Turkey is over-rated
Turkey is over-rated
I’ve had turkey just about every possible way it can be cooked, and it just isn’t that good.
Doesn’t matter how juicy or dry and it doesn’t matter what herbs or spices are used, it just not that tasty.
Give me a brisket or a standing rib roast or just about anything that isn’t turkey for thanksgiving.
You're viewing a single thread.
Is that unpopular though?
Who even eats turkey asides from Americans on thanksgiving?
Loads of people worldwide. They're just not cultural touchstones like they are for North Americans.
Is this true? Are turkeys raised worldwide now? They're native to North America and I've never really heard of other peoples eating turkey.
I ate turkey in Germany in the '80s already. It wasn't super-common, but it was there. My family tended to have goose at Christmas dinners, but turkey was an option that was frequently used by others.
Wackypedia says:
- Turkeys are traditionally eaten as the main course of Thanksgiving dinner feasts in the United States and Canada, and at Christmas dinner feasts in much of the rest of the world (often as stuffed turkey).
- Turkey was eaten in as early as the 16th century in England.
- While the tradition of turkey at Christmas spread throughout Britain in the 17th century, among the working classes, it became common to serve goose, which remained the predominant roast until the Victorian era.
Here's a turkey farming operation in Ampfing, Germany. That one operation slaughters and sells 3000 tons of turkey a year, apparently.
Turkey consumption per capita statistics show that Germany, for example, is about 3.4kg annually per capita vs. the USA's 7.5, Hungary's 9, and Israel's (?!) 13.
Unfortunately statistics on this seem a bit incomplete. The first site lists 11 nations only. Over here they list 7, but barely have any overlap with the first site. More information gives some solid figures on the production and export of turkey meat. ... And so on and so on and so on. So yes, turkeys are raised and consumed worldwide.
Interesting, thanks for sharing!
England and former colonies do at Christmas.
You can get turkey sandwiches from any deli year round in the States, and they're pretty popular
Thanksgiving is very American, but turkey is a common christmas dinner in the UK at least, and probably fairly common across Europe
But that only proves OP's point. Turkey is almost always only eaten on a holiday because it's a tradition, and basically no one ever chooses to eat it when they're deciding what to eat for any other regular meal during the year
It could also be because fewer Americans have time to spend cooking dinner, and turkeys are large, cumbersome, and time consuming to cook well. I love to cook, and I love to cook turkey. I've converted a good amount of people over the years who said they don't enjoy it.
All that said, I only make it three or four times a year for the reasons above. That, and it's not practical when you're cooking for two unless you can find butchered pieces. I'm making a duck instead today, but I wish I was making turkey.
That's exactly how I feel about duck, although it takes less attention and time than a turkey does. I really love it, but it is a bit of a process, especially with the making of the gravy (if you've never had duck gravy, you really need to) and whatever sides you want to have. Roasting a chicken as much simpler if not as satisfying.
I make a duck for Thanksgiving every year.
I may default to duck if only cooking for myself or one other person. It turned out great! I have not had duck gravy, but now I must. I made a cranberry cherry chutney last night that was pretty satisfying, though.
Yeah, I don't know why every recipe wants to pair duck with a fruity sauce. Sure, that's good, but it goes great with gravy as well.
The logic here doesn't work for me. Moon cakes are generally eaten only in the week surrounding the Mid-Autumn Festival here in China. It's traditional, see. Yet they're incredibly yummy and were they available at other times they'd likely be consumed cheerfully. In Hubei there's a special dish of "birthday noodles" eaten basically only on your birthday. (And only by you; the rest of your family doesn't get them.) They're also incredibly delicious ... and literally eaten only once a year.
The fact that something is eaten only seasonally or by special occasion doesn't mean that it's not tasty. It means that it's special, nothing more.
That just not true, people eat turkey all the time. Every sandwich shop has a turkey sandwich year round. Now do people cook a 15-20 pound turkey regularly? Absolutely not because it's time consuming and you would need a gathering every time because a normal size family is not gonna eat that much food hence why we cook them a few times a year.
I eat it outside the holidays. They’re cheaper and if you use the whole bird you can get like a week’s worth of meals out of one.
A whole turkey is more like a month's worth of meals for me. I'd definitely need to be using the freezer. You can eat it as is, make sandwiches, soups, pot pies.... I can get a week's worth of food out of a chicken, so I can only imagine how much I would get out of a turkey.