Thanksgiving dinner too pricey? Try possum and taters
If the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner brings on sticker shock, it's nothing new.
The average price for a Thanksgiving meal for a gathering of 10 this year is expected to be slightly above last year’s total of $64.05.
The turkey is not the real culprit, though. The trimmings are gobbling up pocketbooks.
An economist for Wells Fargo reported turkey prices for shoppers are down an average of nine percent from 2022. They’re actually down more than that for the stores, but what’s a few cents among friends?
More: Is it cheaper to go to a restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner? Maybe not this year.
For some, ham is a Thanksgiving tradition, but shoppers will find some pork in those prices. Retail ham hit an all-time average of $4.56 per pound. Midwest hog raisers blame it on the higher cost of feed.
If you like yams with your hams, you get a break. Sweetpotatoes (yes, it’s one word) are up four percent this year, which is modest compared to other fixin’s.
Green bean casserole became a Thanksgiving favorite after Cambell’s Soup employee Dorcas Reilly concocted the soupy, beany recipe in 1955. Canned green beans are up nine percent in 2023. You get a price break if you’re willing to boil them down from fresh.
Even the lowly potato demands a ransom this year. Spuds are up 14 percent from 2022. The economist says that’s due to a larger markup for consumers versus retailers, but what’s a few cents among friends?
This is the year of the Great Pumpkin Hike, Charlie Brown. The cost of filling the pies is up 30 percent.
The price of celebratory wine came in lower than celebratory beer this year. Beer is up 5.2 percent while wine only increased 1.2 percent. That may not be enough to make the guys on the couch watching Dallas vs. Washington switch to Chardonnay.
At least one Thanksgiving staple gives consumers a break. Fresh cranberries are 20 percent less this time around. But if you don’t want to hassle with a from-scratch sauce recipe, expect to pay 60 percent more for the canned version.
If all that’s still too pricey for your taste, consider some alternatives that came about in 1907.
Bird alternatives
The Wichita Daily Times reported in 1907 the turkey crop in Wichita County that year was “very scarce” and the birds were small. Farmers blamed it on a cold, damp spring.
That forced the price of turkey to jump to 15-18 cents per pound, or more than $3 for a decent bird.
The article suggested that many Wichitans might have to seek alternatives.
“A sucking pig properly prepared makes a man quite thankful and a fat chicken or duck will also answer modest demands,” the article said.
But it also suggested something “infinitely better.”
'Winning combination'
“We refer, of course, to possum and taters,” the article continued. “As a dish for the epicure there is no discounting possum and taters, for it is always a winning combination.”
The dish was so popular back then it was served to President-elect William Howard Taft in 1909 at an Atlanta Chamber of Commerce banquet. An 18-pound possum named Billy was served to Taft, who became the nation’s greatest president, as measured by girth.
“After several helpings to the dish, Mr. Taft received a message from a doctor sitting nearby, to be careful, but he paid no attention to the warning,” the Associated Press reported.
Recipes vary, but most often call for one large, skinned opossum cut into four pieces, surrounded by cut up potatoes, with a half stick of butter, a pinch of sugar and salt and pepper. Cook until tender.
More: Living the city life: These two mammals adapted to urban environment
A random check of Wichita Falls supermarkets found no possums in the meat sections, so no price check was possible, but the marsupials can usually be found locally in trees, swampy areas and along highway center stripes.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Thanksgiving dinner too pricey? Try possum and taters
