The Rookie’s Eric Winter Says He’s ‘Not Team Turkey’ When it Comes to Thanksgiving Dishes (Exclusive)

Eric Winter has a few hot takes when it comes to his ideal Thanksgiving menu.

“Hate’s a strong word, but I’m not team turkey,” Winter, 48, exclusively admits in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “I’d rather have a chicken or something else that’s there. If it’s going to be turkey, it’s going to be dark meat, or, like, crunchy skin [on the turkey]. Just not a big turkey guy.”

While The Rookie star isn’t a big fan of turkey, his favorite Thanksgiving food is one of the holiday’s most classic dishes. “[I love] the sweet potato, sort of, casserole with marshmallows on top,” she shares. “Sweet and creamy and just cinnamon — all the right flavors.”

Also high on his list is none other than pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top. “It just symbolizes the time,” he says. “It feels good. It feels right. It’s very fall and I love the flavor.”

Since tying the knot with Roselyn Sánchez in 2008, Winter’s Thanksgiving spreads have featured a variety of traditional and new recipes. “Because my wife is Puerto Rican, they spice everything up in a different way. The flavor’s fantastic,” he explains. “Puerto Rican Thanksgiving is definitely to me way more exciting than what I’m used to as an American Thanksgiving, just getting out just great pasteles and tostones and mofongo and all this stuff that they do and the way they cook their food. So, I think that’s the tradition for us now. That’s fun.”

Food aside, Winter tells Us his favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the leftovers. “I actually think sometimes it tastes better the next day when you kind of get it all on a plate and it’s just mashed in there,” he shares.

One drink that’s sure to be served at Winter’s holiday celebrations this year is his Palm Republic rum. The company — which he cofounded with Brad Parkes earlier this year — was inspired by a trip he took to Puerto Rico to meet Sánchez’s family for the first time.

“I had never been a rum drinker and I was like, ‘This is actually pretty fantastic,’” he tells Us. “[It] got me inspired to start trying rums all over Puerto Rico and while I traveled, I tried different rums. … It was like bringing people together. That was sort of the idea behind it.”

Although Sánchez — with whom Winter shares kids Sebella, 12, and Dylan, 7 — doesn’t drink, the actor says she’s been “super supportive” of his new business venture. “Her family’s all been way behind me jumping into this space because in the Caribbean, rum is there,” he says. “That’s their bourbon, that’s their whiskey, that’s what they drink all the time. South America, same thing. And what I’ve learned over this process is rum is one of the most used spirits out in the world. “

In addition to cohosting the “He Said, Ella Dijo” podcast with his wife, Winter tells Us that the key to their long-lasting relationship is keeping things light and fun. “We both tease each other constantly. We don’t take each other very serious, in general. I always say, ‘Look, I’m a Cancer, she’s an Aries. We shouldn’t even get along in that regard,’” he jokes. “But I say I basically calm her fire enough and she’ll boil my water enough to keep it interesting and fun.”

Calling having humor in a relationship “mandatory,” he continues: “We have our moments and then the more you get too serious and heavy with anything, everything gets more complicated. And if you can just laugh off even the fights at some point, laugh off some of the stupid disagreements, it makes it a bit easier.”

With reporting by Mariel Turner