“Turkey in a Can” is the fifth episode in Season 4, and the fiftieth episode overall. It is the second Thanksgiving-themed episode.
Fans of the hit animated sitcom Bob’s Burgers will be excited to learn they can recreate Bob Belcher’s famous brined turkey recipe at home. This flavorful turkey dish appeared in a Thanksgiving episode and became an instant classic. Follow the steps below to cook up your own Belcher family feast!
Turkey 18 timesBrine 10 timesBob’s Burgers 9 timesRecipe 8 timesThanksgiving 7 timesTaste/Flavor 6 timesCook/Cooking 6 timesBird/Poultry 5 timesMeat 4 timesRub 4 timesJuicy 4 times
Overview of Bob’s Turkey
- Stars in S5 Thanksgiving episode “Dawn of the Peck”
- Dubbed “Bob’s Father of the Brine Turkey”
- Uses brine and spice rub for maximum flavor
- Cooked by deep frying for crispy skin
- Has become a fan favorite dish from the show
Brine the Bird
- Mix brine 1-2 days before cooking turkey
- Includes vegetable stock, citrus, herbs, spices, and salt
- Submerges turkey to infuse flavor and moisture
- Chill brine and turkey together overnight
Spice Rub the Turkey
- Blend garlic powder, salt, pepper, ginger, onion powder
- Massage mixture under skin and coat outside
- Creates crispy seasoned exterior when cooked
Deep Fry the Turkey
- Cooks turkey quickly for tender interior
- Oil evenly crisps the skin
- Use an outdoor propane turkey fryer
- Carefully monitor temperature
Slice and Serve
- Let turkey rest before carving for juices to settle
- Slice breast meat and legs/thighs
- Ideally serve with classic Thanksgiving sides
- Enjoy Bob Belcher’s famous brined bird!
Make It Your Own
- Play with brine ingredients like cranberries or bourbon
- Add fresh herbs like sage or rosemary to spice rub
- Roast instead of frying if preferred
- Swap turkey sizes depending on gathering
Bob Belcher’s brined turkey recipe from Bob’s Burgers is fun to make for Thanksgiving or anytime. The brine ensures a flavorful juicy interior while the spice rub gives a crispy, seasoned exterior. Frying locks in moisture and gives that signature Bob’s Burgers taste. Gather your family and friends and dig in!
Plot[]
After Bob finds his turkey in the toilet, Louise tries to figure out who is guilty of ruining Thanksgiving dinner.
Full story[]
Bob is excited about a three-day brine recipe for the Thanksgiving turkey, but the holiday becomes complicated for a couple of reasons: 1.) Tina keeps insisting on sitting at the adults table this year, to her parents refusal, and 2.) Lindas sister, Gayle, is staying with the Belchers for the holiday, and shes bringing all of her pet cats with her. Bob, whos allergic to cats, begins taking allergy medication to combat his allergies. The next morning, Bob finds his turkey dumped in the toilet. Furious, Bob interrogates everyone, but the family insists that none of them did it.
Meanwhile, Gene tries to write a “Thanksgiving carol,” and enlists his mom and aunt to help him with it, and Tina, in an attempt to be considered adult enough to sit at the adults table, begins dressing more maturely and using what she perceives to be sophisticated catch phrases on adult topics, such as the economy and current events. The next morning, Bob is horrified to find his second turkey in the toilet again and no one steps forward.
In order to do a one-day brine, Bob goes to purchase two turkeys, one to serve as a decoy for the turkey saboteur and one to be the real turkey. The butcher mistakes Bobs return as an excuse to see him. He tells Bob that he has a boyfriend but tells him not to let his rejection discourage him, offering to set him up with his friend, whos into “sloppy bears”. As Bob prepares the two turkeys, he describes his plan to Linda: the decoy turkey will be in the apartment fridge, but the real turkey will be hidden in the restaurant fridge. He swears her to secrecy so that the turkey “terrorist” wont know. Bob also decides to hide in the kitchen, staying up late in order to catch the culprit but falls asleep at midnight. The next morning, Bob finds both turkeys in the toilet. The decoy in the apartment bathroom, and the real one from the fridge in the restaurant bathroom. Bob is convinced Linda, the only other person to know of the two turkeys, is the saboteur, but Linda swears it was not her and the family reveals that Linda blabbed about the two turkeys despite promising not to tell them, making all of them potential suspects once again.
Despite claiming this to be the worst Thanksgiving ever, Bob is determined not to let the culprit prevent him from cooking a turkey and purchases one more at the grocery store. The butcher once again mistakes this for Bobs affection toward him, and breaks down, stating that things with his boyfriend, Tony, havent been good for a long time and that perhaps he is indeed ready for a change. He excitedly asks Bob where he wants to go for a date, but Bob, flustered, tells him that hes “mostly straight” and confesses that the butcher is “way out of his league”. Bob runs away, saying that he probably wont see him tomorrow, but that hell call him.
Tina continues to try to win her way into the adults table, while Bob successfully cooks the turkey in time for dinner. Before dinner starts, Louise claims she figured out that it was Gene and Tina that put the turkeys in the toilet to frame Louise for slowly stealing their allowance for 5 years, but Louise finds out that she was wrong because Tina and Gene had no idea Louise has done that and Louise quickly lies that she hasn’t. Then Gayle and Linda sing their sexually euphemistic Thanksgiving carol, but Bob, exhausted from staying up so late for the past few nights, falls asleep and begins sleepwalking with the turkey. The family follows him, where he takes the turkey into the toilet, referring to the turkey as Tina, and trying to potty train it, causing it to fall into the toilet, revealing he was the one putting the turkeys in the toilet the whole time.
After waking Bob up, the mystery is then revealed: a side-effect of the cat allergy pills that Bob had been taking is sleepwalking, and Bobs anxieties over Tina growing up so quickly manifested as him taking the turkeys in his sleep and trying to relive potty training Tina when she was a baby, just as he had potty trained all the kids when they were little. Tina assures her father that even though shes getting older, shell always be his little girl and the entire family, including Teddy and Mort, hugs.
The following night, Bob sleepwalks again and takes one of Gayles cats to the bathroom and tries to potty train it, believing it to be Gene as an infant.