At Thanksgiving it’s all about the turkey … or is it? Some people don’t care to eat turkey, and others don’t have the oven space to roast the 28-pound turkey that the assembled crowd would require.

Why not serve a smaller turkey alongside a slow-roasted pork shoulder? Or a roasted leg of lamb? Make it a special occasion with a second roast, and give your guests options. We’ve got a few ideas below, but don’t limit yourself; heritage ham, game birds, wild boar or venison would all work well as add-on entrées.

You may find yourself the hero of Thanksgiving when you offer two protein choices.

Best Turkeys for Thanksgiving

Choosing a turkey is easy. Our heritage turkey is available in smaller sizes and offers rich turkey flavor.

But you can’t go wrong with our wholesome organic turkey, also available in smaller sizes. Another option is to roast a bone-in turkey breast in place of the whole bird, offering nothing but white meat.

The Potential of Pork

This boneless Berkshire pork shoulder is the perfect choice for the Thanksgiving table. Bon Appétit has a great recipe for Set-It-and-Forget-It Roast Pork Shoulder, which cooks overnight at low temperature, and won’t tie up the oven when the turkey needs to go in.

Our slow roasted porcelet pork shoulder recipe works on the same principle and needs 8 hours in the oven. The crispy skin gives way to meltingly tender porcelet – which is our exclusive milk-fed pork. Now that’s a proper holiday meal. French the bones of our Berkshire pork rib roast for presentation, and use our simple roasted pork rack recipe to serve up tender pork for 6-10 people.

For Lamb Lovers

Nothing says feast like a leg of lamb. Roasted and served with truffle sauce, our leg of lamb recipe is a holiday keeper.

Even a rack or two of lamb will make an excellent add-on. The best part? Rack of lamb cooks quickly and can be finished while the turkey rests.

Be Bold with Beef

When it comes to beef, you have options. A whole beef tenderloin can be roasted, or a brisket braised with our brisket recipe (a whole bottle of red wine will be required).

 

Are you a strict traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving? Or do you like to try new things? Tell us about your holiday plans here, or on social media where you can tag @dartagnanfoods on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.