In an effort to preserve the spirit of Thanksgiving for what little time we have left before Christmas takes over, I’d like to talk turkey.

Everyone has their favorite way to prepare the gobbling bird’s meat. Sadly, at the tables I eat at, turkey is no longer the centerpiece it used to be. I’ll be honest, my stomach is a lot more attracted to the delicious dressing and sweet potatoes, and my plate might end up with just a few slices of turkey. Maybe a little ham, too, but we aren’t here to talk about pork.

Maybe it’s the way we are preparing the turkey at my family’s home. We perform the great American tradition of thawing a Butterball and sticking it in the oven to roast for a couple hours. Millions of homes around the country do the same thing. But I wonder… how creative can we get with this meat?

I’m excited to try a few different methods of cooking turkey at some smaller side functions this month. Our annual Thanksgiving office meal this year will feature a deep-fried turkey, which will be brand new to my taste buds. I hear if you drop it in the fryer before it’s through thawing, though, you’ll have quite an explosion. A video on YouTube shows a massive pillar of fire shooting from the fryer. So unless you have in-laws over this holiday season that you can’t stand, the fire department and I would recommend thawing the turkey thoroughly.

I’ll also have the opportunity to try a smoked turkey, which I remember enjoying many, many years ago at my family’s Thanksgiving. It is a delicious way to enjoy turkey.

How much more interesting can we get?

I’ve found recipes for a yogurt glaze on the turkey, a bacon wrap, beer-based gravy, spinach-stuffed, you name it. But by far the strangest, and most appalling, recipe I have found is for a mayonnaise roasted turkey.

I should never have gone down this rabbit hole.