Are you an 'everything but the bird' or a 'turkey' person?
I have a theory about Thanksgiving: there are 'sides/dessert' people, and 'turkey' people.
I have always been a 'sides' person. I never liked turkey, even to the point I didn't understand why people had a preference for white or dark meat, because it was both, well, turkey. The only turkey I liked were the turkey-shaped chocolate lollypops given out to the kids at the end of the meal by my family's favorite restaurant on Thanksgiving (where I would rarely order turkey, and if I did, just eat the stuffing and annoy my mother)!
I love (vegetarian) stuffing (aka 'dressing), corn bread, roasted green beans, and pumpkin pie. I've never quite understood the tragic tales of people whose bird got ruined, and had to eat all of the sides and no main. And even some of my non-veg friends don't like turkey and much prefer the beef or pork based stuff served around the bird.
Some people I know in contrast, see everything as a showcase to the bird and are obsessed with finding the juiciest, best bird and the best way to roast/fry/rotisserie it to perfection.
So are you a 'bird' person, or an 'everything but the bird' person?
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47 Comments:
I love both, haha. I'm a white meat fan, but only if it's smothered in wonderful gravy, and I'll eat almost any side you put in front of me -- as long as it doesn't have SWEET POTATOES. I don't know what it is, but I can't wrap my head around a dinner side that's sweet and dotted with marshmallows. (Or is that just my family?)
kfarrel3 at 9:20PM on 11/03/08
Everything but. I really don't care if there is any meat at all.
renee59 at 9:23PM on 11/03/08
I am NOT a bird person. I am totally a NON traditional sides person. I have never liked turkey. Growing up in New England, we had storm windows on our house. They were put on every October and the house was shut tight. Then the turkey hit the oven. The greasy smell was just awful! Whoever said the "aroma" of a roasting turkey is like an aphrodisiac was on something entirely illegal!
izatryt at 9:26PM on 11/03/08
I like turkey for leftover sandwiches or drenched in gravy, but I am a sides person. The scads of sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls/biscuits, green beans, cranberry sauce, and macaroni and cheese that I eat are awesome. The turkey is usually just so uninteresting. Course, growing up we used to have a ham and a turkey, and I love ham.
nightowl at 9:35PM on 11/03/08
I cook everything (and I actually enjoy cooking everything, including the big bird), but no, come to think of it, I never really eat the turkey. Although I've grown quite fond of Thanksgiving sandwiches, which include some leftover turkey, but at the dinner itself, I never eat it. Which might be the reason I've decided not to cook the whole bird this year. If not for my OH, I'd probably give it up altogether, but the way he looked at me when I said it out loud, you'd think I offered to murder innocent children. Since he favours white turkey meat anyway, we've agreed on turkey breast. It's not like there won't be enough food to feed a small country, regardless!
brooke29 at 9:49PM on 11/03/08
Sides all the way. I use the meat only to sort of scrape up the gravy on my plate.
moibec at 9:51PM on 11/03/08
It's all about the turkey first, then everything else. I buy turkey breasts all year, not just for holidays. I love turkey sandwiches with stuffing and cranberry sauce. I'm not a huge fan of dark meat, but it's okay with gravy, or in soup. I love all the sides, unless they're "semi-homemade" with canned veggies or other fake crap. I want my roasted sweet potatoes as plain as possible, except for butter, s&p and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Nothing sweet added, unless it's pie.
The smell of roasting turkey can transport me back to times and places that were magical. One of these days, I'm going to try fried turkey. Baking pies have the same effect, but it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without turkey. If I'm not hosting, I make my own for leftovers and sandwiches. I don't have to have it for any other holidays, except maybe Festivus. I think I'll celebrate that the 3rd Monday in January.
