where are you getting your turkey this year?

[Anonymous]

i'm doing my first thanksgiving and want the yummiest turkey i can afford.
where are you ladies getting yours?

[Anonymous]

I always get mine at Giant. I brine it and bake it and its always juicy and delicious.

I think you are probably looking to spend more money though. Good luck with that!

[Anonymous]

thanks, pp! not feeling like i have to spend a ton to get a tasty bird, just want to make sure i have one that isn't chock full of antibiotics and other stuff.

can you share your brine recipe? i am thinking along the same lines, but need help with proportions & flavorings.
what kind of turkey do you get? also do you let your turkey dry out a bit before putting it in the oven?

[Anonymous]

BlackSalt will provide a brined, oven-ready turkey--I'm pretty sure they're free-range/organic.

[Anonymous]

I don't remember my brine recipe - sorry. Its got salt, water, black peppercorns, garlic, etc. in it, and I got the recipe from washingtonpost.com. I like the food section's recipes pretty well most of the time. I usually buy 2 breasts, although I've done full turkeys too. I always stuff them a bit with carrots, an onion, and celery before I throw them in the oven, and give them a nice butter massage first too - both under and outside of the skin. They always end up nice and moist. I was scared my first year but its pretty easy actually. The breasts cook faster than the whole turkey and my family doesn't like the dark meat much so thats why we get the breasts. I always just buy the fresh ones that they have at Giant - I don't go for Butterball or anything. I'm sure Whole Foods has nice organic ones but I'm not sure I could tell the difference and I'm not interested in spending the money to find out this year.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and after you brine them, you rinse them and pat them dry with paper towels. Then the butter massage.

[Anonymous]

http://www.letsmeatontheavenue.com/specials/news_events.php in Del Ray

[Anonymous]

I would love to get a fresh turkey as opposed to a frozen one, but I'll probably end up going with frozen anyway.

Just fyi, you're not supposed to brine Butterballs or any turkeys that have been injected with a salt solution... it usually says so on the package if they have.

I brined a turkey one year and used a compound herb butter another year and honestly the buttered one was just as moist and flavorful without all the inconvenience of soaking a huge bird in a huge container and clearing out space in the fridge. The key was to not overcook the meat.

[Anonymous]

We are getting our fresh turkey from South Mountain Creamery, we have their home delivery though.

[Anonymous]

We are also getting our turkey through South Mountain Creamery http://www.southmountaincreamery.com/home.php . We also get weekly milk delivery through them (in glass bottles that you empty & leave out the following week for your deposit)...

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I have had equal success with both grocery store turkeys (both fresh and frozen) and fancy free-range organic birds. I don't do a wet brine, but I do season the bird liberally for a day or two prior to cooking - this is sort of a dry brine and has the advantage of allowing the seasoning to penetrate the meat, without the sometimes spongy texture that a wet brine can bring to white meat.

I then put a bit of butter and fresh rosemary and thyme under the skin and shove it in a relatively hot oven (~400-425) until the thigh meat registers 155-160. Sometimes I'll shove a few carrots, celery stalks, garlic, or rosemary in the cavity, but NEVER stuffing. I find that a relatively hot oven, adequate salt, an unstuffed bird, and not overcooking are what really makes for a tasty turkey.

[Anonymous]

OP here.
Ladies & Gents, thanks for all the turkey wisdom!
I am especially encouraged to hear about organic vs. non-organic, and wet brine vs. dry rub...
I've done roast chicken with a salt rub / herbs / garlic that works really well. Perhaps that will be the way for our turkey this year too.

[Anonymous]

I wind up getting one from safeway or giant. I was going to get one from our local butcher this year, but with 9 adults and need for leftovers, I can not justify paying 3.50 a pound for a free range all natural bird.......maybe someday if it is just DH and me, but I do not think that will be any time soon!

I wet brine, it makes up for overcooking if you loose track of time. I also put butter and spices under the skin and throw celery onions carrots and garlic in the roasting pan.

[Anonymous]

20:55, just a heads-up... I just ordered the least expensive turkey from Whole Foods (cruelty-free is important to me), and it's $2.49/pound. Not saying that $50 isn't a lot for a turkey, but it's not as bad as I expected!

[Anonymous]

Ordered from Mom's Organic Market - ordered the fresh local free-range version from Maple Lawn for $1.99/lb because I needed an 18 lber. If I could have gone smaller- I would have gone for the Eberly's organic turkey for $3.49 /lb. Both come highly recommended from friends.

http://www.myorganicmarket.com/common/news/store_news.asp?task=store_news&sid_store_news=51&storeID=A6B40AE98C7842A98FC8DE4784880288