Illinois’ Ideal Thanksgiving Plate Evidently Does Not Involve Turkey

This is the entree we're going with?

The essentials of a Thanksgiving meal are pretty universal. A lot of us agree that turkey, cranberry sauce/gravy, potatoes in some form, some kind of casserole, and multiple pies are the way to go for Thanksgiving. We're getting our palettes primed and the fat pants out and ready to go for another year.

Shane Co. looked at every state's ideal Thanksgiving dinner plate and Illinois apparently doesn't care for turkey.

Illinois' Ideal Entree

The study found, based off of search results and popular recipes, Illinois' ideal Thanksgiving entree is lamb. It's the only state in the country to prefer that.

Rounding out the rest of Illinois' ideal Thanksgiving plate is:

• Entree: lamb
• Side #1: brussels sprouts
• Side #2: sweet potatoes
• Side #3: salad
• Dessert: pumpkin pie

Not my ideal plate but on the good side, it's a kinda healthy lineup, really. All 3 sides are at least veggie-based, so that justifies a huge piece of pumpkin pie later. Holiday math at it's finest.

Now, how much you want to believe this study is up to you. The statistics come from the last 5 years but I've never met a family that prefers lamb over turkey or ham on Thanksgiving.

If you're definitely not going to cook for Thanksgiving no matter what the entree is, you can see a list of restaurants that will be open on Turkey Day at this link.

What would your ideal Thanksgiving plate look like? Let us know in the station app!