PerkyMac at 9:56PM on 11/03/08
Just give me the bird, the whole bird, and nothing but the bird. From the delicious crispy, caramelized leg tendons, to the succulent, juicy butt lobes, I'd gladly forsake all of the sides!
hungryinhouston at 10:06PM on 11/03/08
The turkey is good, but the sides are especially delicious! I can't get enough of stuffing, rolls, and the list goes on. If we're including dessert in the "non-turkey" category, pumpkin pie rocks my socks too.
runnereater at 10:16PM on 11/03/08
Another "everything but the bird" person over here... ever since I was a young child. In fact, I wouldn't even touch the turkey (and still won't)! The sides, on the other hand... well, those were another story.
As always, just one individual's preference... no offense to all of the "turkey" people out there, of course. I've just never cared for turkey.
Steen at 10:18PM on 11/03/08
I like the whole package together. Best yet is when I'm doing the cooking and I have custody of all the leftovers. After dinner, whatever is left of the bird comes off the bones, and the carcass goes into the crockpot for the beginning of soup. The next day, it's sandwiches. It's a tossup as to whether I like the original meal or the next-day sandwiches better, but the sandwiches are easy, that's for sure. Sometimes sandwiches are eaten along with the sides, sometimes just sandwiches. Although I've been known to put stuffing and cranberry sauce on a sandwich on occasion.
Oh wow, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
dbcurrie at 11:49PM on 11/03/08
Stuffing stuffing and more stuffing! I think it's because I really only get to eat it a few times a year (Stovetop doesn't come close!), so I like to fill up on that. I'll eat a little bit of everything, but stuffing is the only thing on the plate that I truly love.
modysoul at 11:54PM on 11/03/08
IF YOU HAD MY HICKORY BARBQUED JACK DANIELS LEMON,GARLIC,HERB,TURKEY YOU WOULD WANT TO SLAP YOUR MOMMA FOR SERVING THE OLD DRIED BIRD ALL YOUR LIFE
elviswidnes at 1:20AM on 11/04/08
Oh, I forgot one MAJOR exception. Turkey skin. Turkey skin is sex.
nightowl at 1:30AM on 11/04/08
I just do sides. My father always hated turkey because he could taste game in it. Turkey was never a big thing in my house which is why I don't give a crap about it... oh yeah and I'm a vegetarian! I still enjoy thanksgiving just as I used to back when I was a child!
smile at 2:15AM on 11/04/08
I eat the turkey and nothing else!
No, actually I eat plenty of else. The people that don't eat the turkey kind of annoy me. I mean, at least have a tiny piece.
wunami at 8:08AM on 11/04/08
I've always been an appetizer/sides eater. Have a real short attention span when it comes to food.
bessfour at 8:23AM on 11/04/08
sides all the way. SO hates turkey and while i would eat it to be polite, unless its cooked to perfection, yukkkk. I'll fix a ton of roasted veggies and even some gravy, but we'll have a roteserie chicken.
huneybumper at 8:28AM on 11/04/08
@huney ~ I am SO not polite when it comes to turkey!
izatryt at 8:31AM on 11/04/08
Turkey person.
Dark meat only.
I do love the sides, but the turkey is the most important component of T-Giving dinner for me.
therealchiffonade at 9:23AM on 11/04/08
My mom's turkey (we go every year, even now that I live in Canada) is so delicious and juicy and equally as excellent as her sides (stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin bread, something green, and whatever else she feels like that year). Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same without any of the listed components. Of course, she spends extra on a never-frozen local turkey. WORTH IT.
Although she is being weirdly cryptic about who's going to be there this year. I am super-curious.
wellred at 9:29AM on 11/04/08
@ izatryt I doubt you would be anything but polite, Thankfully SO is so vocal about his hatred of the bird, anything i would say would be anticlaimactic.
huneybumper at 10:02AM on 11/04/08
The sides and pre-meal hors d'oeuvres are my favorite, but I'll have a little bit of turkey when its hot, freshly carved, and doused in gravy.
Kerosena at 10:41AM on 11/04/08
I love it all. The sides don't taste the same without the bird (and gravy, of course--which you can't make without the bird!)
