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Post by Gianna on Nov 7, 2018 15:49:06 GMT -5
If you are going to cook a bird for Thanksgiving, where will you get it, and what kind of bird will it be? Organic, free-range, 'natural' (whatever that means), raise your own, least expensive, on a store deal... ? Do you buy only one, or another for the freezer?
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Post by brownrexx on Nov 7, 2018 15:53:08 GMT -5
I just checked this morning and local, fresh, organic, free range, antibiotic free turkeys are $2.99/lb this year and the breasts are $3.99/lb. there are only 3 of us for Thanksgiving dinner so I will be buying a breast again this year. I bought one of the fresh breasts last year and it was fabulous.
I also got a free turkey from Giant with my grocery points so I will probably cook that at Christmas time. I always like turkey sandwiches at that time of year.
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Post by paulf on Nov 7, 2018 16:39:19 GMT -5
We have a Honeysuckle and Butterball frozen and will take one of them to our son and daughter-in-law's house for Thanksgiving. If I remember right they were both about .79/lb.
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on Nov 7, 2018 16:42:09 GMT -5
14 pounds. Not prebrined would be ideal but I am also not going to Whole Paycheck to get it.
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Post by spike on Nov 7, 2018 17:32:46 GMT -5
I used to go buy our turkey from our Amish friends. They raised them, butchered them and I walked away with a very fresh turkey. Now that it is just hubby and me I will buy a turkey breast and make Shepherds Pie. That is our favorite!!
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Post by Gianna on Nov 7, 2018 17:52:41 GMT -5
We have a couple places offering Organic, 'free range', turkeys at $2.99. Depending on the ads next week, I'll probably get one of those. I'd like to get a second bird for the freezer, but I want to taste it first to make sure it has that old-fashioned turkey flavor like the expensive TJ's bird had last year.
Hate to say it, but the cats will probably get some of the leftovers. And turkey broth from the bones is one of my favorites.
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Post by brownrexx on Nov 7, 2018 18:17:53 GMT -5
I am also not going to Whole Paycheck to get it I have only been there once and was a bit taken aback by the prices. I wonder what they charge for turkeys? Gianna , we love to share our turkey with the cats and also the feral cats. I like for them to have a nice meal too. Update - I just Googled Whole foods turkey and shockingly an organic one is only $3.49 / lb compared to the $2.99 / lb that I will be paying locally.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Nov 7, 2018 18:38:19 GMT -5
I guess I really need to think about this with Thanksgiving being just two weeks away!
My oven is smaller than I've been used to for cooking a turkey, so I'm considering seeing if one of the local butcher counters will break a pair of turkeys down for me into parts- like when you buy a chicken that's in pieces. I can break down a whole chicken, but I'm not confident about a turkey. I don't think my knives are up to the task. But I think cooking the turkey cut up in parts will make it so that I can also cook other things in the oven at the same time. Because I want it broken down, that probably eliminates buying a cheaper, frozen turkey, so I'll have to plan accordingly for the purchase. Fortunately, other than wine and beer, Thanksgiving dinner is relatively inexpensive to purchase and prepare.
I will cider brine the turkey whatever I end up doing with it.
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Post by spike on Nov 7, 2018 19:33:35 GMT -5
what is this "cider brine" you speak of? Sounds yummy!!
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Post by ladymarmalade on Nov 7, 2018 21:13:11 GMT -5
what is this "cider brine" you speak of? Sounds yummy!! It's a recipe from Bon Appetit that I've been using for years. www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cider-brined-and-glazed-turkeyIt adds a few days to the turkey prep, but it's worth it. I don't make the gravy or the sage broth or the stuffing, I just use the brine recipe and the glaze for during the baking process. It's so, so good.
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Post by paquebot on Nov 7, 2018 22:49:56 GMT -5
Since Thanksgiving Day feast will be with a cousin's family, no idea where the bird will come from. However, wife has circled Jennie-O @ 47¢ a pound with separate $25 purchase from Pick 'n Save. That will go into a freezer for later use. Hate that, darned thing usually means a week of leftover turkey meals!
