From turkey water ice to roadkill roast, chefs tell us their most Philly Thanksgiving dishes

As Philadelphians, it’s ingrained in us to think outside the box. And what better time to get creative and have some fun than around the Thanksgiving table?

We invited local chefs to share their most Philly ways to cook a turkey, a side dish, and a dessert. We’ve even got a couple of ideas for leftovers and cocktails.

In true Philly fashion, they got weird and inventive, sharing their interpretations of what a wild and wacky city this is. Dig in to this very Philly Thanksgiving — come hungry, and with an open mind.

Tabachoy’s Chance Anies grew up making water ice at his parents’ Rita’s. While he’s never made savory water ice, he’s game to try it this Thanksgiving.

“I think an ideal Thanksgiving dinner or holiday meal kind of all gets compiled on a plate — if I’m eating my Thanksgiving meal, I’m kind of getting a little bit of everything. And I thought, what’s a better dish that you can do that with than a water ice gelati.”

First, you’ll need to make a turkey base for each flavor; it is made of stock from roasted turkeys and honey that goes into “one of these magical water ice machines.” If you’re going the John’s Water Ice way, throw in some chunks of turkey, too.

Start with a scoop of the honey turkey-based water ice, then top with a canned cranberry water ice. Add a dollop of mashed potato soft serve (heavy on the butter and black pepper) and a creamy Rita’s style stuffing water ice (made of the turkey base and chunks of blanched celery, carrots, and soft pretzels). Finish off the dish with another scoop of cranberry water ice and mashed potato soft serve, and then pour hot gravy atop.

Each water ice flavor should be made with Bluecoat gin or any local alcohol to keep it frozen, suggests Anies as “someone who doesn’t know a lot about this” and is just riffing the logistics.

Chef Kurt Evans of CYL Hospitality Group wants to have a Thanksgiving tailgate.

Beer can turkey sits in the center of the folding table with Philly pretzel stuffing, a crab potato side dish inspired by Chickie’s & Pete’s crab fries, local craft beer macaroni and cheese, and cranberry cherry water ice. Plus, a Schuylkill punch made of “bottom-shelf liquor” to wash it all down.

“Imma just stick with the beer can turkey and the tailgate theme, just because we’re such a big tailgate city [especially] round this time,” Evans said.

For leftovers, hot turkey cheesesteak with gravy is a no-brainer, he said.

Ever heard of a brocky? It’s a Philly brownie and cookie hybrid that Rhonda Saltzman, one half of Second Daughter Baking Co., came up with.

“A lot of people know it as a brookie; but we’re Philadelphians — we took that idea of Rocky [the movie] and put it with our brownie cookie and called it a brocky.”

A mix of their “best of Philly brownie” and their “brown butter chocolate chip jawn” gets baked together for a taste of the warm brown butter jawn and Philly’s best brownie.

“It’s all these Philadelphia things coming together in this one beautiful [dessert].”

Saltzman may be the queen of confections, but she’s also got some savory ideas up her sleeve.

Put your leftover mashed potatoes in some store-bought pasta dough and fry up some mashed potato pierogi in the oil you used for the turkey for those frying their bird, she suggests.

Munch on those as you sip on a frozen eggnog slushie cocktail.

What would Benjamin Franklin eat, asks Middle Child’s Matt Cahn.

“I do think Philly has really just old-school American history so I always like to go the very traditional route,” he said. “Everybody does turkey [but] I like to do a duck or goose or a pheasant.”

Cahn roasts his bird, sometimes spatchcocking it, keeping things simple to channel the Founding Father.

On the other hand, Philly is also a blue-collar city where folks make do with what’s around.

“My ex’s dad was a truck driver and one time he was trucking home for Thanksgiving and he hit a turkey,” he recounted. “And he took it home and cooked it, which I think is so genius and so Philly.”

As the resident sandwich guy, a Thanksgiving sandwich is the go-to leftover. But there are several ways you could go about it. There’s the leftover turkey meatball sandwich with cranberry and hot gravy or turkey gobbler hoagie with a gravy mayonnaise.

“I do believe strongly that Philadelphia is 100% a sandwich city, so a leftover Thanksgiving sandwich just feels so Philly.”

Is there such a thing as a Philly way if it doesn’t have an immigrant’s spin?

“We all make Philly our home, so as an immigrant we’ll put chipotle [spice] on the turkey,” said Sofia Deleon of El Merkury. “And call it Philly even though it has absolutely nothing to do with Philly but we bring our culture here.”

Adding spices from back home to your Thanksgiving dishes is the Philly way.

For your side, opt for cheesy rice — Deleon’s version of American macaroni and cheese. Three cheese rice with jalapeños and corn is always a part of her Thanksgiving dinner.

Throw in a spiced old-fashioned made with her Tenango rum, and it’s a very Philly Thanksgiving.