Top 7 viral Thanksgiving recipes: Let’s Talk Entreés!
We’ve officially entered the middle of November, meaning that everyone is trying to plan their Thanksgiving menus! Who’s bringing and cooking what, and what will the menu look like?
Thanksgiving is what I like to call the Butter Holiday or the Food-Focused Holiday. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of butter and food to be consumed on Christmas, but it just feels right to call Thanksgiving the Unofficial Official Butter Holiday!
To continue this four-part series, let’s take a look at some viral recipes for…main dishes!
What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving entreés? What are the classic flavors to have on the table this year and beyond?
In no particular order, let’s take a look at the top seven viral Thanksgiving main dish recipes that you can find on TikTok. Be sure to let us know your favorites down below!
1. Honey Pineapple Baked Ham
Who Made This: @realcooking_with_queen
Viral Views Gotten: 3.3M Views
Ingredients You’ll Need: Favorite brand of pre-cooked ham, brown sugar, white sugar, honey, pineapple juice (canned or fresh, either is just fine), spices of choice (to taste, of course)
This recipe takes on the secondary meat (to most families, that is) on the turkey-centered Thanksgiving holiday…HAM! Having ham at any holiday dinner is so underrated in my personal opinion! There are so many ways to make it, cook it, smoke it, whatever…here’s just one of them!
In this particular video, this wonderful cook used a ham that she found at her local Aldi; however, feel free to use whatever sort of ham that you’d like. Her suggestion is to not use any sort of glaze that the ham comes with and to just make your own (also seen in the recipe obviously)!
First up for the glossy glaze part of it all, mix together your honey and pineapple juice (canned or fresh works). Then, next up, pour that wonderful glaze into each little slice and crack that a pre-sliced ham comes with (if yours didn’t, then just cut little slits before this particular part). And then, take your sugar, brown sugar, and chosen favorite spices and mix them together to get that crunchy topping that any honey baked ham sort of has (best freaking part if you ask me). Lightly warm the ham all the way through (already comes fully cooked). Drain out any juices into the bowl as they will become the delicious base to the glaze. To this, add in about half of the sugar and spice mixture, as well as the rest of the squeezed pineapple juice (heat this to a rolling boil). Then take the rest of your sugar and spice mixture and rub it all over the ham. Put the ham in the oven and once it comes out, the glaze gets its time to shine – literally! Eat up and enjoy, y’all!
2. Creole Cranberry Turkey
Who Made This: @cheftimclowers
Viral Views Gotten: 75K Views
Ingredients You’ll Need: 1 cup of warm water, orange juice, brown sugar, your favorite white wine, dried or fresh thyme, 3.5 cups of ice water, EVOO, Tony’s (or your own favorite) creole seasoning (I personally love Slap Yo’ Mama), sugar, one bag of cranberries, dried or fresh ginger
This recipe, while it is the classic favorite meat of the whole entire Thanksgiving holiday, takes a different sort of take on it. This is quite the elevation to a normally classic main dish to serve.
Basically, what you wanna start off by doing here is making your cranberry glaze for the top of the creole turkey. Some recipes might have you make it last, but I like to let all of the flavors stew for just a bit before dumping it all over the meat. First up, then, make the brine (which you let the creole turkey sit in for a minimum of 24 hours, and a maximum of three whole days). Said brine involves the following, spices, warm water, orange juice, sugar, and ice water. Once the turkey is pulled out of the brine, it is officially creole style! Pat the now creole turkey dry with a towel and coat all sides with your EVOO and desired creole seasoning(s). Cover and bake, heading for a desired internal temp of right around, if not exact, 150 degrees F. Pull out the creole turkey and uncover, then covering with the already pre-made cranberry glaze. Once the internal temp is now 165 degrees F, let the finished creole turkey sit for roughly 10 minutes, slice, and serve!
3. Montreal Prime Rib
Who Made This: @darksideofthegrill
Viral Views Gotten: 6K Views
Ingredients You’ll Need: Your favorite or desired cut of prime rib, (any) worcestershire sauce, your favorite Montreal-style steak seasoning(s), kitchen/baking twine
This recipe, while my family personally has never had Prime Rib on almost any holiday, is definitely a delicious-sounding one to make, for those who don’t really like turkey or are looking for a twist!
First up, take your favorite or desired cut of prime rib, cut it just so the bones are still attached, but almost create a big ol’ seasoning pocket for it, and rub it with whichever worcestershire sauce that you’ve chosen. Then, take your Montreal-style seasoning (you’ll need just a bit more later on soon) and rub it inside of that ‘seasoning pocket’ that you essentially created in the previous step. Then, tie up the meat using the kitchen/baking twine, completely cover using that same Montreal-style seasonings, and cook using your desired cooking method (Google cooking times depending on how ‘done’ you like your prime rib to be, everyone’s different). Cut and serve…yup, that’s it!!
