Is Your Dinosaur Ready For Thanksgiving?

Ah, Thanksgiving, the day when families across the United States sit down for a delicious feast of dinosaur with all the trimmings.

You read that correctly. Scientists have recognized that birds and dinosaurs are closely related for over a century, and within the last thirty years a tidal wave of discoveries has confirmed that birds are the living descendants of small, feathered theropod dinosaurs, or cousins of the menacing "raptors" of Jurassic Park. As odd as it might seem, the turkey on the table is truly a farm-raised dinosaur.

But how should you cook your dinosaur for Thanksgiving dinner? While some cooks might be at a loss as how to prepare such a meal, dining on dinosaur has become such a celebrated tradition that there are scores of recipes to chose from. The wonderful online resource Epicurious even has a special page devoted to helping you navigate through any Thanksgiving cooking emergencies, though I think we can all be thankful that it is easier to prepare a turkey dinner than one centered around a roast Tyrannosaurus.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Riley Black | | READ MORE

Riley Black is the author of The Last Days of the Dinosaurs and many other books. She is a science correspondent for Smithsonian magazine covering fossils and natural history, and she writes about the prehistoric past for a variety of publications.