How do you cook a turkey on a boat? What about the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce…and don’t forget the pie? It seemed a little daunting to figure out how I was going to make so many dishes when I can only use one appliance at a time (see, our inverter, supplying power to all of our appliances, won’t allow us to consume more than 2000 watts without blowing a breaker). Therefore, I can’t use the microwave and the toaster oven at the same time. Welcome to boat life! However, as I discovered, you can make a full Thanksgiving meal on a catamaran and do it well. We did it, and it turned out great!
I had to put a little forethought into it. The pre-planning and pre-cooking was the key. I made a list of all of the items I wanted to serve for Thanksgiving, then I made another list of all of the ingredients I would need. Thankfully, we were staying at a dock at the time in Lucaya, Grand Bahamas, so it was convenient to get to Sawyer’s Fresh Market on our bikes. Maryalice and I made several trips there, loading groceries in our baskets, starting a few days before Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun!
Since I knew I couldn’t cook a full-sized turkey in either our boat oven or the toaster oven, I decided to purchase a turkey breast and cook it in the Instant Pot. I did a little research first to see if it could be done and, lo and behold, it could. I found a frozen 5.5 pound Butterball Turkey breast for $15.50 at the Cost Right Market in Freeport and that became my starting point. I purchased it three days before Thanksgiving and, thankfully, was able to fit it on a small baking sheet in our Dometic Fridge to thaw.
This is the recipe I followed. The only thing I did differently was adjust the cooking time based on my research of other recipes. I ended up cooking the turkey breast in the Instant Pot using the pressure cooker setting for 30 minutes on high. Then I unplugged it and left it in the Instant Pot for an hour, without opening the lid, for it to release the pressure naturally and continue to cook. After that, I carefully removed it to a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving it. Wow, was it ever tender and delicious, and seasoned just right. I was amazed, and will definitely make this again, not just for Thanksgiving.
I made gravy using the juices remaining in the Instant Pot, adding a tablespoon of cornstarch and salt, and cooking it on the stove top while the turkey was resting. Then I added the small package of gravy that came inside the Butterball Turkey Breast, and again, it turned out great. This is a no stress, super easy way to make a delicious turkey on a boat or anywhere, any time of the year!
For the sweet potatoes, I cooked those two days before Thanksgiving by washing them, poking holes in them, and cooking them in my microwave in a steamer basket. Since they were fairly large sweet potatoes, I could only cook two at a time. They took about 12 minutes each batch, and I did that twice. So I used 24 minutes of power to cook four large sweet potatoes. I let them cool on the counter and then put them in the fridge overnight. The day before Thanksgiving, I pulled off the peels and sliced them in 1/2 inch rings and put them in two separate baking dishes. I made candied sweet potatoes in one dish, and olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic sweet potatoes in the other. On Thanksgiving, I put both pans in the toaster oven and roasted them for 15 minutes, followed by a quick broil, while the turkey was sitting in the Instant Pot for an hour. The timing worked out great and they were warm and hot for our meal.
I bought canned cranberry sauce and mixed in an orange, cut up finely with the juice, a bit of cinnamon, and honey. It turned out to be a great accompaniment with the turkey. I made this the morning before Thanksgiving and it was easy to take out of the fridge at the last minute and put in a bowl for serving.
The green bean casserole was easy. The day before Thanksgiving I mixed up all the ingredients (canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup, soy sauce, pepper and French fried onions), and put it in a plastic container in the fridge overnight. On Thanksgiving day, I transferred it to a baking pan and cooked it at 350 degrees for 20 minutes in the toaster oven. Then right before the guests came, I topped it with more French fried onions and broiled it for a few minutes. Another dish, easily done and always a favorite!
I cheated with the potatoes. I bought a box of Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes. I followed the stovetop recipe, but added extra butter, salt, cream, and sour cream at the end. It made for really creamy and rich mashed potatoes, and you couldn’t even tell that they weren’t homemade. This is a great option when living on a boat because you can cook those on the propane stove top while you’re cooking other things in the oven or microwave. I made these the day before, put them in a large Tupperware container, and then microwaved them right before the guests came. Then I put them in a nice serving dish with a big pat of butter right on top.
Maryalice brought rolls, a pumpkin pie, and whipping cream for dessert! Yum! Neither one of us had a pie pan, so we couldn’t bake a homemade pie. She found a frozen pie at the grocery store, but it was one of only a couple left, and the box was soggy and all beat up. She bought it anyway since we didn’t have many options, and it was sealed in plastic wrap, so we figured it would be okay. It baked up beautifully in the toaster in 65 minutes and cooled overnight, ready for the big day!
When it was time to eat, we gathered to pray and thanked the Lord for his bounty and blessings. Then we went around the table and shared some things for which we were all grateful! It was a wonderful Thanksgiving meal, but even more wonderful with our great new friends. We missed being with our family this year, but we got to FaceTime with them and enjoy a little of their festivities from a distance! God bless you all! We are truly grateful!