Lilla at 11:10AM on 11/04/08
Sides unless it is smoked turkey. The best was last year, I made Alton Brown's Honey brined smoked turkey. All I ate was turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy; At least the first plate.
jennywren at 11:23AM on 11/04/08
I love turkey, it was always part of the celebration of the holiday, that was back in the day when turkey wasn't something you see regularly at the market. Love the sides as well.
Mares at 11:43AM on 11/04/08
Love turkey and sides! White or dark meat, doesn't matter, I love it all. But you can keep the mashed potatoes. I'm not big on gravy either -- just a drizzle is all I need. Bring on the stuffing and cranberry sauce!
CookiePie at 12:02PM on 11/04/08
Turkey, dark meat or white or some of both... Lots of sides and plenty of them with the exception of bread or rolls... I never wanted to fill up on bread with so many good things to eat. Then about 4-5 hours later I have dessert-dinner usually several differnt slices of pie and any other sweet offerings in lieu of an actual dinner. I do the turkey sandwiches with stuffing and cranberry sauce the next day.
Pavlov at 1:41PM on 11/04/08
For me I cannot separate the two. One is meaningless without the other.
wookie at 2:22PM on 11/04/08
Everything but the bird here. These days, I can't stand turkey and most poultry -- turkey more so because of the (I know this sounds bizarre) metallic flavor. It's especially noticeable in ground turkey. Yuck.
Poultry and me have an odd relationship. I adore my husband's chicken noodle soup, but I toss the chicken that ends up in my bowl. I couldn't imagine asking him to make it w/o the chicken. He wouldn't anyway. Each and every meal has meat (beef 90% of the time).
Come to think of it, I'm not much of a Thanksgiving sides either. I love that cranberry jelly stuff, yams (not candied, please!), and sweet potato pie. The rest of the traditional stuff I can do without.
Of course, being from Hawaii, we had sushi, ebi tempura, sashimi, tako poke, etc. instead of green bean casserole for Thanksgiving. Maybe it was just my family! :P
Cassaendra at 3:29PM on 11/04/08
i usually do one small slice of turkey breast meat... then focus on the sides. I like to have the turkey as leftovers. I love my grandmother's cornbread dressing, green beans, roasted asparagus... the garlic mashed potatoes w/ 4 heads of garlic in them... yum! and the gravy. Leave the turkey for soups/casseroles/enchiladas/sandwiches.
Alm25 at 5:24PM on 11/04/08
I was born on a thanksgiving day, so this has always been my favorite holiday and menu. I love teh flavors, the gatherings, the abundance...
Now that I am vegetarian, I am for obvious reasons, in the everything but the bird team...
MadelynRodriguez at 5:39PM on 11/04/08
I like the turkey so long as you let me include cranberry sauce in that category (after all, it's there for dipping the turkey, right?)
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 5:11PM on 11/05/08
Gobble gobble.
holdthemayo at 5:15PM on 11/05/08
Basically, for me, every single thing on the Thanksgiving table is merely a vehicle for the gravy. As long as there's potatoes mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy, I'm happy. I wouldn't even blink if the turkey was gone.
chisai at 12:46PM on 11/06/08
I personally think the turkey is the least interesting part of the whole Thanksgiving feast. I'm hosting my first Thanksgiving this year and rather than driving myself crazy over the perfect bird (plus the fact I don't have a double oven) I just ordered a smoked turkey. I feel like it has to be there, because it's not Thanksgiving without the iconic turkey; it's a figurehead. I am definitely all about the sides and desserts and appetizers and drinks - everything but!
Myabsurdlife at 1:09PM on 11/06/08
I'm with wookie. Life has no meaning without both.
tatianak at 1:50PM on 11/06/08
sides all the way @ the T-Day dinner itself ~ turkey as leftovers eaten every~which~way {sandwiches, soup, casseroles) starting that evening for dinner...
petitesoeur at 6:07PM on 11/06/08
Well. I am a vegetarian. But, even before my descent into meatlessness, I wasn't a turkey person. I've had it fixed every way possible--roasted, baked, deep fried, broasted, etc. I LIVE for the sides. My Mom cooks the stuffing outside the bird for me, and makes vegetarian gravy. Those plus mashed potatoes and apple-cider roasted carrots, parsnips and brussels sprouts are a meal unto themselves.
