I have a confession to make.
I don’t like turkey. I really don’t. I mean, I’ll eat if if there’s nothing else there, but I won’t like it.
I also don’t eat cranberry sauce or squash or pumpkin. I’m practically a Thanksgiving heretic.
I am neutral on stuffing, if only because I don’t see it enough the rest of the year to have an opinion on it.
Plain roast turkey is pretty boring to me. I’ll eat it but anything that needs to be covered in gravy to make it palatable probably doesn’t have much going for it. Turkey leftovers though, that there be gold! I’ll roast a couple of turkey a year and get half a dozen or more meals out of each of them.
The rest of the Thanksgiving spread is quite tasty to me, even the things that we really only eat out of tradition. Yes, I like green bean and mushroom soup casserole and if that makes me a low class failure of a human being then I’ll own that proudly.
If the turkey that you don’t like has tended to be dry and bland, you’d like my turkey, which isn’t. Some people don’t know how to cook it.
Or you just may not like the taste of turkey, in which case you should try some other meat (or non-meat for that matter). I’ve been thinking of doing a suckling pig, and in the past I’ve done a goose and my Dad got us a duck for Thanksgiving when I was a child. It doesn’t have to be turkey. Pheasant is a possibility, so are cornish game hens (plural, please), and grouse are wonderful if you can get them (also plural. Hmm…grice?) and I’d also consider goat.
I find turkey to be “Meh.” I don’t love it, I don’t hate it. A good turkey sub can be delicious, but I just don’t get the whole Turkey=Thanksgiving bit. That’s why we are having prime rib tomorrow instead.
Glad I’m not alone in the “dislike it” crowd. Just not a fan.
And why the hell does refrigerated leftover turkey reek like farts? It’s positively disgusting.
Now all that said, I do like the way the house smells while it’s actually in the oven roasting.
I love it. But my kids hate it, always have. So I do a ham, a turkey breast and chicken and dressing for holidays. Mr.Wrekker brought a bunch of ducks from his hunt, they are just nasty. Not doing them.
Main purpose of turkey is to make the gravy to put on spuds and dressing.
It is ok, and yes better for soup and or sandwiches the next day
Brian
I don’t like it. I think it tastes hella bitter (I’m a “supertaster” for bitter, to be sure).
I can handle it as a lunch meat but real roast turkey is super not good. I’ll do a thin slice chopped up and mixed in with the rest of the fixings (mostly cranberry and stuffing) but I’m definitely not chowing down on the stuff.
I love it sliced thin from the deli on my sandwiches with some mustard and cheddar.
I could care less if it’s on my Thanksgiving table. I’d much prefer a roast. My wife’s cooking Thanksgiving tomorrow for the first time in our marriage, and she insists on a turkey. I insisted on the roast. So we’re having both. I’ll probably have a polite slice of the breast, but then I’ll gorge on my beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, and corn.
I voted “Indifferent.”
Those are all tastier than turkey, but they aren’t “Thanksgiving” to me. I’m meh on turkey. Once or twice a year is good. I guess I’m the outlier – I think it’s better on Thanksgiving day than leftover, although being lean, it keeps okay, especially if you leave a lot of it in big chunks. (less oxidation)
But I really don’t like deli turkey. Ugh. Oversalted and nearly flavorless (except for the salt.) If you like deli turkey, and turkey with gravy, but not plain roast turkey, try adding some salt.
I’m a love/like it kind of guy, but this year I am doing a pot roast. I’ll do turkey for Christmas.
I kind of like it, but I don’t love it. My husband hates it - it brings up too many memories of dysfunctional hot mess family gatherings.
So we’re having rack of lamb today.
Hate Turkey. Dinner tonight will be a fine repast of ravioli. Given how little i eat these days, I’ll still have a halfweek of leftovers, and no carcass to dispose of.
I like it when it’s roasted low and slow, and I like it smoked. I’ll choke it down if it’s dry, but there’s no excuse to roast bird badly.
My SO grew tired of turkey a long time ago. I’m cooking ham for dinner and I don’t mind at all. I love ham!
I’ll have a bit of dark and just a bite of white at the meal. I don’t like turkey, it tastes gamey and ‘fishy’ to me. Everything else on the table, I generally like… I don’t mind a sandwich the next day (mostly thin sliced white meat) if there’s a lot of mayonnaise, maybe some dressing, or cranberry sauce on it, too.
I don’t like the taste of it. Dry,moist, deep fried, smoked, roasted, cajun, doesn’t matter. I don’t like it. I don’t even like the deli slices. To me it has a weird…fartiness. Gaminess? I don’t know, but I’ve never liked it. Chicken is so much better.
I wouldn’t say I dislike it but it would be my last choice from common meat choices.
Southern, black man here, the purpose of the turkey is so that it’s carcass can be rendered for use in other dishes after thanksgiving. It’s essentially a decorative centerpiece.
I love it, but I also recognize that 90% of the times I get it it’s bland and boring.
Well cooked turkey is fantastic.