The pheasant makes a delicious alternative Thanksgiving meal in place of turkey.
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Raise your hand if you love Thanksgiving, but hate turkey. You're not alone. I roast a big bird every year for tradition but never eat much turkey. Here are several other game bird options to enjoy for Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey meat tends to be dry. With it's elevated status as traditional Thanksgiving main dish, turkey farmers inject birds with growth hormones and steroids to create that 24 pound monster bird. If the turkey is a 'self-baster' it is systematically injected with more fats and oils during processing. Historically the turkey was probably not the central entree in the American Thanksgiving feast. In other Christmas holiday feasts, the turkey is rarely featured. Ironically, the goal of the average Thanksgiving turkey shopper is to get the biggest bird possible and then serve its rather bland flesh in different ways for several weeks on end. All this makes a good argument for exploring other game bird options for Thanksgiving dinner.
Cornish Game Hen: These delicious little birds resemble miniature chickens and are served one whole bird per diner. The Cornish game hen has moist, delicate, sweet taste. You can purchase Cornish game hen frozen in a two bird pack for under $5 in most grocery stores. Roast Cornish hen on low. Baste with a blend of butter, chicken broth, onion, sage garlic and pepper.
Duck: These birds are larger than chicken and smaller than turkey. Their flesh is rich, moist and dark and the drippings make a delicious gravy. You can find frozen duckling in the same freezer case as the Thanksgiving turkey. Roast the duck as you would a turkey, using the same basting as listed for Cornish Hen. Stuff with any of your favorite dressing recipes. You can also roast the duck with orange glaze for Duck a l'Orange.
Goose: these are more difficult to find, but can be pre-ordered from a butcher or poulterer. The goose is generally as large as a turkey, but the flesh is richer. Goose is the traditional bird for European feasts.
Cornish Game Hen: These delicious little birds resemble miniature chickens and are served one whole bird per diner. The Cornish game hen has moist, delicate, sweet taste. You can purchase Cornish game hen frozen in a two bird pack for under $5 in most grocery stores. Roast Cornish hen on low. Baste with a blend of butter, chicken broth, onion, sage garlic and pepper.
Duck: These birds are larger than chicken and smaller than turkey. Their flesh is rich, moist and dark and the drippings make a delicious gravy. You can find frozen duckling in the same freezer case as the Thanksgiving turkey. Roast the duck as you would a turkey, using the same basting as listed for Cornish Hen. Stuff with any of your favorite dressing recipes. You can also roast the duck with orange glaze for Duck a l'Orange.
Goose: these are more difficult to find, but can be pre-ordered from a butcher or poulterer. The goose is generally as large as a turkey, but the flesh is richer. Goose is the traditional bird for European feasts.
Comments
GagaM
(Guest)
(Guest)
11/10/2009
Aah, Mar, the things one learns after years of doing. Didn't know you're not into turkey for yourself. By all means, lets do the cornish hen thing this year. We love 'em. And don't have that gargantuan carcass to cook down for the bits of meat to save for later. And - lots more wish bones to go around. I remember having pheasant one year, not because of great hunters in the family, but because my uncle hit two of them on a back road. Home they came and ultimately into the oven. Wonderful gamey flavor. you present some good alternative solutions. Thanks.
I love my turkey, but do NOT love the self-basting ones - or worse still, the idea of buying a pre-stuffed bird that goes into the oven while still frozen! The cost of turkey in our grocery store was absolutely through the roof at Thanksgiving this year, so we opted to go turkey free. I did baked ham & a baked macaroni for those who weren't much into the meat. I do hope I can get a decent turkey for Christmas, but if not I'll be thinking about one of the alternatives you listed :)
Duck tastes SO much better than turkey! In fact, most things taste better than turkey.
I like Calvin Trillin's idea that Spaghetti Carbonara should be our national dish.
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