And obviously, pumpkin pie is a meal in itself as well when you could polish off a whole pie...like I have come close to doing on more than one occasion :)
sweethunibabi at 1:03PM on 11/07/08
In my family, it's all about the sides. We have 1678468 sides. We don't even roast a whole turkey-- just a turkey breast.
meg3j at 4:54PM on 11/07/08
We avoid the turkey versus sides problem at our house on Thanksgiving by not serving turkey. This will be our third Thanksgiving where we have crown roast of pork instead and I can guarantee that everyone in our house will be the happier for it.
The crown roast does not need to be thawed because it cannot be made into the circle by the butcher unless it is flexible, so it comes ready to go. It needs no elaborate brining or injecting, only a nice spice rub the night before. Instead of four or five hours of roasting, basting and generally losing the use of an oven, we roast the pork for 75 to 90 minutes only and then tent for half an hour to bring up the juices and make the gravy.
We still have stuffing, which can be attractively mounded into the center of the roast. The table presentation is beautiful because the roast wears "pants", usually little gold numbers, and is surrounded by thyme, sage and rosemary.
No dilemma of what to do with pounds of turkey for the next week -- we only get enough "bones" on the roast to feed one to two per person. Whatever is left gets made into Cuban sandwiches the next day and then we are done!
Of course, we make piles of sides . . . they go as well with the crown roast as they would with a turkey. And we have them with the Cuban sandwiches as well!
Mizbee at 6:51PM on 11/08/08
I usually get a plate full of side dishes first, then go for the bird on my second plate. Maybe I'll sneak on some mashed potatoes with it if they're really good.
jboylan at 8:39PM on 11/08/08
I'm really a sides guy...but I feel bad when I don't at least get a little turkey. It used to be when I was growing up we always had a ham at my request also, but now its a staple of our thanksgiving.
Recently we've been deep frying our turkey a-la-Alton, and it makes it a whole lot better. Provides a convenient way to fry up some appetizers too!
natemcguire at 3:48PM on 11/10/08
If I'm hosting, I'm an everything person. I have to do both, but I sure don't mind my people pitching in and showing up with things.
This year, I'm going to do a small turkey (maybe even just some breasts) and pork butt/shoulder in a Yucatan pibil marinade. I plan to roast them both in banana leaves. I'll do Yucatan/Caribbeanish sides, but so will my family and friends. From the Mayan Cuisine cookbook, I'll do a chayote squash pudding and black beans. I can't wait to see what else ends up on the table!
kathy in oakland at 6:06PM on 11/10/08
Turkey! I love it! Actually, other than duck, it's my favorite meat. I like to gnaw on a wing, but in truth, I much prefer dark meat. (Breast meat has to have a lot of gravy and other stuff on it.) And, reading this (admittedly nonscientific) survey of opinion, I am now understand why, at a Thanksgiving gathering of about 16 people (not my relatives...), I was the *only* one who wanted dark meat. All the more for me!
emilydev at 10:31PM on 11/10/08
I really dislike turkey.......always have......but I do love all of the side dishes!
Corn bread stuffing (vegetarian) is my favorite!
starsmom at 12:55PM on 11/11/08
I'm definitely a "everything but the bird" person. I don't dislike turkey per se... it's just that my poor mom would bake our bird to death every year, and there's little to nothing you can do to make it taste good at that point (Mom never has made gravy, and my various attempts to make the turkey tasty usually failed). We'd always have ham too, as my grandmother was not a turkey fan either and much preferred ham. Even though she has passed away, it's still tradition to have ham. And the sides and desserts - that's really what we all look forward to on the big day! Southern cornbread dressing, mac and cheese, sweet potato casserole, homemade cranberry-orange sauce, southern-style green beans, yeast rolls, pumpkin pie, pecan pie... makes me excited just thinking about it! :)
PinkCupcake at 1:31PM on 11/18/08