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If youre tired of finding new, inventive ways to make the same old Thanksgiving turkey taste different, maybe its time to revisit your approach. Sure, turkey is traditional, but its not the only bird on the block. In fact, there are a host of easily sourced birds that can make a huge impact on your holiday meal.

Maybe we shouldnt be eating as much turkey anyway. A few years ago, the Food Animal Concerns Trust found that six of the United States top turkey producers used antibiotics to aid with animal growth. Use of antibiotics has been known to increase the prevalence of foodborne bacteria and illness. To say nothing, of course, of large-scale farming practices, which are often inhumane and ecologically unsound .

Creative alternatives to the big bird which take less time to cook than a giant turkey, for the most part have some wider benefits, including health and environmental ones. Partridge cooks in 30 minutes. An ostrich filet has less fat than white meat poultry. These are options that taste great and make sense when we look at the culture of eating and of Thanksgiving from a broader perspective. Read on for more interesting alternatives to roasting a turkey this year.

Duck

Duck may be smaller than turkey, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in flavor.

Doug Corwin, president of Long Islands Crescent Duck Farm , which stretches back four generations, is responsible for 4% of the countrys duck production. On his 140-acre farm, he raises ducks that can reach about 6 pounds, enough to feed four people.

Duck is something that stands out on its own, he said. You can garnish it, if you want, but you can eat it alone. Turkey is great, but are you going to eat turkey alone, based on its taste? Weve got a big advantage over the other sources of poultry in that we do have this natural moisture that the fat provides. It gives our birds an awful lot of taste.

Since duck is waterfowl, Corwin explained, it has a certain amount of skin fat to aid with buoyancy. The skin fat naturally bastes the bird and makes it very, very moist, he said. Combining a little bit of fat to add moisture to the product adds a succulent taste that kind of shines on its own. If you ate a plain piece of turkey breast its going to be kind of a bland meat.

Because ducks are smaller than turkeys, those hosting a large affair will need more than one to serve at dinner. But these birds also cook faster and, owing to their high content of dark meat, are less prone to overcooking. Plus, Corwin said, A duck leg is about 8 ounces, and one or two of them on a plate is a manageable size. This is a particularly good option for homes where white meat isnt a commodity. We dont have the white meat that turkey has, Corwin said.

Pheasant