How To Make A Complete Thanksgiving Meal Outside

We put together a complete Thanksgiving meal that is easy to prepare AND easy to cook, all outside. We used the BioLite FirePit+, Griddle, Lid, and Prep & Grill Toolkit to make this dinner, but feel free to use these recipes inside or adapt to your outdoor equipment.

Classic flavors and ingredients? Check.

Unexpected recipe twists? Check.

Fun with fire? Check.

Let's do this. 

Holiday Turkey Burgers (serves 4-6)

Let’s face it: getting through a 15 pound bird even with a table full of people is a daunting task any year. If your crew is looking a little smaller this year, these burgers are a great way to get some turkey on the menu without the hassle of pre-ordering a bird or dealing with tons of leftovers. Bonus: these burgers freeze really well. 

Ingredients

1lb container of ground turkey (preferably dark meat)

½ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

½ cup red onion, diced

½ cup celery, diced

½ cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon fresh sage, roughly chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons butter (for griddle)

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and combine by hand. Form into patties (4 large or 6 medium-sized).
2. Light your BioLite FirePit+: if using charcoal, make sure fuel rack is in upper position and allow charcoal to catch and turn into embers. If using firewood, make sure fuel rack is in lower position and fire is low-to-moderate (you don’t need a big flame to cook effectively!).
3. Place BioLite FirePit Griddle on top and allow to heat up for 2-3 minutes.
4. Drop butter on Griddle and allow to coat surface. Wait until butter just begins to brown – this will help give a rich flavor on the outside (our nod to gravy).
5. Place burgers on the griddle and press down lightly with spatula. Cover with lid and let cook for 4-6 minutes depending on size of your burger.
6. Remove lid and flip burgers.
7. Cook on other side for an additional 4-6 minutes.
8. Remove from grill and let rest under some tin foil

Serve on a bun? I don’t think so. Serve. On. A Pancake.
A Stuffing Pancake.

Smashed Stuffing Pancakes (serves 4-6)

We’re going open-faced sandwich style, pairing the delicious turkey burger above with a perfectly cooked pancake -- that’s made of classic stuffing ingredients. 

Ingredients

4 burger buns, torn into 1” pieces

1 cup any type of mushrooms, small dice

1 cup onions, small dice

1 cup celery, small dice

1 tablespoon chopped garlic (about 3 cloves)

1 cup chicken, turkey or vegetable stock

½ cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons of butter, divided 

2 tablespoons kosher salt, divided

1 teaspoon black pepper

Note: if you only have dried herbs, no problem! Use ¼ teaspoon dry thyme and ⅛ teaspoon dried sage respectively.

Method

1. Light your FirePit+ and set your Griddle over medium heat.
2. Melt 1 tbsp of the butter and add your mushrooms and cook until nicely browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the celery, onions, and 1 tablespoon of salt stirring occasionally so they cook evenly and don’t burn.
4. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until soft and lightly brown.
5. While the onions and celery cook, place your torn burger buns in a bowl and set aside.
6. Once the onions/celery/mushroom mixture is cooked, add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
7. Transfer everything to the bowl with the bread, add stock, chopped herbs, 1 tablespoon butter, remaining salt and black pepper. Stir to combine or better yet use your hands to really squish the mixture into the bread.
8. Stir in the egg and fold to combine.
9. In the bowl, roughly divide your mixture into however many patties you intend on making (we recommend matching it to the # of turkey burgers you form).
10. Wipe off the Griddle and melt the last tablespoon of butter.
11. Using a large spoon, dollop the mixture onto the griddle and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

VEGETABLE BONUS: Quick Steam Green Beans

For those who need a punch of green on their plate, this rogue section is for you: wrap up some green beans in tin foil, toss in some olive oil, salt, and lemon, and throw that packet right on top of the FirePit+ for a few minutes with the lid on top. It’ll steam up and be a perfect extra veg (although we think stuffing ingredients technically count as vegetables). 

Ok, onto dessert

Sweet Potato S'mores (serves 4-6)

Yes, it actually works. And yes, it’s delicious. It’s like a perfect bite of sweet potato pie.

Here the sweet potato takes the coveted spot of where chocolate typically appears in a s’more. But don’t worry, that spud gets some serious love, marinating in maple syrup and cinnamon for before getting soft and carmelized on the griddle.

Best part: the sweet potatoes can be made ahead of time and hang out. And the marshmallows can be a fun interactive way to wrap up the meal around the campfire.

Ingredients

1 sweet potato, peeled (note: sweet potatoes come in lots of different shapes and sizes. We recommend a small to medium sized potato that has more of a narrow cylindrical shape rather than a giant football)

¼ cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Butter

Marshmallows

Graham Crackers

Method

1. Peel sweet potato, slice into ¼ inch thick rounds, and poke rounds several times with a fork.
2. In a small bowl, combine maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt and mix until well incorporated. Add potato slices and let marinate for at least 1-4 hours (you can also leave it in a Tupperware overnight).
3. Light FirePit (low-to-moderate heat) and add Griddle.
4. Place a pad of butter on Griddle and let sizzle.
5. Add potato rounds and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side: when you flip, potato should be brown and caramelized on the side that was touching the Griddle.
6. Remove cooked rounds and set aside. 
7. Using grill or oven mitts, remove Griddle and grill grate and place safely on a heatproof surface.
8. Add firewood to your FirePit cooking embers and set fan on medium to high to move into campfire mode.
9. Toast marshmallows, and build your s’more. We recommend 2 sweet potato pieces per s’more.
10. Looking for something a little extra sweet? Drizzle the maple syrup marinade on top right before placing your top graham cracker.

There you have it -- a full Thanksgiving meal built for the outdoors. Only 3 bowls used, one intrepid cutting board, and a FirePit+ that’s ready for action. 

Happy Holidays from the BioLite Team

Give this recipe a try and tell us about it! Tag @BioLite in your FirePit+ Holiday Meals on Instagram this season -- we’ll be keeping our eye out and showing some love in the mail. 

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