What do you eat for Thanksgiving dinner?

sshhhh donnn't tell montana

Ceili
Ceili, those were different days.

During the Great Depression, we raised rabbits to have meat to eat. (Don't tell dlowan or she'll have my hide.) To this day, I find it hard to eat rabbit.

And During World War II, we raised chickens for meat and planted a huge Victory Garden. One day my dad made the mistake of killing my pet Rhode Island Red hen, about which I never forgave him.

BBB

I have friends who still hunt pheasant...

Up here, Thanksgiving was a few weeks ago, we normally eat turkey. I've done half goose/half duck before for Christmas and usually Lamb for Easter.

What exactly is a Victory Garden? I've seen the show/magazine but I'm not sure what the significance is. Why is it different than a normal garden, what makes it difference? Heritage plants and vegetable perhaps...
Thanks,
Ceili

Victory gardens
Ceili, there was an undeveloped lot next to our house. My parents got permission from the owner to plant the entire lot in a huge vegetable garden. During World War II, these were called Victory Gardens. There were shortages of all kinds of foods and growing our own helped feed us and our entire neighborhood.

When the lot wasn't used for a victory garden, it was our archery range. My family were US champion archers.

BBB

Hmmm, a mixed feeling person here, re eating animals at all, but I do, and verrrrry tetchy about hunting, though my father and uncle hunted, and I can understand it in the wild, and allllllllllllllllmost understand it re culling. Though I don't follow the Power Steer threads on abuzz, I was a v. early poster with, as a general comment now, a view towards wise raising of grazing cattle, ala Peter Singer.

Once had a thread on abuzz called Vegetarian Thanksgiving or something like that, where I made dinner for guests using italian recipes revolving around "thanksgiving" foods like squash.

On the other hand, I love a good turkey wing the next day with some salt on it.

So...........



has anyone ever brined a turkey???????????

We rarely had anything special at Thanksgiving. As a child we ate mostly beans, potatoes, biscuits and the like. We were constantly moving, but, sometimes, we lived far enough from town to have some chickens in the yard. During those times we ate fried chicken once a week. As a teen, I did not hunt. But, one day when we were out of food I ran into a deer with a car and brought it home. These days we eat a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I don't feel guilty about the deer or anything else we ate in the old days.

I remember growing up I had a pet deer named Spot. I loved that deer. He would follow me and my brothers everywhere we went. He's race around after us when we were playing baseball and nip at our heels and we would tackle him and the group of us would wrestle in the grass and just have the best damn time. Me, my brothers and Spot. Then one day I returned home from school and Spot didn't come bounding up the driveway like he normally did when the familiar orange bus rolled to a stop. And then I saw the look on my mother's face. I could tell she had been crying.
"What's wrong, Mom", I asked.
My mom looked at me and I'll never forget the words she said, "He's dead, Gustav. Spot is dead."
I started crying my heart out and managed to ask in a trembling voice, "How'd he die, Mom?"
Her voice turned cold and a look of hatred crossed her face as she said, "That damn Edgar Blythe ran him over with his car! And I think he has plans of eating Spot."

And now..... our paths cross again.

Damn you, Edgar.... damn you to hell!

Goes to show: One man's pet is another man's dinner.

Oh sure, make light of it, Edgar. I have connections in high places. Your hell shall be filled with Freddy Krueger type deer -- thousands and thousands of them. All with one sole purpose for their being.

Get Edgar Blythe.

Listen, Gus, osso is lining up on Edgar's side here. Gird your loins!

It's always ape for us. Looks so cute with it's arms sticking out, sitting on a huge platter of garnish with an apple in it's mouth....plus, "Hey, who's carvin' the ape?" sounds really really funny.

In meantime, I live not so many miles south of a crossing for Roosevelt Elk. I'd post em for you but I am in Mac-tharn until at least next monday.
Back with a link.

I can just see those little feet with Freddie type nails. I'm so scared.

Seeing as how I actually have to be responsible in this forum, the truth is, it's generally goose or duck, with chestnut stuffing.

Here's some of our local elk - http://wildlifewatcher.com/sw/roosevelt.phtml

As an aside, this is also near a Fern Canyon...and beautiful beach. (Highway 101 at Orick)

I eat...

turkey.

With stuffing.

It involves breadcrumbs.

(Hey, I was raised by a very Experimental cook who was also broke and so tried lots of disastrous shortcuts, and who also had burned off most of his tastebuds though a combination of drugs and WAY too much chili powder.)

I go all-out traditional on Thanksgiving. Turkey, stuffing, cranberry bread, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, various vegetables, usually something involving wild rice. All homemade. It's boring, but it's yummy.

Aha! A turkey traditionalist!

So, what do you think of the brine thing with turkeys? I am assuming you don't do it, well, me either, but I'm interested.

So, wait, Cav, is goose or duck ok and turkeys aren't???