4. Fried Pork Chops
Who Made This: @chefjwett
Viral Views Gotten: 13K Views
Ingredients You’ll Need: Your favorite brand of Adobo seasoning, desired amount of pork chops, desired cooking/frying oil (whatever you prefer works, but peanut oil is typically best…I also love using EVOO to make Chicken Milanese – breaded chicken, as well), all-purpose flour (for breading)
This is something to serve that almost feels more individual, if that makes sense. Does your family not like turkey or anything family style? Make everyone their own plate of fried pork chops, right?!
Honestly, this recipe couldn’t by anymore simpler if it tried. All you do is this, set up your oil and get it heated up, but obviously speaking, not too too hot. Second off, take your pork chops and cover/season them to your liking with your favorite brand of Adobo seasoning, coat each one in flour on both sides, and fry them up! Serve them with your favorite sides (discussing that in a later article), and enjoy! Simple? Yes! Delicious? You betcha! Make a sauce if you’d like or serve with ketchup and whatever other sauces that your heart desires!
5. Twice-Smoked Ham
Who Made This: @marriedtobbq
Viral Views Gotten: 83K Views
Ingredients You’ll Need: Your favorite store-bought boneless honey ham, some sort of brown sugar-style ham glaze (whether you make your own or use the one that comes with the ham), your favorite method or tool to use to smoke the ham…twice, of course
If you thought that the fried pork chops as seen just above this twice-smoked ham, then think again! This recipe literally includes two things, depending on what you do about the glaze!
Take your store-bought ham (obviously speaking, the pre-sliced ones are the way to go because all you need to do is finish through with each pre-scored slice that it comes in/with) and smoke it for the first time (to your desired warmth and/or smokiness). Then completely drench your ham in whatever chosen glaze that you have already previously made or bought from the store. Smoke again to your preference/desires. Slice up and serve. Yes, that’s it! Enjoy the world’ easiest ham recipe to your heart and stomach’s (super) full content!
6. Thanksgiving Ribs
Who Made This: @cristyaragon
Viral Views Gotten: 3K Views
Ingredients You’ll Need: However many racks of ribs that you need to feed your fam, half of an orange, spices (garlic powder, paprika, cinnamon, salt, and pepper), aluminum pan, your favorite BBQ sauce to slather on (although let’s be real over here…Sweet Baby Rays is the only one that matters)
I’ve never actually though about making ribs on Thanksgiving, let alone on any sort of holiday in general. I also like the way this recipe takes a twist on ribs instead of cooking them all on the rack…
So here’s what you do: as always, peel that membrane off the back of the rack of ribs before you do literally anything and everything else. Next, cut each one into separate ribs (not cooking them all together on a singular rack of ribs) and completely coat into all of your seasonings and spices that should’ve been previously mixed together. Put your ribs in your aluminum pan and cook for roughly 2 hours on 300 degrees F. Finally slather on some Sweet Baby Rays and call it a day!
7. Simple Roasted Turkey
Who Made This: @cookinginthemidwest
Viral Views Gotten: 1.5M Views
Ingredients You’ll Need: Butterball turkey (whatever size/weight that you may need), EVOO, spices (salt, pepper, garlic, and barbeque seasoning), melted butter, Cameron’s Turkey DunRite (tool)
This recipe is not only super simple to season and make, but it also uses a pretty cool tool to give you a different (and maybe even better) way to cook your holiday turkeys!
This particular recipe doesn’t use any sort of brine. Here’s literally all that you have to do…take your favorite desired size Butterball Turkey and rub EVOO all over it. Next up, take your spices and seasoning and cover the turkey completely (obviously speaking, right?). Then you wanna place your turkey on the Cameron’s Turkey DunRite that essentially cooks your turkey upside down to better let all of the extra and unwanted juice drain out legit immediately. Cooking in the oven at 325 degrees F for roughly 15 minutes per pound. Roughly every 45 minutes, take your melter butter and drench the turkey to help keep that skin super flavorful and CRSIPY. Slice and serve the way you like it and eat up, folks! Happy Turkey Day to All!!
Hot. MORE on MAINS: 5 of the best main dishes from Olive Garden!!. light
That’s a wrap on the top 7 viral TikTok Thanksgiving main dish recipes! Next: onto Side Dishes!
What main dishes will you be making this year on Thanksgiving? What flavors sort of define the holiday as a whole? Let’s chat all about it down below! And as always…eat up, folks!