Why does it have to be this way?

[TOGIE]

let's start a lively debate. though i feel confident i'm in the minority already.

why, just why, does thanksgiving food have to be what it is? why is everyone set on it?

for what is incontrovertibly the biggest most important get together meal of the entire year in the huge and powerful country of America, where we come together to enjoy the company of our family and friends to be joyous and thankful do we dine on what is IMO some of the most mediocre food available?

there is almost nothing on the thanksgiving table that i have any desire to go out of my way to eat at any other point in the year. there are countless items that are better than all of it.

let me list off everything better than turkey:

• beef prime rib
• beef tenderloin
• nearly any beef steak really
• pulled pork
• roasted whole chicken
• elk steaks
• deer steaks
• antelope steaks
• pork tenderloin
• pork chops
• hamburgers, i'd rather eat delicious homemade hamburgers all day every day instead of turkey

mashed potatoes, never been a big fan. what's better?

• mac and cheese
• french fries
• scalloped potatoes (i'm sure some people do this over mashed on turkey day, props to them)
• potatos au gratin
• well seasoned, buttered, wild rice with veggies

sweet potato casserole, yeah that's pretty good. green bean casserole, yeah that's also pretty good. but really they're the best of a bad situation IMO. don't really care what salad is on the table, salad is never that special unless it's oozing with blue cheese and red onion.

best thing that makes an appearance at thanksgiving is apple pie, without a doubt in my mind. i'm looking to eat apple pie a lot more than just thanksgiving. that's kinda my metric, think about most items on a thanksgiving table and ask yourself, do i ever want to eat this at any other time of the year? would you ever order any of it at a quality restaurant? if the answer is no, than you're doing thanksgiving wrong.

who the hell goes to quality restaurant with all the things in the world on the menu and orders turkey? it's asinine. turkey is so low on the totem pole of of delicious meats.

thanksgiving should be the best of the best food. sticking to a tradition of mediocre dishes because of tradition is dumb.

 

[buckbull]

My father-in-law always does a prime rib for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not a big fan of turkey.

 

[Deleted member 18333]

who the hell goes to quality restaurant with all the things in the world on the menu and orders turkey? it's asinine. turkey is so low on the totem pole of of delicious meats.

thanksgiving should be the best of the best food. sticking to a tradition of mediocre dishes because of tradition is dumb.

That's what makes it awesome. Has nothing to do with the best food. Has everything to do with Tradition.

 

[Buffs35]

Ban?

 

[ClearCreek]

Turkey on Thanksgiving, prime rib on Christmas and some sort of seafood related dish on New Years Day.

ClearCreek

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

I pretty much echo everything you said, except replace Apple pie with pumpkin pie. I eat it year around.

 

[thomas89]

In before the lock.

 

[TOGIE]

That's what makes it awesome. Has nothing to do with the best food. Has everything to do with Tradition.

the tradition should be getting together with family and friends on a special holiday to enjoy a delicious, great meal.

but we're so stuck on doing all that but serving up mediocre slop and watching crappy football teams. america can and should do better.

 

[TOGIE]

I pretty much echo everything you said, except replace Apple pie with pumpkin pie. I eat it year around.

i've been ruined on pumpkin pie ever since it was the last thing i ate before massively throwing up in the bathroom at the Akal in Buford after one thanksgiving in Laramie when I was like 7 or 8 years old.

 

[mevertsen]

I hate turkey.

Mashed taters are good.... any time.

We bake green beans and mushrooms. That's good too.

I like pie...

In general, I don't like holidays.

 

[westbranch]

We have ham and/or prime rib. I like the way we do mashed potatoes, no actual recipe. Use red potatoes, leaving it chunky and adding cheese, sour cream and other things that look good at the time. Costco has a pumpkin pie cheesecake that we will have for dessert this year.

We end up buying a turkey or two when on sale this time of year and then use it for making turkey pot pies we can freeze and eat at a later date.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

let's start a lively debate. though i feel confident i'm in the minority already.

why, just why, does thanksgiving food have to be what it is? why is everyone set on it?

for what is incontrovertibly the biggest most important get together meal of the entire year in the huge and powerful country of America, where we come together to enjoy the company of our family and friends to be joyous and thankful do we dine on what is IMO some of the most mediocre food available?

there is almost nothing on the thanksgiving table that i have any desire to go out of my way to eat at any other point in the year. there are countless items that are better than all of it.

let me list off everything better than turkey:

• beef prime rib
• beef tenderloin
• nearly any beef steak really
• pulled pork
• roasted whole chicken
• elk steaks
• deer steaks
• antelope steaks
• pork tenderloin
• pork chops
• hamburgers, i'd rather eat delicious homemade hamburgers all day every day instead of turkey

mashed potatoes, never been a big fan. what's better?

• mac and cheese
• french fries
• scalloped potatoes (i'm sure some people do this over mashed on turkey day, props to them)
• potatos au gratin
• well seasoned, buttered, wild rice with veggies

sweet potato casserole, yeah that's pretty good. green bean casserole, yeah that's also pretty good. but really they're the best of a bad situation IMO. don't really care what salad is on the table, salad is never that special unless it's oozing with blue cheese and red onion.

best thing that makes an appearance at thanksgiving is apple pie, without a doubt in my mind. i'm looking to eat apple pie a lot more than just thanksgiving. that's kinda my metric, think about most items on a thanksgiving table and ask yourself, do i ever want to eat this at any other time of the year? would you ever order any of it at a quality restaurant? if the answer is no, than you're doing thanksgiving wrong.

who the hell goes to quality restaurant with all the things in the world on the menu and orders turkey? it's asinine. turkey is so low on the totem pole of of delicious meats.

thanksgiving should be the best of the best food. sticking to a tradition of mediocre dishes because of tradition is dumb.

 

[nidahunter]

We are doing game hens on the smoker, kinda the same but different enough to be interesting.

 

[jryoung]

We raise our own, commercial breeds and heritage breeds. Turkey sucks because of commercial breeds raised in commercial environments.

Raised at home they are far better and the heritage breeds are like wild, but a little plumper, a little fatter and have less stringy legs.

That said, great roasted turkey is actually really hard to pull off. We have a la caja china box, and with a mojo marinade and spatchcocking it is a game changer.

 

[Southern Elk]

Ban?

 

[Mallardsx2]

I would rather grill elk steaks, but I am overruled yearly....lol

 

[TOGIE]

 

[TheTone]

I like a good turkey but I’m doing a prime rib this year. No sense in cooking a big turkey for two people

 

[Southern Elk]

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite meals all year. I like all of the traditional foods.

 

[TOGIE]

We raise our own, not commercial breeds and heritage breeds. Turkey sucks because of commercial breeds raised in commercial environments.

Raised at home they are far better and the heritage breeds are like wild, but a little plumper, a little fatter and have less stringy legs.

That said, great roasted turkey is actually really hard to pull off. We have a la caja china box, and with a mojo marinade and spatchcocking it is a game changer.

View attachment 251803
View attachment 251804

i do admit, a good roasted, smoked, or any type of whole turkey is actually among the harder of culinary feats, and probably why we've gotten here in the first place. but even a great turkey is still not high at all on my list of preferred meats central to a meal.