Two pages for the fridge door. Chef Tamás plans Thanksgiving the way a hotel kitchen plans a banquet: serving time first, then backwards. This is that plan, on paper.
- Day-by-day checklist for November 19 to 26, 2026, with thaw-by dates for every turkey size
- A fill-in Thursday schedule, worked backwards from dinner
- USDA roasting times at 325°F, stuffed and unstuffed, and the 165°F check points
- Thawing chart (fridge and cold water)
- The 5% brine chart in grams, the way Tamás teaches his apprentices
- Carving order and leftover rules on one line each
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Want it all online instead? Everything in the planner is on the site, with the tools the testers picked:
- Thanksgiving cooking timeline: what to do when
- Turkey cooking time chart by weight
- Turkey brine: the 5% math
- How to carve a turkey
- Leftover turkey: how long it keeps
Sources for the charts: USDA FSIS (via University of Tennessee Extension and the Minnesota Department of Health), FoodSafety.gov, The Splendid Table and America’s Test Kitchen. Chef Tamás is a real head chef; Gerzsi is his beaver apprentice.