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Nov 8, 2018 10:33:16 GMT -5
I'm not sure if I will be buying the turkey this year or my MIL. Kind of depends on who is hosting, which we haven't worked out yet. Most likely we will get a frozen store brand turkey either way, though.
She has one of those turkey roasters, so that will probably be used to cook the turkey at either place, leaving the oven free for other things. Those turkey roasters do a surprisingly good job. Hers actually cooked the bird almost an hour faster than we expected last year, and it came out with lovely browned, crispy skin. Yum! But the roaster is a waste of space most of the time.
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Post by carolyn on Nov 9, 2018 7:27:34 GMT -5
I was "gifted" a 25# turkey a few weeks ago. it was passed through the family during a major medical event going on here because no one had time to prepare of serve it to anyone. no one was home . we were all at the hospital so... I finally plopped it in the roaster one day and left it until the next day out on the deck. I served it at the meal between calling hours for my family and canned what was left.. no one had to eat one left over that week. as soon as supper was over I had my sister cram the meat into jars and I put it in the canner as soon as I got home from the evening calling hours.
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Post by paquebot on Nov 9, 2018 11:09:21 GMT -5
When I was shoppng for our 12# turkey the other day, I just had to stop and wonder about a couple of 30# birds. First of all, I can't imagine a live bird that big. Second, could not think of someone actually cooking something that big for a family meal. It would take a huge oven and roaster and a lot of hours. Two or three 12# a year are more than enough for me and then my wife informs me that she will be bringing another home via her employee discount. Of well, I do like cold turkey sandwiches!
Mattin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Nov 9, 2018 14:56:28 GMT -5
A 30lb bird would be huge! I rarely see birds bigger than 21-22lbs here, and those are already really big birds. You must be planning to feed a big crowd, or really like leftover turkey, to get a bird that size.
We usually get something in the 12-14lb range as well.
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Post by carolyn on Nov 9, 2018 20:17:29 GMT -5
A 30lb bird would be huge! I rarely see birds bigger than 21-22lbs here, and those are already really big birds. You must be planning to feed a big crowd, or really like leftover turkey, to get a bird that size. We usually get something in the 12-14lb range as well. the one I had was 25#s and barely fit in the roaster oven. ... seriously 30# is a huge bird to fit in the oven. I had a friend who raised turkeys one time. She took them and had them butchered. she proceeded to stuff one and find it wouldn't fit in the oven. even with one rack out and the other on the lowest placement... so she unstuffed the bird and got a hacksaw out and cut the bird in half. placed the stuffing back in the pans and started over. It was the best turkey she ever ate she said.
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Post by paquebot on Nov 9, 2018 23:31:40 GMT -5
I don't think that I ever saw one beyond the 20-22# range. 18# used to be more or less double-extra-large. 12-14# was the standard. The store is now owned by Kroger who should know what they are doing. However, there were only 2 of those monsters. Probably will be grabbed by restaurants.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by paquebot on Nov 11, 2018 14:25:20 GMT -5
As suspected, wife was going to bring one home from her store, 12# Jennie-O. I asked if she wanted me to put in in a freezer. No, we're going to be eating that one in a couple days. By Thanksgiving Day, I'll be happy thart there will also be ham and roast beef on hand.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by pondgardener on Nov 11, 2018 14:31:19 GMT -5
Maybe the idea is to get the turkey meal out of the way early and go with a less traditional menu on the 22nd? Possible, but not likely eh?
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Post by carolyn on Nov 12, 2018 9:14:26 GMT -5
today they are 39c/# at the store where my daughter works... I guess I am getting whatever she brings home.
