It goes without saying that almost everyone will be eating turkey in some form for Thanksgiving. It is the de-facto main dish for the biggest food holiday of the year. But cooking turkey can be a bit of a chore due to its unwieldy size, and you always have the issue of the white and dark meats cooking differently and the breast drying out. Only so much gravy can fix that!
But there are so many other birds available that are delicious when grilled on your TEC Infrared grill. So break with tradition, and put one of these other birds on your Thanksgiving table this year.
Cornish Game Hen
If you still want that wow factor of serving an entire bird on the table for Thanksgiving, then look at Cornish Game Hens as an option. They grill just like a turkey or chicken, but stay much juicier and the meat is moister. The best part is that you can grill several to feed a crowd, and then serve a half bird to each person. That way, everyone gets to eat a little breast meat and a leg!
Suggestion: Serve the game hens with an orange and thyme pan sauce, along with blue cheese creamed spinach.
Duck
Duck is much more readily available these days, so you can choose a whole bird or just the breasts and/or legs depending on the number of people at the table. The fatty skin of the duck grills up beautifully, and becomes crispy and browned. The fat renders while grilling, and will incinerate on the glass panels of your TEC Infrared Grill to baste itself. The meat of the duck stays deliciously moist, so you can cook it to even a medium temperature without fear of drying it out. Also, the rich flavors of duck pair beautifully with other Thanksgiving staples, like cranberries and sweet potatoes.
Suggestion: Serve the duck with grilled sweet potatoes with herbed goat cheese, honey, and thyme.
Quail
Tiny in size, but big in dark meat flavor, quail taste best when grilled quickly over high heat which makes them perfect for your TEC Infrared Grill. They also make an impressive table presentation, as you can serve one quail per person draped over a ball of dressing. Who doesn’t love having their very own bird on their plate? Just watch as your guests dive in and start nibbling on those little legs!
Suggestion: Serve the quail draped over cornbread, apple, and sage dressing.
Want even more bird ideas for your Thanksgiving meal? Try one of these recipes:
Goose – There is nothing more dramatic than presenting a whole grilled goose on the table (yes, even more so than turkey)! Try this Grilled Marinated Goose Breast recipe.
Pheasant – Since pheasants are lean birds, grilling is a perfect way to cook them without drying out the meat. This recipe for Emeril’s Favorite Pheasant specifies roasting the bird, but could easily be made on the grill.
Squab – The meat on this bird is darker and richer than duck or chicken, and since it is best served rare, it is also a great bird to grill. Try this recipe for Grilled Spiced Squab.
- 2 Cornish Game Hens
- Unsalted butter, slightly softened
- About 10-12 sprigs fresh thyme
- Olive oil
- Preheat grill over medium heat.
- Rinse game hens under cold water and pat dry.
- Gently slide fingers under the skin of the breast meat. Push little pats of butter and sprigs of thyme under the skin to cover the breast.
- Drizzle olive oil all over the game hens, and season with salt and pepper. Tuck additional sprigs of thyme inside the bird, and between the legs and thighs.
- Place game hens skin side down on preheated grill. Grill just until skin is browned and grill marks show, about 10 minutes. Turn heat down to low. Flip over and continue grilling on back side. Add sprigs of thyme to the grill as well to create a fragrant smoke. If the skin is browning too quickly, move the game hens to the warming rack or to the other side of the grates to continue cooking with indirect heat.
- Game hens are done when the internal temperature of the thigh meat reaches 160 degrees F, about 30 minutes total. Remove from the grill, and let rest about 10 minutes before slicing.
- 2 cups cranberries, plus more for garnish
- 1 tangerine, peeled if desired, sliced into rounds
- 1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped
- 1/4 cup honey, or more to taste
- 1 cup port
- 4 duck breasts
- 1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
- Preheat your TEC Infrared Grill over medium heat.
- When the grill is hot, place the cranberries and tangerine slices on the grill. Grill just until cranberries start to pop and tangerine slices show grill marks. Remove from grill and let cool slightly. Do not turn off grill.
- Place the cranberries, tangerine, and ginger in a food processor, and process until well combined but still chunky.
- Pour out cranberry sauce into a sauce pan. Add the honey and port, and stir to combine.
- Bring the cranberry sauce to a simmer, and cook until slightly reduced. Add a few whole cranberries to the pan in the last few minutes for garnish. Season with salt and pepper, and more honey if a sweeter sauce is desired.
- Meanwhile, score the skin of the duck with a knife to make a cross-hatch pattern.
- Rub the duck all over with the five-spice powder, and season with salt.
- Place the duck on the preheated grill, skin side down, and grill until skin is crispy and browned, about 5-10 minutes. Turn over and continue grilling until desired temperature (about another 10 minutes for medium), moving the duck to the warming rack or to indirect heat if needed to finish cooking.
- Remove duck from the grill, and let rest for about 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with the sauce.
- 1/2 cup pepper jely
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- Splash of Worcestershire sauce
- 4 semi-boneless quail
- Olive oil
- Preheat grill over medium heat.
- Place honey, bourbon, and splash of Worcestershire in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, and cook stirring often, until slightly reduced. Keep sauce warm over low heat.
- Rinse quail under cold water, and pat dry. Rub olive oil all over quail, and season with salt and pepper.
- Place quail on preheated grill, and cook on each side for about 3 minutes. Brush quail with the bourbon honey sauce, and continue cooking for about 30 seconds on each side or just until glaze starts to caramelize and brown. Remove quail from the grill, and brush with more of the bourbon honey sauce. Let rest for a few minutes before serving.