Thanksgiving Traditions That People Don't Understand

far as traditions, it aint thanksgiving til some one gets berated, beat down or just slapped over some stupid garbage, YUP we are a dysfunctional group....

My friends family always had oyster dressing when their grandmother used to cook. Not necessarily a Southern Illinois tradition, but it was in their house.

In my family, the fellows would go rabbit hunting while the ladies cooked the meal on Thanksgiving Day. Christmas was more of a potluck with a typical ham and usually rabbit from the Thanksgiving hunt.

Eutycus said:

I'll take Cornbread stuffing any day over Oyster stuffing. Oysters, Yuk!

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One of the jobs I did in south Louisiana took us past some brackish water that had a lot of markers in it. Asked the boat's captain what they were for, he said that it delineated various families' oyster beds. That was the scuzziest swamp I've seen and I grew up by Black Bayou... There ain't no way that I'd eat fish out of that soup much less some feces filtering oysters on the bottom.

I remember eating at my in-laws a couple weeks after getting married for a cook out and my mother in law instead I try one of here deviled eggs now don’t get me wrong I can whip up some smooth tangy deviled eggs but what she made had relish and other crunchy things in it and deviled eggs aut never to be crunchy, yes it was a turn off and yes here cooking always sucked anyway.

waarp8nt said:

My friends family always had oyster dressing when their grandmother used to cook. Not necessarily a Southern Illinois tradition, but it was in their house.

In my family, the fellows would go rabbit hunting while the ladies cooked the meal on Thanksgiving Day. Christmas was more of a potluck with a typical ham and usually rabbit from the Thanksgiving hunt.

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When much younger all my uncles,my dad and the cousins would head out rabbit hunting on thanksgiving day. wimmen folks would prepare the meal at my grandmothers house, big spread, turkey,ham, mashed taters various vegetables, mac and cheese,sauerkraut and a lot of other things. Tootie (my grandmother) would do all the baking homemade rolls, bread and at least three different kinds of pies, she made the best pumpkin pie I ever ate (and the pumpkin did not come out of a can) Great uncles would show up Manny,Jerry and daniel( they always ate dessert first, asked Manny one time why they done that, he looked me straight in the eye and told me get the best first that way if you die before eating your ahead of the game) and a big long table was set fine dining there and lots of stories. Some times I feel like the last of the Mohicians as they are now all moved on.

My wife’s folks were young compared to mine. While mine are long gone and her mother is too but her dad is still here at 90. When he’s gone I’ll be the oldest on either side of the family. I certainly don’t fret about it. But yeah, last of the Mohicans.

Have to go elk hunting the day before or day after!

It’s already been mentioned but another favorite of mine is deviled eggs. I started making them myself last year, since everybody that made them is gone. They turned out ok.

gunpa said:

Have to go elk hunting the day before or day after!

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That sounds Great! Good luck.

Thanksgiving Day....Eat ......Friday head to deer camp. Saturday......hunt.....Sunday , sleep by the fire, 'cause I'm old

64Springer said:

Pork Necks and Sauerkraut.

Can't have Thanksgiving without Pork Necks and Sauerkraut.

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Love me some neck bones and rice. Never had it with kraut though. Yet...

Centurion said:

Just checked the price of fresh oysters here - $24 per pound. A double batch would cost more than the turkey. I’m afraid i’m gonna commit blasphemy, fellas… half dozen or so cans of smoked oysters in stove top mix. But at least i add chopped onions, sliced mushrooms, garlic and a couple of eggs, and then bake it. I’ll let the turkey watch.

Before the peasants riot, it’s better than the unthinkable alternative, which is (shudder) plain dressing!

Thanksgiving blessings on y’all!

don

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Here is a stove top trick for ya. If you have to resort to stove top stuffing you can make it taste like the real deal. When I have to use that, usually due to time restraints., I will use two or three boxes and follow the directions on the box. After it sets the required ten minutes I add chopped up boiled chicken, finely chopped white onion and celery, salt, and black pepper. Then dump
it all into a baking dish. Then pour some of the broth from the boiled chicken over it, but not too much. Just until it is as moist as you want it. Stick it in the oven at 350 until the top is as brown and crispy as you want it. Don't have to boil a whole chicken either. A couple leg quarters will do. You could fool granny with this trick.

Any of y'all ever get the turkey's wishbone?

Oh yes, but my Mother always cooked down the carcass to make soup!

I have to deer hunt first thing on turkey day. it is a tradition here to make meat on Thanksgiving. After a couple hours, deer or not, I go to the house (about a hundred yards from my blind) and make the family a breakfast pie. They will not let me skip that. Then back to the woods for a while. Wife and I start cooking the feast on Monday so at lunch it is just a matter of warming up the food. And I have to have apple pie on that day. It is more important to me than the turkey but I don't know why. Then back to the woods. Our strangest tradition on Thanksgiving though is frozen pizza and hot wings late that night. Been doing this for over twenty years.

TDM said:

Oh yes, but my Mother always cooked down the carcass to make soup!

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Gotta make it last brother...

Mom would boil an entire chicken and add to 2 big pans of cornbread dressing. Deviled eggs, giblets gravy, corn, green beans ( both from our garden), cranberry sauce. Dad would build a wood fire in an old wood burning stove and cook the biggest turkey mom could find. Add every imaginable dessert and that was Thanksgiving.

i love oysters any way except in dressing. I tried making oyster dressing once. I thought my parents would disown me! Almost as bad as white bread dressing! Yuck.

10acres said:

Oyster stuffing sounds good to me. You can’t have Thanksgiving without Deviled Eggs.

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DEVELED EGGS, are the CREME DE LA CREME!!! it is never complete with out them!

kje54 said:

Don't forget gravy......... In the south gravy is either a food group or a beverage........

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grease gravy thickened with corn starch, is finger lichen good!

It can’t be Thanksgiving without bananas split then Mayo spread over them and covered in crushed salted peanuts.