With Halloween over, it’s time to get ready for Thanksgiving! Are you hosting Thanksgiving again this year? Or maybe hosting for the first time and need some ideas? There are a few options to help make your celebration a bit more exciting than the standard turkey with stuffing. Although the classic Thanksgiving meal is pretty perfect the way it is, sometimes it can be fun to start a new tradition, or to simply mix things up! If you are thinking a creative Turkey dinner is more your style, then consider one of these three options.

1. Deep Fried Turkey: This style of turkey cooking has been sweeping the nation, as fried food has quickly become an American staple. For traditional turkey lovers, this way of cooking is not too far off from the standard method, but still gives you an exciting flair. Even television shows, such as Gilmore Girls, feature deep fried turkey!

You will need special equipment for this style of cooking. You will need to make sure you have a pot large enough to fit the turkey, as well as the metal stand for the turkey to sit on and be lowered into the oil. Also, make sure you follow the directions closely, as you do not want to end up with a grease fire! Making sure the oil is at the correct temperature, and that is stays at that temperature, is also important. So make sure you have a thermometer for the oil, as well as a meat thermometer for the turkey, to ensure it is fully cooked. Peanut oil is a commonly used oil for deep frying turkey, and can be found in bulk at most grocery stores.

2. Turducken: If deep frying a turkey isn’t quite adventurous enough for you, consider making a Turducken! This goofy sounding recipe might just be the perfect way to add some excitement to your Thanksgiving meal. Never heard of a Turducken? You’re not alone! Although this recipe has gained popularity since the 1980’s, most people have a hard time believing this is a real thing. So what is it? A Turducken is a chicken stuffed inside a duck, which is then stuffed inside a turkey, all with stuffing in between each layer of bird. Keep in mind, each bird is not fully intact when stuffed. You will need to debone each bird before you begin assembly of this multi-layered masterpiece, otherwise it will be too difficult to stuff, and it will not cook properly. Follow your recipe closely, and make sure to use your meat thermometer!

3. Turturkeykey: If hearing about the Turducken has you upset because Thanksgiving should be all about turkey, then this recipe is for you! Whether or not this really works, is up for debate, but it does seem pretty neat. The ‘turturkeykey’ first made an appearance on television during the “Blitzgiving” episode of the show ‘How I Met Your Mother’, when character Ted Mosby decided to get a bit crazy with his first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner.

The concept for this recipe is pretty simple. Instead of stuffing, you stuff the turkey with a smaller turkey. Thus the name ‘Turturkeykey’, as it is two turkeys stuffed together. There is limited information available on recipes, so this would truly be an experiment. You could do this in a similar fashion to the Turducken, by deboning each turkey and including layers of stuffing between the two turkeys and inside the smaller turkey. Otherwise, if sticking to the pure idea of a Turturkeykey, you will again want to make sure to use a meat thermometer to ensure both birds are cooked fully. Especially, if like Ted, this is your first time hosting Thanksgiving, you don’t want to end the night with food poisoning!

So now that you have a few ideas, it’s time to stop talking and start cooking! Go out there and get your bird, or birds, and find a recipe that works for you. Make this Thanksgiving something special with a creative and festive feast! Thanks for reading, and Happy Thanksgiving!