Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson conquered his fear of Thanksgiving turkey on today’s edition of THE MARTHA STEWART SHOW (Hallmark Channel, 10 AM ET/9 AM C – same day encore airing, 2 PM ET/next day airing, 1 PM ET).
On today’s episode, Jesse took part in a lesson on Turkey 101 when he prepared the Perfect Roast Turkey just in time for his very first solo attempt at Thanksgiving dinner in his new house. The self proclaimed “breast man” described his first experience on preparing this special holiday bird; “I tried brining. It was in a trash bag at one point. It was a disaster…and apparently you’re supposed to also defrost the turkey before which I did not know. So Thanksgiving dinner actually happened four days later.” Although Jesse seemed hesitant to dive right in, Martha told him “You can not be afraid of the turkey!”and quickly had him grabbing the turkey by the legs. Literally!
Credit: David Russell/The Martha Stewart Show.
On Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s first Thanksgiving dinner:
Jesse Tyler Ferguson: I did do it with my sister, we made Thanksgiving dinner a few years ago and I did not do a good job.
Martha Stewart: Was your turkey insipid?
JTF: Yes, amongst other things. It was very dry. I tried brining. It was in a trash bag at one point. It was a disaster.
MS: Well the whole thing about brining is, see how we have this large container? You also have to make sure if it’s not cold outside where you are, you put the turkey outside and there’s no vermin that can steal the turkey in the nighttime. You have to make sure your refrigerator will hold the container. A lot of people go through the whole thing of brining and then they look in their refrigerator and there’s no way this is going to fit in their refrigerator. It’s a big problem.
JTF: And apparently you’re supposed to also defrost the turkey before which I did not know. So Thanksgiving dinner actually happened four days later.
On JTF’s cooking skills:
MS: Are you a cook generally?
JTF: I do okay. This is an oven, right? Yes, Yes!
MS: This is a stove.
JTF: A stove, correct.
MS: With an oven.
JTF: An oven in it? That’s very confusing. Alright, I’m already confused.
On the twins that play Lily in Modern Family:
MS: You have two? Twins?
JTF: We have twins that we work with. Because you know, when one gets cranky, you just switch it out. It’s like what we did with the turkey: put one up, take it away.
MS: So they hang around all day during filming and you choose one that’s not crying.
JTF: One that’s not crying and sometimes they’re both crying. And literally one walked off the set the other day. She put one little pink shoe in front of the other…
MS: A prima donna?
JTF: She was a prima donna. She locked herself in her trailer, would not come out.
MS: I wonder who she’s learning that from.
On being a breast man:
MS: You want a piece? Breast meat, leg meat?
JTF: Breast. I’m a breast man. I know what you’re gonna say.