Everybody knows that Thanksgiving is the day to stuff yourself on mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and most importantly, turkey. But, let’s be honest: having turkey year after year can get exhausting.
If you’re sick of turkey and you want to try something different, or if you just don’t like turkey at all, here are some out-of-the-box dishes that will have you wondering why turkey is the star of the holiday in the first place.
Honey Glazed Ham
During the holidays, the Honey Baked Ham Company is one of the most popular places to buy a Thanksgiving main dish. While they do offer turkey, they’re most famous for their company namesake: the HoneyBaked Ham. It’s sweet, the outer crust is somewhat crunchy, and it doesn’t tend to run as dry as turkey does. You buy the ham prepared and pre-sliced, so all that’s left to be done after picking up your order is place it on a serving platter to share with your family and friends.
If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly version of the Honey Baked Ham, try making your own! Last year, creator Elizabeth Wu (@elizabethwu_ on TikTok) posted an in-depth tutorial on how to make homemade honey-baked ham.
She bought her pre-cooked spiral sliced ham from a grocery store for $24 — a far cry from the Honey Baked Ham, which averages costing around $100.
Prime Rib
If you’re a fan of steak, you’ll love having prime rib on your table this Thanksgiving. It’s a roast that includes the ribs of the cow with marbling that makes it more tender and flavorful than a normal steak.
TikTok creator @thefooddee posted a tutorial on how to cook the perfect standing prime rib, meaning that the prime rib is cooked in a roasting pan.
Starting at the base cook time of 2 hours, he advises to add 15 minutes to the cook time per rib bone. If your prime rib has four bones, cook the prime rib for an extra 60 minutes — bringing the total cook time for it to 3 hours.
Peking Duck
Whenever I go out with my extended family for dinner at a Chinese restaurant, my popo almost always orders peking duck for the family to share. Peking duck is a traditional dish with its roots in Beijing, and I would choose to eat it over turkey if given the choice between the two for Thanksgiving.
Peking duck is unique for its thin skin, which is extremely crispy. It’s usually served with fluffy spring pancakes, hoisin sauce, and fresh vegetables to serve as a foil to the fatty duck meat and crispy skin.
You can try and make peking duck yourself, but I recommend ordering it ahead of time from a Chinese restaurant that sells them, because making the duck is an extremely laborious process.
If you’ve never tried peking duck before, Thanksgiving might be the perfect time to eat it. Just be warned: you’ll crave it every Thanksgiving after. It’s just that good.
Rotisserie Chicken
Thanksgiving precedes the joyful but expensive holiday season of Christmas, so if you’re looking for a more cost-conscious option to serve at Thanksgiving, try rotisserie chicken. The Costco rotisserie chicken might be the best and cheapest option on the market right now for a standout main dish — you really can’t beat a whole pre-cooked chicken for $5.
Especially for college students, the Costco rotisserie chicken is the perfect budget-friendly option for a Friendsgiving.
You can choose to make your own roasted chicken as well, and it’ll likely come out being a cheaper option than turkey anyway.
Whatever route you choose to take for your chicken, creator @shellyinreallife on TikTok posted a guide to breaking down a chicken, which you’ll want to know no matter what.
By breaking down your chicken properly, it’ll give every person at the table a chance to choose whether they want white meat, dark meat, or just the skin.