Pringles Thanksgiving Dinner!
I was one of the lucky few who managed to snag a limited edition Pringles Thanksgiving Dinner kit. Yes, that’s a real thing that really exists.
These weird ass Pringles were only available online and sold out in minutes, even despite a midnight drop. Naturally, the $15 kits then popped up on eBay, where they’re still fetching 8-10 times that much.
Each box contains a complete Thanksgiving dinner in Pringles form. (I love how I wrote that sentence so casually, as if “Thanksgiving dinner in Pringles form” didn’t call for at least five dramatic ellipses.)
Turkey in a Can! Stuffing in a Can! Pumpkin Pie in a Can!
Each variety has an equal number of calories and roughly the same nutritional profile. I don’t know what “disodium guanylate” is — my guess would’ve been a stray lyric from Cracker’s Low — but if you eat everything shown above, you’re getting shitloads of it.
Let’s grade the beasts:
Turkey in a Can!
For starters, I assume these are safe for vegetarians, as there doesn’t appear to be any broth or turkey byproducts on the list of ingredients.
…perhaps that’s why the crisps don’t taste much like turkey. They’re very good, but the flavor is muted enough to be damn near indescribable. The closest turkey-related thing I can think of is some sort of spice rub, though I’d never guess that if there wasn’t a cooked turkey over a bed of lettuce (?) right there on the canister.
If pressed, I’d say that I like these better than regular Pringles or any of the “stock” varieties, like BBQ or Sour Cream & Onion. The flavor is pretty sophisticated — more thoughtful than biting, if that makes sense. (I’m not sure it does, honestly. Hey, you know what goes great with Pringles?)
GRADE: 8 out of 10.
Stuffing in a Can!
I’m a stuffing maniac, so I knew this would be my favorite can. I’m pleased to report that the crisps really did taste like stuffing, even if I more mean Stove Top than the kind I make.
Imagine chicken broth with a hint of celery, and you’re in the ballpark. They managed to do stuffing justice in both the flavor and the smell, which is so good that I’ve been sitting here clutching the can like Skroob with his Perri-Air.
GRADE: 9 out of 10.
Pumpkin Pie in a Can!
Sweet chips just aren’t my thing, but even I recognize that these are the objective-best in the set. Man, they f’n nailed it. The pumpkin pie flavor is pronounced and unmistakable. You’d absolutely guess it on a blind test.
I know Pringles once had a Pumpkin Pie Spice variety, but I don’t believe these share the same formula. I didn’t detect much in the way of cinnamon or nutmeg — it’s really more of a straight-up pumpkin pie flavor, which within the realm of gimmicky junk food is actually kinda rare.
It was the most successful in terms of delivering on the promised flavor, but I cannot in good conscience rate pie chips higher than stuffing chips:
GRADE: 8 out of 10.
Averaging out those scores, the Pringles Thanksgiving Dinner kit gets an 8.3 out of 10. (Eerily enough, when you look at “8.3” sideways, it’s a fuckin’ turkey.)
They won’t be releasing additional kits this year, so if you’re dying for turkey Pringles, eBay is your only option. I can’t honestly say that they’re worth $100+ on flavor alone, but for the chance to say “I ate Thanksgiving dinner and it was all Pringles,” you should be paying double that.
