# Anyone else not like turkey? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 17, 2000, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545 "2000-11-17T02:30:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tshirts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@tshirts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tshirts)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/1 "2000-11-17T02:30:20Z")
I get a lot of flak this time of year from my mom and sister. For some reason, the vegetarians in the family need no excuse to pass on the turkey, but I do. I let it slip out at a Dopefest and nobody believed me there either. No, they didn’t “cook it wrong”, “cook it too long”, nor “got an old one”, etc. I hated it as a kid and I hate it now, 50 years later. **Turkey and I are never getting together! You thought different? Well, you’re wrong. I’m not you. Get over it! I don’t like turkey!** Pass the whatever-that-green-stuff-is and don’t cut me any turkey. And don’t make me keep explaining it every year. Everybody doesn’t like something, and for me it’s turkey. I suspect a lot of people don’t like it, since a lot of people don’t like any other food you can name. I know people who refuse chocolate, donuts, hotdogs, shrimp, popcorn, bran muffins. All the most popular and rare foods alike. ---
**Author:** ![Greyson3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/258eb7/32.png) [@Greyson3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greyson3)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/2 "2000-11-17T03:02:10Z")
I know what you mean. It’s got an unpleasant taste that isn’t present in chicken, and it has a lower moisture content. I think the purpose of the cranberry sauce usually present at Thanksgiving is to moisten the meat and mask the flavor for people who ordinarily wouldn’t eat the turkey. ---
**Author:** ![Fletch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/919ad9/32.png) [@Fletch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fletch)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/3 "2000-11-17T03:25:56Z")
Add my name to the list of people that hate turkey. I will eat most of the other food but not the turkey. I don’t have an explanation of why I don’t like it, I just don’t. I would be happier with a peanut butter sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/4 "2000-11-17T03:29:53Z")
Count me in. _Bleeech_ Eaten it smoked, marinated, deep-fried, marinated, encased in salt/herb/spice tombs…turkey sucks. I’m sorry, it’s just plain boring. Even when the texture is somewhat moist and toothsome, there’s repellent metallic after-tang. It’s acceptable, sliced _very_ thinly, on a club sandwich. Preferably smoked. But it’s still just filler. For my appetite and sentiment, duck is so much better. If we’re getting idiotically patriotic about fowl at all. But celebration _should_ be about bounty and thankfulness. Food is grace, sustenance, comfort. Hates turkey; loves so many other foods, Veb ---
**Author:** ![Initial\_Entry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e9a140/32.png) [@Initial\_Entry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Initial_Entry)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/5 "2000-11-17T07:13:59Z")
Here I thought I was the only one who hated turkey. It seemed to me like I was the only one up till now. Ugh, and thanksgiving is coming up soon, now that I’m no longer a vegetarian I bet they’ll expect me to eat some as well… ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/6 "2000-11-17T12:49:45Z")
Well I have been a vegetarian for the last 14 years so I never have to explain, but before that, I always hated turkey too. It just doesn’t TASTE good. It tastes kinda YUCKY. So does lamb. ::shudder::: ---
**Author:** ![Juniper200](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@Juniper200](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juniper200)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/7 "2000-11-17T13:16:28Z")
I don’t like the taste of poultry in general and turkey in particular. I’m lobbying for no turkey at Thanksgiving this year. There are only four of us, it takes up too much space on the damn table, and it’s waaaaay too much trouble to cook. I’ve seen my dad pick a 10-pound bird clean by the end of the afternoon, though, so I probably won’t get my way this year; he’s pretty set on having that fucking bird. Damn turkey. Damn dad. ---
**Author:** ![QUINCY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ea666f/32.png) [@QUINCY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QUINCY)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/8 "2000-11-17T13:25:26Z")
I’m not so keen after the taste of birds in general. I haven’t tasted turkey though, but I quess it’s pretty similar to chicken. However, birds are not the worst food people can give for diner though. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/9 "2000-11-17T15:47:11Z")
White meat of turkey is why the good Lord gave us gravy. I usually take a modest helping of turkey, plop a little gravy over it, and fill up on side dishes. (I’m trying to convince the wife that I should do a gratin of artichokes this year.) The best part of Thanksgiving, anyway, is the late-night leftover turkey sandwich, on fresh rye with lettuce and tomato, slathered with mayo. ---
**Author:** ![Pucette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@Pucette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pucette)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/10 "2000-11-17T15:56:17Z")
I also hate turkey, and also live in a family that doesn’t seem to understand how this is possible. The dark meat is ok, but the turkey breast? ick. The only good turkey meal I’ve ever had was turkey chili, with huge clumps of ground turkey in it. It was actually quite good, but maybe that’s only because it had lots of spicy stuff in there to kill the taste… 🙂 Anyone else out there hate pumpkin pie? That’s another one that gets me weird looks during Thanksgiving dinner… ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/11 "2000-11-17T16:11:30Z")
**Ukulele Ike** said: > [@](#): > > I’m trying to convince the wife that I should do a gratin of artichokes this year. You have to _convince_ her? Just have her let you make it one year, and she’ll be hooked. That’s something everyone always looks forways to on our table every year. ---
**Author:** ![lissabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@lissabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissabeth)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/12 "2000-11-17T16:13:07Z")
Not big on Turkey…Hate pumkin pie…have allways disliked it. My family usually makes a turkey and a ham…so there is a choice for the non turkey eaters. Do you think it’s funny that I really like the turkey soup the next day? But I won’t eat leftover turkey in any other form. ---
