Sometimes I like to be weird on Thanksgiving by not eating turkey. This year was one of those years, but I did have a Thanksgiving feast thanks to the fine flavorologists at potato chip maker Boulder Canyon.
Boulder Canyon’s Thanksgiving Feast consists of four traditional Thanksgiving, but not traditional potato chip flavors. There’s Turkey & Gravy, Stuffing, Cranberry, and Pumpkin Pie. Each flavor comes in a 2.5-ounce bag, which has enough chips to share with the people around the Thanksgiving dinner table, even your weird uncle who doesn’t say anything throughout the night as if he’s holding back years of repressed family feelings.
By the way, Boulder Canyon is medium-sized potato chip company. They’re not available everywhere and, if your store does carry them, you will probably miss their bags of chips nestled somewhere between Frito-Lay’s chips if you blink.
The Turkey & Gravy chips have a faint herb aroma with an equally light gravy smell. I don’t think they taste exactly like the Thanksgiving dinner staple. Instead they taste more like forkful of turkey, gravy, and stuffing, but heavy on the gravy side with a bit of onion flavor. I liked the savoriness of these chips and I want to stick them in a turkey sandwich.
The Stuffing flavor has a pungent aroma that that I would like to call, “Freshly Mowed Herb Garden” or “Motorboating An Herb Garden.” Because its flavor is also herby and oniony, it tastes similar to the Turkey & Gravy chips, but slightly stronger. Although, when I first ate them, I wondered if I received two bags of the same flavor.
Boulder Canyon nailed this flavor with a silver nail and a gold hammer and it was my favorite out of the bunch. I wonder if anyone made actual stuffing using these potato chips.
Cranberry is an odd flavor. They smell like fortune cookies, but don’t taste like them. They’re slightly tart and have an equal balance of sweet and salty. I know. Tart and sweet on a potato chip sounds weird, but I did enjoy them. Also, in the back of mind, I kept thinking they tasted like something else. Then, about halfway through the bag, I realized they kind of taste like Froot Loops cereal! Odd indeed!
I was surprised to read the Pumpkin Pie flavor has pumpkin as an ingredient, because most pumpkin pie/pumpkin spice-flavored products don’t contain any. Along with the pumpkin, there’s cinnamon, paprika, cinnamon, molasses, and the vague ingredient, “spice.” All those ingredients make the chips smell like pumpkin pie, but taste like sweet potato. Although, there were times when I thought I tasted pie crust. Because I enjoy sweet potato chips, I liked chomping on these, but wished they tasted more like pumpkin pie.
All the chips are kettle cooked so they have a nice crunch, but they don’t seem to be as jaw-rattling crunchy as other brands of kettle cooked chips, like Kettle Brand and Lay’s.
To be honest, I thought these Thanksgiving Feast chips would be as disturbing as Jones Soda’s Holiday Pack, but they weren’t. Actually, I’d say they’re the opposite of disturbing. And it amazes me how Boulder Canyon was able to do a pretty good job of capturing Thanksgiving flavors and putting them on potato chips, except cranberry. I believe being able to accomplish that is what folks would call a Thanksgiving Miracle.
What? Those don’t exist?
Well, tell that to the turkey that gets pardoned by the president every year.
I’d like to thank TIB reader Wendy for sending me the Boulder Canyon Thanksgiving Feast chips. The Target stores here didn’t seem to carry them, so I greatly appreciate Wendy for taking the time to mail me some.
(Nutrition Facts – 1 oz – 140 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1 gram of polyunsaturated fat, 5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 60-150 milligrams of sodium (varies by flavor), 17 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.)
Item: Boulder Canyon Thanksgiving Feast Kettle Cooked Potato Chips
Purchased Price: $5.00
Size: 4 2.5 oz. bags
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Not gross. Surprisingly tasty. Captures Thanksgiving smells and flavors well. Nice crunch. The pardoned turkey.
Cons: Target exclusive. Pumpkin pie chips don’t taste like pumpkin pie. Not as jaw-rattling crunchy as other kettle cooked chips. Posting a review about Thanksgiving flavored chips after Christmas. Although, Thanksgiving foods are also served for Christmas dinner.
I found that if you put one of each of the Turkey & Gravy, Stuffing, and Cranberry chips in your mouth at the same time they tasted like a forkful of Thanksgiving heaven when eaten together! The pumpkin pie chips were the perfect “dessert”, but you’re right, they did need a bit more flavor.
Interesting thing about Boulder Canyon….we have them here in chile! I wonder why we have them at the bottom of the earth and Hawaii doesn’t?? My favorite flavor is the black pepper kettle cooked….but then again, I like most chips that are kettle cooked. I am soooo happy that the Lays’s wasabi won! I’ll be stocking up on those the next time I travel home, if they are released by then!
I purchased these and was surprised by the flavors. The turkey and gravy tasted like sour cream and onion chips to me.
if you did not see them in November then I do not think you would have found them at all in December at Target.
FYI- potato chips are great inside sandwiches. Even better, try a potato chip sandwich. Bread or roll, toasted or not. Mayonnaise or butter. Onions if you have them (optional). And as many potato chips as you can cram in there. I suppose you can add something nutritional but not necessary and in my opinion it’s better without the distraction of protein, vitamins, and minerals. I once described this to a friend after we finished a big job together, telling him that was how I was going to celebrate completion of the project. He gasped and recoiled in horror. But he was an MD, I suppose it went against all his training.
Do the turkey gravy chips have real turkey in them?