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Post by brownrexx on Nov 12, 2018 9:46:46 GMT -5
I will be picking up my free grocery points turkey at Giant this morning but that will be cooked later in the year. For Thanksgiving we will have a fresh turkey breast from a local butcher. We had one of those last year and it was fabulous. Expensive but fabulous. This year they are $3.99 per pound
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on Nov 12, 2018 11:26:22 GMT -5
We shall see. A hunting I will go.
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Post by paquebot on Nov 12, 2018 19:39:45 GMT -5
The reason why the latest turkey is thawing is that my wife likes turkey more than I do. Thus we'll have that in a couple days and then she won't have to cook for rest of the weeek,
Checked on those two monsters at the store and they are already gone. Probably a restaurant grabbed them. Nothing bigger than 24# todasy.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Nov 13, 2018 19:15:26 GMT -5
I got a 12 pounder - the store had them on sale for 49 cents a pound. The Butterball website calculator says a 12 pound bird will take 3 days to thaw. For me turkeys always take longer to thaw than the calculators suggest, and it's okay to have the turkey thawed a couple days early. So I will start thawing it Friday night or Saturday morning, which works out to 5 or 5.5 days of thaw time. If that is not enough, well, it wouldn't be the first time I have awoken on Thanksgiving morning to find my turkey still partly frozen and performed a panicked cold water thawing session in the kitchen sink.
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Post by coppice on Nov 20, 2018 9:25:48 GMT -5
Deal bird (49 cents--pound). What used to get called a 'hen' in my day (12 to 14 pounds)
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Post by brownrexx on Nov 20, 2018 9:55:27 GMT -5
it wouldn't be the first time I have awoken on Thanksgiving morning to find my turkey still partly frozen and performed a panicked cold water thawing session in the kitchen sink. Doesn't everyone do that?
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Post by ladymarmalade on Nov 20, 2018 10:42:33 GMT -5
I ended up buying two fresh turkeys from Sam's Club at 99 cents a pound. They are on the smaller side, between the two they are 30 pounds. DH and I are going to attempt cutting them into pieces ourselves on Thursday. Our Thanksgiving celebration is actually on Saturday, but Thursday the turkey goes into the brine. I'm not sure we have the right tools to get through the bigger bones, and if that's the case, we'll remove the breasts from the bone. I mean, DH has a sawzall...
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Nov 20, 2018 10:48:17 GMT -5
So, I brilliantly totally forgot to take the turkey out of the freezer when I had planned. I put it in the fridge Sunday afternoon. According to the charts, I could have taken it out Monday morning, but I don't believe those charts at all. My turkey is still hard as a rock this morning. I think I am getting up extra-early on Thursday. I am half-tempted to run to the store and buy a fresh bird now, and stick my current turkey back in the freezer for Christmas.
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Post by pondgardener on Nov 20, 2018 11:22:49 GMT -5
So, I brilliantly totally forgot to take the turkey out of the freezer when I had planned. I put it in the fridge Sunday afternoon. According to the charts, I could have taken it out Monday morning, but I don't believe those charts at all. My turkey is still hard as a rock this morning. I think I am getting up extra-early on Thursday. I am half-tempted to run to the store and buy a fresh bird now, and stick my current turkey back in the freezer for Christmas. I would think you could do the cold water soak in your sink if available with the turkey still in the bag, changing out water every so often until the bird is thawed where you would like it. I have even used a 5 gallon bucket, exchanging water every so often when space was at a premium. I just took out our turkey, which I put in the refrigerator on Thursday, and it still had ice inside of it. But it seems to be easier to cut out the backbone for spatchcocking.
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Post by spike on Nov 21, 2018 1:01:38 GMT -5
Since my brother is a lazy jerk I had to go find a huge turkey for him. He wanted 25+ pounds but the best I could do was almost 24 lbs. Anyway, Giant Eagle had a turkey sale for 48¢ a pound. I had no intention of buying a turkey but went back and bought a 12 pounder.
Will butcher that sucker sometime later, make stock and can it!!
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