Sandra Lee reveals why bigger Thanksgiving turkeys aren’t always better

Sandra Lee is busy these days.

With a holiday slate that includes three new QVC specials and two new shows, not to mention her recent election to the national board of the White House Historical Society, it’s a wonder she still has time to cook.

Fox News Digital spoke with Lee during a break in her schedule to hear about her favorite fall foods, what she’s cooking this Thanksgiving and where she’s spending the holidays.

The 58-year-old Californian is back in her home state, where she’s been taping episodes of Blue Ribbon Baking Championship, a new Netflix show.

A former LA County Fair blue ribbon winner herself, Lee said she came up with the concept for the series and pitched it to the Food Network (it turned it down).

But she didn’t give up on the idea and took it to Netflix — which debuted the eight-episode series earlier this year.

Lee also launched Dinner Budget Showdown, which she co-hosts, on the Roku Channel.

The reality show challenges contestants to create innovative budget-friendly cooking techniques that test their culinary skills.

Also, Lee’s “Aunt Sandy Claus” collection will be featured during three hour-long shows she will host on QVC in November.

After that, she will spend Thanksgiving in New York with her best friend Alexandra Stanton.

And what will she do?

“I’m doing whatever Alex tells me to do,” Lee told Fox News Digital.

Either way, it will likely include one of Lee’s favorite side dishes.

“You must have a big mashed potato, right?” she said.

Lee uses sour cream instead of milk or buttermilk to make her mashed potatoes, “which makes it thicker,” she said.

“I like it a little bumpy.”

But mashed potatoes aren’t complete without gravy, Lee pointed out.

“I love gravy,” she said, saying her family refers to her as the “queen of gravy.”

“Not the gravy train,” she added with a laugh.

“Queen of juice. I think I’m both in my family.”

Lee revealed how she makes her sauce.

“I like to make a flour and oil roux and make it nice and dark,” she said.

“And I use turkey poultices. Boil it in water. Boil it for a long, long, long time — like a day — and then let it sit, so you get a really nice flavor in your broth that you make.”

Lee said she also uses turkey droppings.

She makes a cornbread stuffing with celery, green onions, Campbell’s chicken with rice soup, butter and poultry seasoning.

“I make two little birds,” she added.

“I don’t make a big one.”

She prefers smaller 10- to 12-pound turkeys “that are really full of flavor.”

Said Lee, “Making a big turkey takes a long, long time and can be hit and miss.”

Lee’s other favorite Thanksgiving side dishes include sweet potatoes (she loves canned), green beans or steamed broccoli (she’s skipping the green bean casserole this year), and cranberry chutney that serves them with mature shouts, she said.

“So you can double that recipe, which is fresh blueberries and orange juice and spice and sweetness,” she said.

“I also like canned cranberry sauce. This is the jelly shape that you cut and serve. A combination of both can be great. So you slice the blueberries and then if you want you can put chutney on top.”

After Thanksgiving, Lee said she will turn her attention to Christmas, her television endeavors and a trip to New Orleans in February to attend the Super Bowl with her brother, who has accompanied her to every one since first time together in 2011.

“We’re already making our restaurant reservations, although none of our teams will be going for sure,” Lee said.