Have you decided to spend Thanksgiving Day in your RV or 5th wheel? Thanksgiving is one of the most iconic holidays in the US, and more and more people are celebrating it away from their homes. Traditionally, Thanksgiving is held on the fourth Thursday every November, which is a great time to unwind and go on a road trip with your family.
If you are used to living in a trailer, preparing a lavish dinner should be a piece of cake, especially after you read these tips. However, you may encounter some problems if you are a stranger when it comes to cooking outside of your kitchen. Nevertheless, that should not stop you from making a fantastic Thanksgiving feast by using these simple tips.
1. Plan Ahead
Planning is one of the most important things if you want your Thanksgiving feast to look good and taste good. Make sure that you have everything before you start cooking because additional trips to the store seem like a waste of time, and they usually are.
One of the easiest ways to keep track of everything that you want to prepare is to make a list and stick to it. Start buying the ingredients before you go on the trip because you may not be able to find something on the day of your trip or while you’re on the road. However, pay attention to the expiration date of the products, and keep everything fresh.
2. Time Management is Key
Preparing a meal in your RV or trailer can take a bit more time than it would in your kitchen. It’s not a bad idea to start earlier than you normally would since working in any kitchen that’s not your own can always throw some surprises your way.
If you are cooking a dinner for a large number of people, make sure that you have enough time to do everything within the constraints of the size of your kitchen. Also, you could prepare some of the ingredients for the meal in advance, so you can save time on Thanksgiving Day to spend with your family.
3. Space Management
RVs and camper trailers are becoming more and more popular these days, and their size is increasing as well. However, if you are not fortunate enough to have a huge kitchen in your home on wheels, you have to learn to operate in a smaller area. Most mobile homes have cabinets and drawers that you can use while preparing your dinner; dishes that don’t need to be refrigerated can be put away once plated to give you enough space while preparing the rest of the meal.
Depending on the weather and temperature in the area your RV is parked, you can also save some space by storing some items outside until they are needed. Just make sure that everything is safe from insects and other unwanted guests.
4. Check Your Equipment
Ingredients are not the only thing that you should pay attention to before you start cooking a Thanksgiving feast in your RV. Not having essential equipment can also be frustrating. If you don’t already keep a set of basic cooking and baking implements in your RV, raid your supplies at home well ahead of the holiday so that you don’t forget
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Baking sheet(s) & pie dish
- Pots & pans
- Utensils – spatulas, rubber scrapers, ladles, tongs, etc.
- Serving vessels
- Dishes, glassware, & silverware
- Storage containers or Ziploc bags for leftovers
And don’t forget those Turkey Day specific necessities: turkey baster, carving knife, and gravy boat!
5. Clean the Kitchen
Not only will you save time if you immediately clean the kitchen after you are done working, but you will also have more space. Multitasking can be tricky, but cleaning up as you go (or enlisting a family member to do it for you) will make small kitchen cooking easier. Having a helper wash any dishes as you go will also make a big difference in saving space while working and reducing clean up time later.
6. Set the Table While Cooking
As with holiday meals made at home, you may not be able to prepare everything right on the time you had planned. A well-set table can save you a lot of time if you do it while preparing the feast. Setting the table before you start prepping the meal may not be the best tactic, because an empty table can serve as an additional prepping area.
Again, as with tip 5, enlisting a helper to start setting the table as you are starting to work on the last dish is ideal. This way you can have as much space as you need to make the meal, and if things don’t go quite as planned no one is standing around a set table watching and waiting for you to finish cooking.
7. Involve Others
Most RVs and pull-behind trailers are built to be comfortable for the whole family. If you have enough space in yours, you should involve more people in the whole Thanksgiving Day meal process. Every person can participate by helping out, and that should ease some of the stress of preparing large quantities of food that falls on one or two people.
If your RV isn’t big enough to host more than a couple of people in the kitchen, you can bring along a folding table to create a makeshift prep station outside the RV. People bumping into each other all the time can get frustrating, so this is a great solution to effectively double your kitchen space and keep your helpers happy.
8. Cook Outside
Many RVs and trailers come with outdoor equipment, and preparing some dishes outside of your trailer can bypass many problems. Aside from the already mentioned additional elbow-room you’ll gain, cooking outside will also help ease the temperature increase you’re sure to experiencing when preparing hot food in a small space.
9. Simple Meals Can Be the Best Meals
Thanksgiving is a family holiday, and people all around the country travel back to their homes to spend the day with their family. Complex dishes are usually time-consuming, and making them in your RV or trailer can pose some stressful challenges.
If you plan on celebrating the holiday in your RV or trailer, you could serve some simple dishes and still have a great feast. Simple meals can still be delicious, and there are thousands of recipes online that you can copy. That way, you will have a fantastic meal, and more time with your family.
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