Dinner SOS is the podcast where we answer your highly specific cooking conundrums. In every episode, food director Chris Morocco and a rotating cast of cooking experts will tackle a caller’s kitchen emergency and present two solutions. The caller will pick one, cook through it, and let us know if we successfully helped rescue dinner.
This week’s guest, Rose, is in the middle of a kitchen renovation that’s—of course—been delayed. She needs help putting together a menu for Thanksgiving dinner; she’s hosting her mother-in-law for the first time in years and is looking for recipes that will impress but don’t need to be ultra-traditional. Without an oven or a stove, her cooking tools include a propane grill, a large Instant Pot, and an air fryer, so Chris and Bon Appétit associate food editor Kendra Vaculin are going to have to get creative. But you know they’re up for the challenge.
Listen now to find out how they narrowed down their options, which recipes the caller liked best, and how it all came together. And if you have a dinner emergency of your own, reach out to Chris and the team at podcasts@bonappetit.com or by calling 212-286-SOS-1 (212-286-7071).
transcript
Subscribe to Dinner SOS here. You can also check out an excerpt of the podcast’s transcript below.
Chris Morocco: So Kendra, do you wanna present some of your ideas first?
Kendra Vaculin: I’m happy to kick it off. I have chosen, for our main, a grilled item that will involve a little tweaking on your end, but I think will be so, so delicious. It’s a fan favorite. And it is actually developed by one Chris Morocco himself. This recipe is called Healthyish Barbecued Chicken. The conceit here is that you’’e kind of making your own barbecue sauce with maple syrup, and Worcestershire, and soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha—a bunch of things that could make a really nice roast turkey rub. Instead of using a broken-down whole chicken, you will use a broken-down whole turkey. And then you’re gonna grill it outside. Then this sort of beautiful, gloopy, awesome lacquered barbecue sauce is brushed all over your turkey pieces. So it will be super flavorful, and sticky, and fun while still maintaining sort of like the turkey integrity of the moment.
CM: Love that. Riffing.