Hi readers, happy Wednesday! Cameron Peters here, bringing you the inside scoop on a debate that has riven the Vox newsroom: Is turkey good, actually? Arguing the pro-turkey side is politics reporter Christian Paz; in opposition, culture reporter Alex Abad-Santos. Standing on the sidelines and also rooting for turkey is me, your newsletter host.
Whatever your personal preference, it's a fun conversation, and hopefully a fun way to send you into a long holiday weekend. The newsletter will be off on Thursday and Friday; we'll see you back here on Monday morning. Until then, have a great Thanksgiving! |
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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images |
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| Alex Abad-Santos Christian, please tell me about why you like turkey. |
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| Christian Paz
I love Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is about turkey. I am a traditionalist. I stand by tradition. But, also, I really do love the big ol’ “bird on a table” iconography, so maybe part of it is that I have been brainwashed. |
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| Alex Abad-Santos Turkey is trad. |
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| | Christian Paz
Turkey is trad, and trad is okay. But if we're being serious, it's very versatile! |
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| Alex Abad-Santos What about the idea that turkey is dry — that it takes so much preparation of brining, basting, roasting, etc., just to make NOT dry? |
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| Christian Paz
There are two ways I could rebut this. |
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| Alex Abad-Santos Sure, go ahead. Roast me. |
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| Christian Paz One is to be honest but a little harsh: You're just not cooking turkey the right way.
The other way is to say that, yeah, you might be right. Turkey can come out pretty dry, and it does require quite a bit of work, patience, and time, which can be hard if you're cooking for a big group. So much of it does involve going low and slow and letting it rest. |
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| Alex Abad-Santos
Christian, fire departments across this great nation have to film and distribute PSAs to families about the dangers of deep-frying your turkey. People are setting their homes on fire to impart more flavor onto this bird. Isn't that a sign that turkey is a low-tier meat? This doesn’t happen with ham. |
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| Christian Paz
Well, I won’t comment on deep-fried turkeys. I’m not a fan of that, to be honest. I don't know about that aspect of our American culture. I will say, I have burned myself making hams. |
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| Alex Abad-Santos Can I ask, how do you prepare your turkey? |
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| Christian Paz Yes, of course.
Well, you wanna make sure you just lather that baby up. On the outside. In the cavity. Yes, yes I am here. |
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| Alex Abad-Santos Not this. |
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| Christian Paz
Okay, but actually, I have done two methods that have been praised and loved. Surprise, I love the Alison Roman recipe. The other one is a combo of a Martha Stewart and an Ina Garten recipe, but it involves lots of butter.
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| Alex Abad-Santos
Allegedly, they — Martha Stewart and Ina Garten — do not like each other. Again, this seems like an awful lot of work to make the turkey palatable. No one is dousing a ham in pounds of butter. |
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| Alex Abad-Santos Last question: If turkey wasn't available for Thanksgiving, what meat would you want instead? Lamb? Steak? |
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| Christian Paz
Oh, probably just a roast chicken, but with Alison Roman’s stuffing. I am not really a steak person, but I love a thigh, I love a wing, and I love juicy, white turkey meat. |
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| MAGA's other immigration battle |
The debate over high-skill work visas is revealing cracks between President Donald Trump and his base. |
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Today’s edition was produced and edited by me, staff editor Cameron Peters. Thanks for reading! |
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