Let’s talk turkey.

It’s the traditional Thanksgiving centerpiece that some (too many!) lament. For the other 364 days a year, turkey most often appears, if at all, as the foundation for strictly utilitarian cold-cut sandwiches or in smoked-leg form as a fair and festival novelty.

You certainly won’t find turkey jockeying with chicken — much less steak, fish, pork or duck — on the dinner menus of “fine dining” restaurants.

Table Talk: Chris Herrington moseys on down to Momma’s for Dining Week

But there’s more than that to this taken-for-granted gobbler. And turkey seems to get in the game more often at both barbecue and soul-food restaurants, and perhaps that makes Memphis a pretty good turkey town. 

Whether turkey will grace your Thanksgiving table next week or not, here are eight year-round Memphis recommendations for consuming this too-maligned bird.

Pulled-turkey sandwich at BallHoggerz BBQ

In an episode of “Sound Bites” earlier this year, I told Chris we should give turkey its flowers after eating a pulled turkey sandwich from Orange Mound’s BallHoggerz BBQ, located at 1404 Airways Blvd. This was my first barbecue turkey experience in Memphis and it still holds a dear place in my heart.

It’s rare to see a turkey treated with as much care as pork. Merritt Bailey, the pitmaster-mind behind BallHoggerz, is doing just that.

Less than $10 will get you a massive sandwich loaded with pulled smoked turkey leg, sparkling with Bailey’s spice blend and pickles, as well as two sides. And this turkey is as moist, smoky and flavorful as its porcine counterpart. – Joshua Carlucci

Turkey and dressing at the Four Way Soul Food Restaurant

There are people who think turkey and dressing is only Thanksgiving food, and there are people who eat at South Memphis’ Four Way Soul Food Restaurant (998 Mississippi Blvd.), a Soulsville staple since 1946. 

The Four Way is arguably the signature soul food restaurant in Memphis, and deservedly so for its combination of social function in a historic neighborhood and across-the-board quality. And turkey and dressing, an ostensible occasion food, is an everyday menu anchor, seemingly the restaurant’s most popular dish.

The tender roast turkey is chopped, more chunks than shards. The savory cornbread dressing is never dry. Together, they arrive adorned with their own gravy, lighter than the brown gravy you’ll get on the mashed potatoes, and with a little side of cranberry sauce. Our greatest holiday comes but once a year. Except at the Four Way, where you can have a proper Thanksgiving meal year-round, Thursdays through Sundays. – Chris Herrington 

Turkey legs at Uncle Red’s

I’ve had many a turkey leg in my day, and few better than those of Uncle Red’s (formerly Redbone’s), a permanent pop-up inside of Downtown’s Carolina Watershed (141 E. Carolina Ave.).

The menu at Uncle Red’s is almost entirely based on smoked turkey leg meat, which they’ve got down to a science. It’s impossibly fall-off-the-bone tender and can be ordered in the form of salads, fries and bowls.

But I prefer it straight from the source. Uncle Red’s main squeeze is the full, bone-in turkey leg, smothered in whatever sauce or combination of toppings you should choose. Sauces include the likes of Tennessee whiskey glaze and honey gold, and you can pick toppings such as mac and cheese or dirty rice. 

Whatever you pick, it’ll likely be the least boring turkey you eat this year. – Carlucci

Turkey necks at Ms. Girlee’s Soul Food

In the universe of “meat-and-three” mains found only at soul-food restaurants, turkey necks are forgotten heroes. Not as forbidding as chitterlings or pig feet. Not as romantic-seeming to novices as oxtails, neckbones or ham hocks. 

But they function much the same way as oxtails or neckbones, while being considerably more affordable than the former and healthfuller than either. All those little slivers and pockets of meat, packed around bone, get impossibly tender and flavorful when slow-cooked. It is an often-discarded or taken-for-granted cut, does not make an attractive plate and takes a little work, but it is delicious. The essence of soul food. 

