Ending the Thanksgiving Meal Controversies

Thanksgiving.   A time to gather with family and friends.  A time to feast.   A time to time to argue….umm….converse about important stuff ...like stuffing. Indeed, there are some age-old controversies surrounding the Thanksgiving meal.  Questions such as.....Is it stuffing or is it dressing? ......White meat vs dark meat? ......What is the best temperature for cooking the turkey?

To help foster a harmonious atmosphere during your holiday gathering, we will provide you with some next-level input for resolving these questions. We have assembled a Blue Ribbon Panel….Yes, I know what you are thinking….really, a Blue Ribbon Panel? Yes, a Blue Ribbon Panel indeed and that means this s**t is about to get serious. The make-up of this esteemed panel includes the tri-country turkey basting champion from Rebersburg PA, a state inspector from the top turkey-growing state of Minnesota (I too thought it was North Carolina…I guess the frigid weather saves on freezing costs), a decorated Blue Ribbon Panelist from Shickshinny, PA who has served on over 30 Blue Ribbon Panels, a faculty member who did not want to share NIL information (name, image, likeness) without proper compensation, a bearded guy named Jeb, and a few others who were loitering in the hall. 

They are ready, so let’s get on to it.

Stuffing vs Dressing? Some call it stuffing. Some call it dressing. Some people say it depends on whether it is in the bird, stuffing, or cooked as a casserole, dressing. However, it is the same stuff, regardless.  What you call it depend on where you are from….a regional thing. So to settle this, we go to a source that knows no boundary….Walmart. We took a look at the bags of product sold at Walmart (including Martin’s Stuffing Cubes and Pepperidge Farms Stuffing Mix) and what do you notice….these bags are labeled stuffing. And the listed directions do not have different names for how it is made….that is, whether making it inside the bird or doing it straight up in the casserole dish, they call it stuffing. 

Blue Ribbon Panel – Stuffing.

Cooking the stuffing in the bird or out of the bird? With the decision to call it ‘stuffing’ behind us, we move onto whether to cook the stuffing in the bird or outside the bird. Advocates of internal stuffing will say that the stuffing will absorb the meat juices that add flavor. The problem is that the stuffing will need to be cooked to the same safe temperature point that the turkey is cooked to, that is, it will need to reach 165F. For the stuffing to achieve this temperature when it is located down in the bowels of the bird, that will result in the meat temperature having a much higher temperature. Face it, having meat that is dried out is not what we want. 

Blue Ribbon Panel – Cook stuffing outside the cavity of the bird, and if you want that Martha Stewart type of pic, stuff the cooked stuffing into the cooked bird before serving.

Final Internal Cooking Temperature? For many out there, using a thermometer, heck owning a thermometer, is too much of a bother, so they rely on that pop-up thing that comes inserted in the bird. For one, that pop-up this thing doesn’t measure far enough into the meat. An indicator, sure, but that is it. But for those who want to control the destiny of their bird and secure the highest level of deliciousness, then getting a reliable measurement using an accurate thermometer is a must.

USDA states that 165F is the minimum safe temperature (measured internally in at least two locations) for cooking poultry. However, to what temperature do you cook to? The Blue Ribbon panel was divided on this. One cooks to a temperature slightly less than 165 and then lets it rest to achieve 165. Another person cooks to 172F to ensure safety and to achieve a better bite, or mouthfeel. Jeb, the bearded guy, doesn’t use a thermometer because he doesn’t own one (the other members of the panel decided to vote Jeb off the panel). 

Blue Ribbon Panel (minus Jeb) – Achieve safety by getting to 165F, cook to a higher temperature if a more tender bite is desired. Stay below 180F unless you like an exceedingly dry turkey.

White meat vs dark meat? Some will claim that the white meat is healthier because it is leaner (higher protein, less fat). However, this should not be a deciding factor in that the differences are not that great. Quoting some article on the web, “the results are not that much different “Turkey breast has about 160 calories per 84g serving, of which 60 calories come from fat and contains 24g of protein. The remaining calories come from protein and other sources such as blood and collagen in the meat. The wing has 190 calories per 84g serving, of which 90 calories come from fat with 23g of protein. The leg on the other hand has 170 calories per 84g serving, with 70 calories coming from fat and contains 23g of protein.” Some will also say that the breast is also more tender while the legs meat is more fibrous. True, and this is because the breast muscle is not used by flightless commercial birds, while the legs are used. However, the most important factor relates to flavor? Well, where there is more fat, there is generally more flavor…and the dark meat has slightly more flavor. And being that the bird is cooked with the breast side up and the dark meat down, thus results in the dark meat getting bathed in fat rendered from the skin on the bird. The dark meat wins the flavor battle. 

Blue Ribbon Panel – Dark Meat

Canned vs Fresh Cranberry Sauce? For many who choose canned cranberry sauce…well, they have never had fresh cranberry sauce. 

