Thanksgiving with WREN Home

It's that time of season again, Thanksgiving!  A time both of joy, celebration and of course, a traditional turkey feast for friends and family. While most Thanksgiving participants simply have to show up with an appetite, the chef has a slightly more complicated role of satisfying a room full of hungry mouths, entertaining a room full of guests and tending to the kitchen turned command center. 

As if cooking the turkey wasn't hard enough, the presentation is the grand finale, where the magician makes the reveal by slicing into the turkey. At this point, the audience has been stoked by hours of anticipation and will give a chorus of "Ooohs!" and "Ahhhs!" upon seeing succulent juices flow out of a perfectly roasted turkey... or give pained, overly polite smiles when the host hopelessly struggles with carving overly-cooked meat, making a mess of the dish.

Rather than letting hours of cooking go to waste, one of the best ingredients for a Thanksgiving feast is an ample sized cutting board or butcher block. With the average turkey size increasing each year, it's important to always over-estimate rather than under-estimate. A larger board not only provides a much needed cutting area, but the size and volume of the juice groove is important as well. Some methods of cooking, such as deep frying, can create a delicious but extremely juicy bird, which can often overrun your normal cutting board or carving board.

Our friends over at cuttingboard.com helped us put together a "best size" scale for different sized turkey. Here's our rough guide to the size of cutting board needed vs turkey weight:

Turkey Weight            -        Minimum Dimensions 

Up to 12 Pounds         -         18" x 11" x 0.5" 

Up to 18 Pounds         -         20" x 13" x 1.0" 

Up to 25 Pounds         -         24" x 15" x 1.5" 

If you plan on serving the turkey on the cutting board itself, we highly recommend a juice groove or catch tray unless you plan on cleaning up a potential mess afterward. Check out a few of our favorite WREN Home picks for Thanksgiving below: 

Lark Large Maple Board w/ John Boos

Perfect for prepping, slicing, and displaying the turkey, the Large John Boos Board is our go-to for the holiday season. 

Tuckahoe East Asian Large Walnut Cutting Board

If your turkey is on the smaller side, allow us to recommend the WREN Tuckahoe East Asian Walnut Cutting Board. It has a sturdy handle, that makes gripping and handling a heavy turkey much easier. It's also extremely easy to clean, so when you're done enjoy your holiday feast, you can quickly hop on the couch instead of spending time scrubbing!  

Egret Edge Grain Teak Board

The turkey is obviously the star of the show on Thanksgiving but don't let your sides get neglected. This Teak Board is perfect for any type of vegetable prep work and we highly recommend having at least two cutting boards going to keep your meat and veggies separate. 

Theron Olive Wood Wine Box

Last but not least, the ideal gift for any host braving the Thanksgiving day feast is our Theron Olive Wood Wine Box. A beautiful box with a five-piece wine set, holding your hosts favorite bottle of vino is a slam-dunk gift! 

Have any questions about how our other products might stand up to Thanksgiving scrutiny? Feel free to email us at hello@wrenhome.com with any questions!