they conduct heat slowly and evenly (no hot spots), are often dishwasher safe, and won't rust like metal pie plates can. Bonus: Most ceramic pie dishes are pretty enough to go straight to the dessert buffet. If you need a new one, look for a dish that's freezer safe for make-ahead convenience, such as the Emile Henry Pie Dish. It can also be heated up to 500° and is chip and shock resistant. ($45) 

3 of 6

Advertisement

4 of 6

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Fat Separator

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

The physics behind these hasn't changed much over time, so if you inherited Grandma's, it will still do a great job of sending the drippings that fall to the bottom of the vessel through the siphoning spout, while the fat floats on top.

Modern
Remove fat layer from stock as it cooks with this Fat Skimming Ladle from Williams Sonoma. ($40) 

Updated
Try OXO's Good Grips Fat Separator with a removable strainer and stoppers that prevent fat from entering the spout. ($10)

Vintage
Old-school versions do what modern ones do. Avoid overfilling so nonseparated liquid won't spill over the pour spout.

4 of 6

5 of 6

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Turkey Baster

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

Not only does basting not change the meat's flavor, but it also prevents crispy skin from forming. Instead, use a brush lightly coated with oil at the end of roasting to help crisp the skin (perfect for our Brown Sugar–Cured Turkey).

5 of 6

6 of 6

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Carving Knives

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

That electric carving knife your dad's had forever can do a pretty awesome job of quickly breaking down the turkey and cutting precise, even slices of meat, so let him have his fun. But you can always go manual. Use a long, thin, well-sharpened knife like the Zwilling Pro S Carving Knife. ($110)

6 of 6

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 6 Roasting Pans
    2 of 6 Manual Rotary Beaters
    3 of 6 Nonmetal Pie Plates
    4 of 6 Fat Separator
    5 of 6 Turkey Baster
    6 of 6 Carving Knives

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Cooking Light

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    MeredithCooking Light is part of the Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Cooking Light may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Cooking Light. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.cookinglight.com

    View image

    Use It or Lose It: Thanksgiving Kitchen Tools
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.