Blue Ribbon Panel – Fresh Cranberry Sauce (Cranberries are indigenous to the US, and so cranberries in some form are a must.)

Pumpkin Pie vs Apple Pie? Is this really a controversy? 

Blue Ribbon Panel – Pumpkin Pie

Mashed Potatoes vs Sweet Potatoes? 

Blue Ribbon Panel – all agree that it is nice to serve both, although mashed potatoes are a certainly a must. 

 What about marshmallows on the sweet potatoes? The high caloric content of this rules out. So where does this idea of marshmallows on sweet potatoes come from? From a USA Today article, According to an article from Saveur Magazine documented by the Library of Congress, the first recipe of mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows dates to 1917, when "marketers of Angelus Marshmallows hired Janet McKenzie Hill, founder of the Boston Cooking School Magazine, to develop recipes for a booklet designed to encourage home cooks to embrace the candy as an everyday ingredient." 
(Marshmallows are a candy…and candy does not deserve to be on our plate.)

Blue Ribbon Panel - Agree, candy has no place on the Thanksgiving plate.

Green Beans or Green Bean Casserole? Veggies are a must to round out the Thanksgiving plate. However, there are two problems with Green Bean casserole. One is that the casserole can have a gravy-type matrix, and this gravy-type matrix can clash with the gravy being served. More importantly, green bean casserole is a heavy dish and this can interfere with our main focus – maximizing TPS intake. TPS, or turkey-potato-stuffing, is the Thanksgiving trifecta. This is what we want to maximize. Having a vegetable dish that takes away from TPS intake is not good. Is it no wonder why there is always leftover green bean casserole. Not that it wasn’t good, but there just wasn’t sufficient room in our limited gastrointestinal space, no matter how much we loosened our belt. 

Blue Ribbon Panel – This was a split decision although casserole can be a must if there are vegetarians in the crowd who find this an acceptable item. As for green beans themselves, that is a matter of choice regarding vegetables, whether green beans, peas. corn or some other regionally accepted vegetable.

Homemade or canned gravy? While some do not like gravy, there are usually enough people who like gravy and will heap it most everything on the plate. Homemade gravy, when done right, is certainly a treat, but too many ‘Thursday afternoon chefs’ screw it up by making it too thin, or leaving the flour uncooked, or both. 

Blue Ribbon Panel agrees to always have a jar (or two, depending on the final cook temperature of your bird) of commercial gravy available.

There you have it….answers to the Thanksgiving controversies from the esteemed Blue Ribbon Panel. First, we thank our Blue Ribbon Panel members for providing their expertise. Second, you can decide not to accept this sage advice laid down here, but if you do agree, you can use this as validation  to support your argument.  Remember, if it is on the web, it must be true.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Post Script Notes

* We were contacted by a dignitary - a former administrator from Lower Milford - who said she had used green been casserole instead of gravy for her Thanksgiving Dinner.  She recently changed from green bean casserole to creamed spinach to provide that gravy functionality.  Interesting.  the Blue Ribbon Panel is debating the acceptability of this practice.

* It was pointed out by one reader that TPS measurement is really a thing.  In fact, TPS is mentioned in the movie Office Space numerous times.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy3rjQGc6lA

What kind of measurements can you have with TPS you may ask?

Total TPS - the total amount of turkey potato and stuffing consumed by an individual, usually measured in scoops or heaps.  (although an actual weight would be better, unlikely to weigh this out during dinner).

TPS Percent - the percent of plate that  Total TPS constitutes.  Generally, this is expected to be greater than 50% with a suggested amount between 60% to 80%.  Green bean casserole  (GBC) may lower TPS Percent if GBC is stacked too high on one's plate.

TPS Ratio - the ratio of  each component within TPS.  People will have different ratios depending upon preference, but there must be some amount from each, or it is not TPS...then it is TS or TP.  For example, one person stated that they focus on TS with a small percentage of P, for a TPS of 50:10:40...this is fine.

TPS Yield - the percent of TPS consumed from one's plate.  This should be 100%; anything less and one's eyes were bigger than their stomach.  It can be greater than 100% if one helps themselves to food from someone else's plate, but this is only permitted if the one taking is related to the one giving, otherwise, that is rude.  (Percent Loss TPS is that portion left on one's plate as a percentage that was piled onto the plate to start)

TPS Index - this is a relative measure that compares one's consumption of TPS to others at the gathering.  You take the entire amount of food on each one's plate, and then divide by the total number of people X 100.  If everyone has equal amounts compared to yours, then you have a TPS Index of 100.

Now if you have twice as much as everyone else, on average, you would have a TPS Index of 200.  A person with a TPS Index over 200 should either be eating with a bunch of small children or with a group of people where everyone else has gorged themselves on green bean casserole.  Then that person deserves the right of a high TPS Index.