Trashcan Turkey

A New Thanksgiving Tradition: Trashcan Turkey
By Tara Miller

December 2004

This month’s Totally Griswald is not about a specific crazy experience that has happened to us on one of our wild adventures around the world. It is instead about a very Griswold tradition that we started a few years ago. I think it is appropriate to mention this month due to the holiday season and the fact that with the holidays often comes more stress than pleasure for a lot of people. Remember the holidays are about spending time with the ones you love and the ones they love. As we all grow older and our families grow, getting everyone together can be the biggest challenge. I hope this story can be an example to all that even if traditions change a little, the true meaning of the holidays can still be kindled in the time and memories we create together.

This time of year has everyone thinking about family traditions. The tradition of getting everyone together for elaborate meals, gift giving, eggnog and holiday cookies. We used to be a family of typical American traditions. All the aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, brothers, sisters, moms and dads would all come over for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. Mom and the aunts would cook, Dad and the uncles would watch the game and the kids would show off what Santa had left behind. After dinner we would exchange gifts with the cousins, play some more and eat hot apple, pumpkin or cherry pie. The night would come to an end with tired children and toys littering the floor, and even more tired parents cleaning up and heading home.

I am not sure what exactly started the change in the Miller family tradition. Maybe it was someone having to work on Thanksgiving or Christmas day, maybe it was the kids growing up, maybe it was the addition of boyfriends or fiancés to the family and in turn spending time with other families, maybe it was taking advantage of free days off at work to travel, or maybe it was a combination of all of those things. Whatever the case, a few years back, we started a new holiday tradition.

Now the Millers cannot claim responsibility for the idea of the trashcan turkey, but I would say that we have perfected the art! It happened 3 years ago when Mom and Dad decided to spend Thanksgiving at to Garner State Park, west of San Antonio on the Frio River. This is not the first year that the Millers completely broke the Thanksgiving tradition, but it was the first year that Mom did not have to work at all over the weekend making it the perfect time to camp and to experiment.

At some point in time Mom and Dad had come across a recipe for a trashcan turkey. Curious, they kept the article and started experimenting. They started with a large, metal trash can (a NEW one), drilled a couple of holes for vents, added some charcoal, and voila…had a home made, outdoor turkey oven—perfect for roasting a turkey bird at the campsite! Now picturing this for some is difficult. Imagine a trashcan turned over. The bird goes on a rack on the inside of the lid; the lid is set in coals. The container part of the trashcan is place on top of the lid and more coal is added to the top (which is actually the bottom of the can). Holes are drilled in the side for ventilation. Believe it or not, the trashcan makes an unbelievable oven and it takes about the same time to cook a turkey as a regular oven.

While our first Trashcan Turkey roasted, some of us decided to take a hike around the park. Not sure what to expect upon our return we were delighted to find that the turkey was almost done and we would be eating sooner than later. The rest of Thanksgiving (aside for the pies which Mom made previously at home) was a snap: green bean casserole on the Colman stove, mashed potatoes boiled over an open fire, and potato rolls heated up in the coals.

When the turkey (with stuffing) was finally done it took two people to get it out. A beautifully browned skin, tender, moist breast, enough drippings in the bottom to make gravy, what a glorious sight! Who could have known that a trash can could produce such culinary beauty! Needless to say, we dove right in and continued the true American tradition of pure and simple gluttony!

Since the debut of the Trash Can Turkey back in Garner State Park I do not believe that we have cooked a bird any other way. Even though we haven’t camped on Thanksgiving since that year, it hasn’t stopped us from getting out the metal trash can with holes perfectly drilled (we’re experts now), starting up some coals in a fire pit in the back yard and roasting that bird just like we would in the wilderness. I even heard a rumor that chefs Don and Wade dropped the turkey in the dirt one year on its way into being carved! I guess you could say it is a new Miller tradition, one that is adapting with our ever so adventurous family!