Delicious Alternatives to Turkey for Thanksgiving Dinner
Delicious Alternatives to Turkey for Thanksgiving Dinner
Wanting to break the holiday tradition and serve something other than turkey this year. There are alternatives to turkey that pair beautifully with traditional sides so never fear. Your Thanksgiving dinner can be just as tasty and memorable without the big bird.
If you are like us, many years it is just the two of us. Sometimes we will have an additional couple over so there is still no need for a huge turkey. Over the years I have come up with some great options for this holiday so that I can enjoy the day. Also, keep some of these options in mind for your Christmas Eve or Christmas Day dinner. Those holidays will be here before we know it.
Click on any of the underlined subtitles and it will take you directly to the recipes that I have linked. Hope you find something yummy that you can’t wait to try.
You can read my post on Thanksgiving for Two: How to Make Special here.
Other Poultry Options for Thanksgiving
Two great options in poultry family that can easily be scaled for a small gathering are cornish game hens or roasted chickens. Both will pair beautifully with everyone’s favorite traditional holiday side dishes as well.
Cornish Game Hen with Garlic and Rosemary
Cornish game hens are smaller, juicier, and quicker to cook than a whole chick or turkey. That makes them the perfect entree to serve for two to four people. So easy to cook and a very impressive presentation. Total time for this recipe is just over an hour.
Julia Child’s Favorite Roast Chicken
If we are going to roast a chicken for this holiday, then why not make a famous chicken recipe. You can’t go wrong with Julia Child recipe. This chicken is packed with sauteed vegetables and herbs so your home will smell heavenly while it is cooking. Again, pairs beautifully with any of your favorite traditional sides. This is perfect for a small gathering and will be done in a little over 2 hours.
Pork Alternatives to Turkey for the Holiday
There are two beautiful dishes that always come to mind at the holidays if I want to serve pork. A crown roast or a glazed ham. Both options are quite simple to prepare and can be quite the centerpiece on the table.
Brown Sugar Ham (Baked Ham Glaze)
A ham is such a tasty option for any holiday gathering. It just needs the right glaze on it. You and your guests will be enjoying it for the holiday and just think about the leftovers. The nice thing about hams is that you can buy smaller ones and easily scale the glaze recipe down.
The Ultimate Pork Crown Roast
A crown roast is one of the great alternatives to turkey for a crowd. There are typically 12-14 chops in a crown roast so you will be able to feed quite the crowd with one of these roasts. Again, this roast will pair beautifully with your favorite sides and not take quite as long to roast as a big bird. Don’t forget to buy the cute little hats to go on the ends of the bones for decoration.
For the Fish Lovers
I just had to include a good salmon recipe as an option for this holiday. We are big fish eaters at our home and there’s nothing better than a great salmon recipe.
Pomegranate-Glazed Salmon with Oranges, Olives, and Herbs
This is a dish that doesn’t take much time to prepare and all you really need to accompany it is a simple rice or potato. I loved the fact that it uses blood oranges and other citrus that are in full season. Pomegranate is also another favorite fruit of mine for the winter months. Again, you can adjust a recipe like this to serve 2-8 people easily.
THANKS
Thanks so much for stopping by today. Hope that this gave you some holiday dining inspiration. Let me know if you plan to try any of these recipes this holiday season.
Hugs,
