Turkey Alternatives Are More Common On Thanksgiving Than Most Know

An Age-Old Battle

If gratitude is the star on Thanksgiving, is what we feast on really all that important? If you ask me, my answer is a firm "no."

It's only been a few years since I learned of others who felt the same as me. As it turns out, we're not the rare birds many of us thought we were. Contesting turkey at Thanksgiving is a dilemma as old as the holiday itself.

According to a 2019 study published by the University of Illinois, celebrating Thanksgiving with "countercuisine" is more common than most Americans realize.

Some estimates show that 88% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving and the native bird has come to symbolize long-held American culinary tradition. Yet Norman Rockwell’s vision of a peaceful Thanksgiving dinner with the turkey at its center is more myth than fact. Americans have long clashed and battled about the turkey dinner as vegetarians and carnivores fought to instate their own menus. —Adrienne Bitar, Time Magazine

 

The 12-Percenters

Hungry, 12-percenters? Help yourself to a slice of validation served on a silver platter. At 12 percent strong, we're well on our way to normalizing Thanksgiving "countercuisine."

We've eaten dry, tasteless white turkey meat for the last time. Gone are the Thanksgivings where we settle for mediocre dark meat when we'd rather have a juicy ribeye or a gorgeous smoked brisket.

Turkey-haters, we're taking back Thanksgiving. Let this be the year we proudly proclaim our disdain for the gamebird. From our turkey-free table to yours, Happy Thanksgiving to Idaho's countercuisiners.

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