Need some last-minute advice preparing your Thanksgiving dinner?
Well, Eden Prairie resident, dad and foodie Rob Barrett knows a thing or two about preparing a turkey and all the fixings. Luckily, all his web-based guidance is just a click away.
Since 2007, Barrett has been the host and producer of Cooking for Dads, a longstanding series of how-to-cook videos that have garnered millions of views on his YouTube channel. Lately, though, he has been doing more live TV and radio appearances than videos.
Barrett, who has worked in the marketing and music industry producing music and commercials, strives to help “those who think they can’t cook, cook.” He and his wife Jan have two children: Katie, 26, and Ellie, 23.
“We attempt to remove as much of the measuring as possible and adjust any recipe to be (quickly) accessible,” he writes on his channel.
Barrett didn’t know much about cooking when he started doing his videos.
He learned through trial and error. “We do a lot of experiments at our house,” he said. “There, of course, is a huge amount of ideas and information online.”
His first video to go viral was a Thanksgiving-themed one in which he demonstrated how to cook a turkey. Over the years, he’s offered more Thanksgiving cooking advice, including what to do with all the leftovers. One way is to use the leftovers to make calzones.
So, what’s Barrett’s biggest advice for the Thanksgiving cooking novice?
“Start with a fresh, unfrozen turkey,” he said. “That will make things so much easier. The oven bag is also the best way to get a moist turkey.”
Barrett’s favorite Thanksgiving meal is a traditional roasted turkey and stuffing. “Apart from that, I love when we make the Thanksgiving leftover calzone,” he said. “That’s one of my favorites.”
What does he enjoy most about cooking? “I like the creative process, the ideas about different combinations of food and spices that I come up with,” he said. “And I also enjoy the eating.”
Below is a link to all nine of Barrett’s Cooking for Dads’ Thanksgiving-themed videos over the years. Barrett’s Facebook page can be viewed here.
His next TV appearance is from 3 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, on KSTP-TV’s Twin Cities Live. He will make an “easy version” of a doughscuit (part biscuit, part donut).