How will you be spending your Thanksgiving at Lake Martin?

OK, it is crunch time. No more time to play around. You need to commit to what kind of turkey you’re going to cook. If you’re coming to Lake Martin, I would go ahead and put the turkey in the fridge right now and let it start thawing.

When we visit my wife’s family, we are of the turkey fry persuasion. We have a long history of frying the turkey and hanging outside while we do it. So, if you are like us on our Fry years, you probably will be doing pretty good if you just have your fryer and all of the metal accouterments that goes along with it. Many places around the lake, like Dollar General, grocery stores, etc., will sell peanut oil if you need it in a pinch.

When we have Thanksgiving with my side of the family, I usually try and smoke a turkey on my Kamado Joe. I am of the opinion that this is the best way to do it, though it takes more preparation when you are in a rural area like Lake Martin. If you are a Big Green Egg/ Kamado Joe type of person like I am, you should know that you probably need to get your supplies early. If you need some last-minute supplies, I recommend giving Lake Martin Mini Mall a call. They have a really good Big Green Egg set up, and most of their products will work with all the rest of the similar style smokers.

I like to brine my turkey for a couple of days before I smoke it. So that’s why I usually start to thaw the turkey at least on Friday or Saturday. You don’t want to put a frozen turkey in the fridge to try to brine it while you thaw it.

There should be no division, though, on how you spend your time when you’re not cooking the turkey. Thanksgiving break is an awesome time to hike around Lake Martin. I’ve written lots of blog posts around the hiking opportunities. Depending on where you are at the lake, you are probably within 10 miles of a good trail. I’ll link some of the best trails here. While you’re thinking about it, and if you are a hiker, please remember to contribute to the Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail Association. They are building a new fire tower over on Overlook Road by the dam that is going to be a Lake Martin landmark for years to come. They need our help to make this happen!

However you choose to plan to spend your time or eat your turkey, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving holiday, and one where you can truly thank the Lord for all of our blessings.

I know I am!