It’s Turkey Time

There is a time and place for every meat, and nobody can change my mind. The beautiful bird that is known by none other than the turkey, trots its way onto our Thanksgiving plates as the leaves fall softly from the trees. The turkey is a Thanksgiving delicacy, served with cranberry sauce, gravy, and the delicious stuffing my family serves beside the bird as dressing. This meal is served on a Thursday in November, and it would be sad to have it served any other way.  Now without the turkey on Thanksgiving, what would be paired to complement the cranberry sauce? Not ham. If one doesn’t like the flavor of turkey or doesn’t eat meat, one can have a delicious dinner with all of the sides and still get full. But to eat ham on Thanksgiving, that’s just not the way things work.

Ham comes from a pig, and is served all year long. For Easter, Christmas, and maybe even a summertime holiday, ham can be the go to meat, but on Thanksgiving it’s the white meat’s time to shine. I would argue any red meat pairs nicely with Christmas dinner such as prime rib, ham, or even ribeyes. Turkey is just culinarily elite as we say our prayers and count our blessings on Thanksgiving. It is pardoned by the president, with silky feathers that match the leaves of fall. Tradition never fails, and turkey is tradition.