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10 Thanksgiving Main Course Recipes

Thanksgiving Mains Collage
With Thanksgiving quickly approaching I thought that it was about time that I dusted off and updated the roundups of all of my favourite Thanksgiving dishes starting with the main course. I have to say that a simple roast turkey is my favourite main course and I am always looking forward to it! Although you could get all fancy with your roast turkey, you really don't have to as a long as you roast it properly, that turkey is going to shine all by itself. Since I generally serve Thanksgiving diner to a small group of people I often opt to just go with a large turkey breast which is much easier to roast but you do miss out on all of the dark meat and the bone that you can make turkey stock from. If turkey is just not your thing or if you are just bored with it or if you are serving to a large group of people and want a second roast, you cannot go wrong serving a ham, a roast beef or even a roast lamb. Without further ado, on to the recipes:


Herb Roasted Turkey Breast

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast - One of the simplest things that you can do with a turkey is rub it all over with some fresh or dried herbs. Different herbs will give it different flavours and you can even use a combination of several herbs.



Cranberry Sauce

Of course no turkey dinner would be complete without some Cranberry Sauce and it is super easy to make it at home! Want to spice up your cranberry sauce a bit? Try one of these:

Tequila and Lime Jalapeno Cranberry SauceCranberry Sauce with Pinot NoirGingered Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry ChutneyMaple Cranberry SauceFresh Cranberry Relish


Parmesan and Sage Roasted Turkey Breast

Parmesan and Sage Roasted Turkey Breast - I was a bit surprised at how well adding a cheese like parmesan to a roast turkey works and it this has quickly become one of my favourites!



Maple and Chipotle Roasted Turkey Breast

Maple and Chipotle Roasted Turkey Breast - This turkey goes well in a Mexican themed meal with its smoky chipotle peppers that are balance by some sweet maple syrup. With all of those chipotles around, the gravy is sure to have some nice heat!



Ham Crusted with Mustard and Gingersnap Crumbs

Ham Crusted with Mustard and Gingersnap Crumbs - I remember for large family dinners when I was growing up, that the turkey was often accompanied by a ham and this ham is one of my favourites. The sweet mustardy coating is finger licking good and the gingersnaps in it fit right in with the holidays.



The Perfect Roast Beef

Just because it is Thanksgiving does not mean that you have to go with turkey and a perfectly cooked medium-rare Roast Beef is always a welcome treat!



Roasted Lamb in Coffee Sauce

Roasted Lamb in Coffee Sauce - I must be addicted to that coffee sauce as I use it all the time and it works wonderfully well with a roast lamb as well.



Bacon Wrapped Roast Pork

Another great non-turkey option is this Bacon Wrapped Roast Pork where the bacan wrapping helps to keep the pork nice and moist and tender, not to mention all of the flavour that it adds!



Greek Style Roast Leg of Lamb with Lemon Roasted Potatoes

Greek Style Roast Leg of Lamb with Lemon Roasted Potatoes - Another great way to do lamb is Greek style with plenty of fresh herbs includign oregano.



Porchetta

Porchetta - If you are thinking about doing a pork roast, a porchetta is a great way to go and this one wraps a pork belly around the loin which keeps everything nice and moist and adds a ton of flavour not to mention all of that glorious crackling!


More Thanksgiving recipes:
Thanksgiving Breakfasts
Thanksgiving Appetizers
Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Thanksgiving Desserts
Thanksgiving Leftovers

Looking for more Thanksgiving recipes? Check out my Thanksgiving Pinboard

18 comments:

Christine said...

this makes me SO excited for thanksgiving! everything looked so delicious!

www.ThePantryDrawer.com

Jan said...

Oooh I'll have the maple and chipotle please! They all look delish though.

The Girlie Blog said...

You are giving me great ideas for our dinner.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Lovely recipes!

Cheers,

Rosa

caribbelle said...

wow you're giving me great ideas for a nice thanksgiving meal fit for a grad student. The chutney sounds delicious.

Les rêves d'une boulangère (Brittany) said...

You're right - turkey cannot be without gravy/cranberrry sauce :)

Thanks for this post. It will certainly come in handy for this festive season.

Kitchenette said...

nice blog! i'll be following. Happy cooking!

Kirsten said...

Oh wow, this all looks super yummy. Would look amazing served with the table setting I just posted about!

~Kirsten
http://triplemaxtons.blogspot.com

Amanda@Choc-Chip-Cookie-Recipe.com said...

The way you plate these meals is AMAZING! Makes me want my Thanksgiving dinner right now.

You gave me some inspiration for this Thursday. Thanks!

Amanda

Dmarie said...

wow, hope to have something half so yummy-looking sitting in front of me on Thanksgiving!

Sal said...

Looks really delicious, love the jalapeño ideas.. We may try them out !

Joanne said...

I never mess with my cranberry sauce on T-Day because I've FINALLY gotten my family to concede that the one that I make is way better than a can...and that took years, so trying to get them to adapt to another option would probably cause a mutiny. but I definitely want to try these other varieties you have here!

Rochelle said...

This just made me sooo hungry. Looks so yummy. Wow. You are giving me great ideas for thanksgiving. :)

due bionde in cucina said...

Everything looks so great.
sabina

Angela@MyTastyLiving said...

Your food always looks so gorgeous and delicious. Love all the colors here. Makes me anxious for Thanksgiving!

Ashley said...

This just made me so hungry! It all looks great!

Maureen | Orgasmic Chef said...

I get so hungry when I visit you. It's almost like you planned it that way. :)

Professional Kam software solutions said...

Your food always tastes just makes me so hungry. I love the colours here. Definitely I’ll make this in Thanksgiving.

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