Award-winning chef shares 5 tips on throwing a budget-friendly Thanksgiving
Chef Jonathan Waxman knows about good food. The 2016 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef is known for popularizing fresh, California cuisine in New York City.
But while Waxman has cooked in some of the best kitchens — his West Village restaurant Barbuto closed in May after the building was sold last year — he tells CNBC Make It that good food doesn't need to be expensive, especially if you're preparing food around the holidays.
When it comes to his Thanksgiving feast, Waxman keeps the essential staples simple: warm bread, fresh cranberry sauce, gravy, and Chex mix. Everything else he likes to mix up year to year, including the protein and vegetables. The meal isn't complete with a good Negroni, preferably made with Grey Goose vodka. "And not just one; make a pitcher and share with family and friends," he says.
It is possible to cook a great dinner on a budget, Waxman says: "I am a very economical cook—I pride myself on stretching my dollar." Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to practice this philosophy, he adds.
Here's a look at how he keeps costs down without sacrificing flavor.
1. Buy seasonally
"One should attempt to buy seasonably always, especially at Thanksgiving," Waxman says. That's because there's a lot of great seasonal options, such as butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, turkey and cranberries, that are both plentiful and much cheaper in the fall.
Plus apples, walnuts, sweet potatoes, celery and potatoes are at their peak in flavor and their low point in terms of cost, Waxman says. "My kale salad is a great crowd pleaser," he says, adding he also regularly prepares a side of russet potatoes cooked with rosemary. Grain dishes like quinoa, farro and rice are always in season, and again, tend to be low-cost.
2. Buy in bulk
Thanksgiving meals are generally a family affair, and that can mean feeding a crowd. To keep costs in check, Waxman recommends buying some of the ingredients in bulk, such as potatoes, lettuce and even boxes of citrus.
Costco sells a 15-pound bag of potatoes for $6.99, according to prices in northern New Jersey analyzed by CNBC Make It. Walmart sells a 5-pound bag for just $2.97.
When you do the math, Costco is cheaper at 47 cents per pound, as opposed to Walmart's 59 cents per pound. And 15 pounds of potatoes can make enough mashed potatoes to comfortably feed about two dozen people.
3. Turkey is cost-effective
Turkey can be a cheap option for the main dish, Waxman says. But make sure you do your homework.
"Turkey is the one thing that makes sense to study the prices; they do go up and down," Waxman says. At the same time, turkeys feed a lot of people, so it can be an economical main course. If you can get a 15-pound turkey on sale, it will feed about 10 people.
Right now, grocery chains such as Aldi and Walmart have frozen turkeys on sale for as little as 59 cents and 68 cents per pound, respectively. Costco typically has fresh young turkeys on sale for 99 cents per pound right before Thanksgiving.
Of course, a smaller turkey only feeds a crowd if there are good number of side dishes. Waxman says he loves serving a plethora of dishes that may be slightly less expensive than the turkey, but at the same time, really round out the meal.
Who doesn't love a good side dish? Waxman's recommendations: squash gratin, mashed potatoes, roasted fingerling potatoes with mint, Brussels sprouts with bacon and stuffing made with bread and roasted celery.
4. Make it from scratch
"Raw ingredients shopped at your supermarket will always be cheaper than prepared food," Waxman says.
It's true — cooking something from scratch is cheaper than eating out or buying a meal kit or prepared food items. Forbes analyzed pricing data from restaurants as well as the cost of similar dishes using recipes and found that meal kits were three times as expensive as cooking from scratch, while going out to eat or ordering takeout was five times as expensive.
Plus, the pleasure of cooking yourself is "fantastic," Waxman says. That's "made even better if the extended family all helps," he adds. Don't sweat it if you end up working with a few cooking novices. "Experience can be trumped by enthusiasm," Waxman says.
5. Get organized
On Thanksgiving, it helps to be organized and have a game plan going into your holiday cooking, Waxman says. If you're not, you could forget ingredients and end up with a terrible tasting dish, which can be money down the drain if no one eats it.
His strategy is to put out all the ingredients you have bought, then divide up the tasks among those who are helping you in the kitchen this year.
Have someone dice the onions while another person washes the lettuce. Someone else can simultaneously cut the vegetables. "Dividing and conquering is so important," Waxman says. Remember, a 15-pound turkey takes 12 minutes a pound to cook, so you can always cook the turkey early and reheat it later.
"Do the hard dishes first and don't sweat the small stuff," Waxman says.
If all of this has you craving some Thanksgiving staples from Waxman, he is hosting a Friendsgiving event open to consumers in NYC on Nov. 13, 2019. Those interested can make reservations.
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