And so is Ms. Girlee’s Soul Food (629 Chelsea Ave.) writ large. This proud family restaurant is more a bustling North Memphis neighborhood staple than a destination for curiosity-seekers. At peak times, the line past the serving station goes out the back door into the parking lot. It’s a privilege to stand in that line for whatever’s available on a menu that changes daily. Turkey necks are usually available Wednesdays, but every day is a winner. – Herrington 

Sliced turkey sandwich at Bain Barbecue

The only Texas-style barbecue restaurant in Memphis, Cooper-Young’s Bain Barbecue (993 Cooper St.) has some of the best smoked meat in town. And though beef brisket is undoubtedly king in Texas, don’t overlook the turkey. 

Bain’s turkey sandwich is a Martin’s potato roll layered with thick, shingled slabs of smoked turkey breast, seasoned with the simple salt-and-pepper rub that is characteristic of Texas barbecue.

Available regular- or jumbo-sized, it’s smoky, piney and uncharacteristically moist and delicious for turkey breast. This sandwich is a hit, even for dark-meat lovers like myself. Slather the sandwich with some of Bain’s wonderful barbecue sauce and stuff it with the vinegary pickles and onions that come on the side. – Carlucci

Turkey melt at Restaurant Iris

Where do Louisville, Argentina and New Orleans meet up in Memphis? Confused? Saddle up to the bar at Restaurant Iris (4550 Poplar Ave.), the New Orleans-inspired East Memphis eatery, and order the new turkey melt. 

It’s a kind of twist on the Louisville “hot brown,” an open-faced, saucy/cheesy turkey sandwich.

Here, slow-roasted Cajun turkey is tossed in French-onion gravy and poured over toasted brioche with a smear of dijonnaise. How does Argentina figure in? The cheese finisher is provoleta, a grilled Argentinian variation on provolone. 

Perhaps relatedly, Iris’ sibling sandwich shop, Fino’s, has lately had a quite good hot Cajun turkey sub special with lettuce, tomato, brown mustard and provolone. – Herrington

Turkey nachos at Central BBQ

According to local food lore, barbecue nachos are a quintessentially Memphis dish known primarily for their use of pulled pork. Central BBQ (with multiple locations) has the pork, of course, but it also offers its nachos with turkey — a bit of a rarity in town, but just as delicious.

Smoked and sliced pieces of turkey breast dangle over a mountain of chips, drizzled with generous amounts of mild barbecue sauce and nacho cheese and garnished with more (shredded) cheese and jalapeños.

It’s a bit of a mess, but it’s a good one. The sweet and tangy barbecue sauce and rich nacho cheese make an oddly delicious combo and provide adequate chip coverage. The turkey is plenty tender and tasty, and lighter than the fattier pork alternative. One could call this a healthful option, I suppose. 

My only complaint is that the chips are a bit too thin to support the heavy toppings, but that’s being picky. – Carlucci

(Herrington note: Consider the Jennifer-Biggs-endorsed adjustment of ordering the nachos with the sturdier house-made potato chips.) 

Turkey taco at Elwood’s Shack

The Steelhead trout taco is a signature dish at Elwood’s Shack (4523 Summer Ave. and 4040 Park Ave.), and Elwood’s notion of a “taco” is sort of a genre unto itself: A big flour tortilla, toasted to “crunchy,” with melted white cheese covering most of the surface, holding the protein in place, adorned with pico de gallo, field greens, avocados and horseradish dressing. 

If the fish isn’t your thing or you just want to switch it up, the taco works as well, if not better, with the Shack’s house-smoked turkey, sliced thin and layered into the cheese.

Or if you want turkey in more-familiar sandwich form, Elwood’s is a good spot for that, too, with its signature Elwood’s Melt blending the same house-smoked turkey with Black Forest ham, bacon, lettuce, tomato and red-pepper aioli on sourdough. It also offers a turkey Reuben and a simple smoked-turkey sandwich.