Southern Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes

In our southern states, feasting on Thanksgiving Day is as traditional as serving turkey for this meal. Those of you who are great lovers of the southern cuisine, will definitely love these southern Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes.

Southern Style Roast Turkey

Your southern style Thanksgiving turkey should be thoroughly washed, then patted dry. Set the neck, heart, liver and gizzard (giblets) aside for the dressing. Rub a little salt on the inside cavity. It is now ready for stuffing. After the turkey is stuffed, close the cavity up by sewing or using skewers, and lace with cord. Fasten the neck skin to the back with a skewer and tie the drumsticks to the tail. This will help the turkey to hold its shape while roasting.

After your turkey has been trussed, rub it all over with lard, then salt and pepper. Your turkey is now ready to roast. I find the most accurate way to insure doneness in a turkey, is to use a meat thermometer, and roast to 190° F. Preheat oven to 450° F, and right before putting turkey in the oven, turn down to 350° F.

A delicious, and easy way of glazing the southern Thanksgiving Turkey, is to use equal amounts of apricot preserves and melted butter. This is done during the last half hour of roasting, and if the bird is unstuffy, or well-matched with the stuffing.

Fried Okra

Most southern people love their okra, and of course look for any occasion to have it at a meal. Just like the southern tradition of having black-eyed peas on New Years day for good luck throughout the following year; Thanksgiving is just not complete without a platter of fried okra.

Keep in mind that there are almost as many ways to fixed Fried Okra as there is southern cooks, but this is my family's favorite.

1 large bag of frozen okra (an equal amount if using fresh. We are stationed on the west coast right now, and it is next to impossible to find fresh okra this time of year.)

½ cup yellow corn meal

½ cup flour

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 - 3 eggs depending on size

Rinse and drain okra. While it is draining heat lard/oil in a heavy skillet on medium heat. I use a cast iron skillet. Combine corn meal, flour and cayenne pepper in a bowl. In another bowl whisk eggs together. Put your okra in the egg and coat well, then put your okra pieces in your flour mixture, making sure each piece has a nice layer of coating. Place okra in skillet, turning every once in a while to make sure each piece gets nice and golden brown.

Peach Cobbler

No southern feast would be complete without peach cobbler for dessert. Of course we always have pumpkin pie, but there is nothing better than a piece of frest, hot homemade peach cobbler with a scoop of home-churned vanilla ice cream on top.

Peach Cobbler

2 cups sliced peaches

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

½ cup of sugar

Biscuit crust

Biscuit Crust

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons paking powder

¾ cup of milk

2 ½ tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt.

Lightly whisk egg, add sugar, cinnamon and peaches; and dot with small pieces of butter. Pour mixture into a buttered baking dish and cover with biscuit crust. It is okay if there are holes in the crust that you put over the fruit. It allows the juices of the fruit to cook through, adding a sweet crispness. Right before putting cobbler into the oven, sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar. It will glaze over during baking, not only adding to the appearance of the cobbler; it is quite flavorful.

Enjoy these wonderful southern dishes for your Thanksgiving meal. They are some of our family favorites.