**Author:** ![Freyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freyr/32/5763_2.png) [@Freyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freyr)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/13 "2000-11-17T16:59:47Z")
Here’s a turkey lover here. I’m just chiming in to say, I, too, don’t like turkey that’s over cooked. It comes out dry as a bone and more like cardboard than anything else. Whilst living in Milwaukee, WI, I had T-day with some friends who cooked the bird in a rotissary (sorry about the spelling there). This keep the juices in the meat and made it delightfully flavorful. Also, the cooking bags out these days also keep the juices and steam in the meat and help keep it moist. I highly recommend them. YMMV! ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/14 "2000-11-17T17:19:12Z")
My partner doesn’t like turkey, considering it an offense to the holy name of CHICKEN. For a long time (I believe since he was quite a small child), his mother has cooked a turkey and a chicken on Christmas Day. Everyone else has turkey. My partner has the chicken. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/15 "2000-11-17T17:44:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Necros \* > \*\*You have to _convince_ her? \*\* Ah, you don’t understand my situation. My wife is _healthy._ Melted cheese would send her screaming from the room. (looking over my shoulder at the skillet on the stove) “HOW MUCH olive oil did you use?” “A tablespoon, dear. As requested.” “Did you MEASURE it?” “I’ve been cooking for over twenty years, dear. I know what a tablespoon of oil looks like in a pan.” “So you DIDN’T measure it?” ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/16 "2000-11-17T18:50:55Z")
I don’t dislike turkey, but it’s not what I call and exciting meal, and I certainly don’t want to eat it for a week after Thanksgiving. My husband and I have solved this problem by having duck instead, if it was just going to be the two of us. It’s fussy enough to feel like holiday food, but it tastes much better than turkey, especially with a good pinot noir alongside. ---
**Author:** ![Suo\_Na](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@Suo\_Na](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suo_Na)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/17 "2000-11-17T21:00:00Z")
I never liked turkey, even when I ate meat. All the flavour seems to seep out of the meat and into what becomes the gravy (mmm…gravy). The only other reason for the turkey is to keep the stuffing moist while it bakes. My mom made a Christmas goose one year, and it was delicious. I wonder why she never made it again? I will defend pumpkin pie with my life! Pumpkin pie (and any other dessert form of pumpkin) is the food of the gods. ---
**Author:** ![tygre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@tygre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygre)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/18 "2000-11-17T21:36:42Z")
Ugh. The white meat’s okay, but I won’t touch dark meat (from ANY poultry) at all. Usually I fill up on the stuffing. My mom makes the best stuffing I’ve ever had, completely from scratch, too. Gotta get the recipe this year! Wouldn’t help if they had ham, as I won’t eat ham either. One summer when I was a kid, the babysitter my sister and I had served only ham sandwiches for lunch, for three straight months, and that turned me off to ham sompletely. It’s probably been a good 10 years since I even tried the stuff - the smell alone makes my stomach churn. –tygre, who also doesn’t like ketchup, gravy, or soda, just to be difficult… ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/19 "2000-11-17T22:05:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Greyson3 \* > \*\*I think the purpose of the cranberry sauce usually present at Thanksgiving is to moisten the meat and mask the flavor for people who ordinarily wouldn’t eat the turkey. \*\* Nah, that’s what the gravy is for. As lissabeth said, we also do both turkey AND ham. I like turkey, but I don’t like ham, and I am sick of explaining myself to family members. Sorry, I just don’t like it. I like pork chops, pork roasts, and bacon, but not ham. I also don’t like sweet potatoes. Or yams, whatever you want to call them. Tried 'em, don’t like 'em. _**[the following rant is directed at my mother]**_ I don’t care how you dress them up… with marshmellows (I don’t like marshmellows, either), with bourbon, with brown sugar…don’t you dare put some on my plate and insist that I “just try” them. I HAVE tried them; I don’t like them. I am not 5; I can make my own food choices, okay? Stop acting surprised at this information, you KNOW I don’t like sweet potatoes. No, NOT everyone likes sweet potatoes. We go through this EVERY FREAKING YEAR! I swear, if you reach over and plop a disgusting blob of marshmellows and bourbon-soaked sweet potatoes on my plate, I will get up and leave!_**[end rant]**_ ---
**Author:** ![lissabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@lissabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissabeth)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2000, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545/20 "2000-11-18T00:25:24Z")
“[the following rant is directed at my mother] I don’t care how you dress them up… with marshmellows (I don’t like marshmellows, either), with bourbon, with brown sugar…don’t you dare put some on my plate and insist that I “just try” them. I HAVE tried them; I don’t like them. I am not 5; I can make my own food choices, okay? Stop acting surprised at this information, you KNOW I don’t like sweet potatoes. No, NOT everyone likes sweet potatoes. We go through this EVERY FREAKING YEAR! I swear, if you reach over and plop a disgusting blob of marshmellows and bourbon-soaked sweet potatoes on my plate, I will get up and leave![end rant]” Yes, this argument is sounding very familiar. I too hate sweet potatoes with a passion. Adding marshmallows just makes my stomach churn. I’m 22 years old. I’ve hated these things for as long as you’ve been putting them on the table at the holidays. I don’t think that your putting some of that crap on my plate at the holidays is going to suddenly change my mind. “Oh, yes, I love those things…what was I ever thinking the 19 years that I’ve hated them. I must be in some sort of food denial.” Whatever, leave me the hell alone about what I won’t eat. I don’t bother you that you hate something that I love. (/hijack) Like telling me to smile all the time…WTF? (/hijack) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-like-turkey/41545.md?page=2)