Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving? (2024)

How did the turkey become a popular Thanksgiving centerpiece? Why do we eat turkey at Thanksgiving? Did the Pilgrims eat turkey? What about pumpkin pie? See how foods differed from today—and some historically inspired recipes,too!

Here’s a little history about the food at this all-American feast day. And if you wish to pay tribute to a truly traditional Thanksgiving meal from 1621, consider featuring goose, chestnuts, and succotash with these historically inspiredrecipes.

Did Pilgrims Eat Turkey atThanksgiving?

The short answer: Nobody is sure if turkey was served at the harvest celebration held by the pilgrims of Plymouth colony in 1621, but “wild fowl” was certainly mentioned in historicalaccounts.

Thebest existing account of the Pilgrims’ harvest feast comes from colonist Edward Winslow, author ofMourt’s Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. Winslow’s first-hand account of the first Thanksgiving included no explicit mention of turkey. However, he mentions the Pilgrims gathering “wild fowl“for the meal, although that could just as likely have meant ducks or geese.Turkeys are a possibility, but they were not a typical food then. We also know that theWampanoag Native Americans brought five deer, so venison was on the menu. Also, seafood, including lobsters and clams, was plentiful andcommon.

Specifically, Edward Winslow’s accountstates:

“Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the company almost a week, at which time amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of ourplenty.”

There was only one other first-hand account of that first Thanksgiving: colonist William Bradford kept a journal titledOf Plimoth Plantation.

William Bradford is thethe governor Winslow mentions above. He described the autumn of 1621 asfollows:

“And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to thatproportion.”

So, he does mention wild turkeys, but not whether such birds were served at any Thanksgivinggathering.

How the First Thanksgiving Foods Differed FromToday

Many of the Thanksgiving dishes we enjoy today were not served at the Plymouth feast. However, fromEdward Winslow’s account (above), we know some of the foods enjoyed.The meal was probably quite meat-heavy,including:

• Venison
• Fowl (geese andduck)
• Corn
• Nuts (walnuts, chestnuts,beechnuts)
• Shellfish

While native cranberries grew wild then, there’s no record of them being served with the meal (although they were a significant part of the Wampanoags’ fall diet).Beans, pumpkins, squashes, andcorn (served as bread or porridge) were also part of the mealthanks to the Wampanoags, seasoned gardeners who employed the Three Sisters method for growing their maincrops.

WhatDid Pilgrims NOT Eat at the FirstThanksgiving?

The colonists didn’t have potatoes, butter, or flour, so you can safely assume there weren’t any mashed potatoes orpies.

• Potatoes (white orsweet)
• Bread stuffing(wheat flour wasrare)
• Sugar
• Green beancasserole
• Pies

Historically-Inspired ThanksgivingRecipes

If you wish to pay tribute to a genuinely traditional Thanksgiving meal from 1961, consider featuring goose, chestnuts, andsuccotash.

• RoastGoose
• ClassicSuccotash
• ChestnutCroquettes

Seemore Thanksgiving side dishes.

So, Why Do We Eat Turkey at ThanksgivingToday?

When Bradford’s journals—lost for many years during the Siege of Boston in 1775—resurfaced and werereprinted in the 1850s, the idea of early colonists hunting wild turkeys caught the nation’s imagination (even though he never specified that turkey was served at the Thanksgivingfeast).

Plus, wild turkeys were quite plentiful back then. (Discover more about “The Wild Turkey: History of an All-American Bird.”)

Sarah JosephaHale, the editor of a magazine called Godey’s Lady’s Book, would later present the turkey as the big bird at the head of the table and published manyrecipes.

Hale campaigned for Thanksgiving Day to be recognized as a national holiday, writing numerous presidents.Finally, Abraham Lincoln took notice. After 1863, PresidentLincoln made Thanksgiving Day a national holiday,and turkeys began to land on dinner plates across thecountry.

Every November since 1947, a “National Thanksgiving Turkey” has been presented to the U.S. President. Harry Truman got the first one.During an official ceremony in the Rose Garden, the president “pardons” the turkey, meaning its life is spared and it does not geteaten.

White vs. Dark MeatFacts

Did you know that wild turkeys tend to have primarily dark meat because they are strong runners and also fly? Domestic, factory-raised turkeys have white and dark meat because their muscles aren’t used asoften.

Turkeys use their legs and thighsto run, which requires moreoxygen-carrying blood vessels; this makes the meat darker. However, breast muscles aren’t used as much (especially by domestic turkeys), so fewer blood vessels deliver less oxygen; this makes the meatwhiter.

See more turkey trivia and Thanksgiving table talk.