Thanksgiving and holiday meals are upon us once again. So we are re-posting one of our most popular Blogs on Choosing a Turkey to help with all your preparations.
With Thanksgiving almost here, and Christmas not far behind, most of us once again start confronting big turkey dinners with friends and family. Besides the cleaning, decorating and planning for these festivities, there’s also the decision of which type of turkey to get, and how to prep it for the table.
That will depend on your time, space in fridge, and taste buds.
Frozen turkeys take time to defrost and tie up space in your fridge for a number of days. As a rule of thumb, allow about 1 day for every 4 pounds. Simply follow the package directions for specifics. Very important – never thaw your turkey outside the refrigerator. Poultry can go bad quickly.
Fresh turkeys are much quicker and some feel they taste better, richer and moist, but they will cost more per pound than frozen. You can order one from your butcher to pick up on the day before you need it. But it’s important to do this well in advance, because they usually sell out before the big day.
There’s also a lot of choices for the type of turkey besides the good ol’ standby generics – basted, organic, free range, etc.
Basted (“enhanced”)- have been infused with flavorings. Read the package to see what the ingredients are. Any additives or flavorings they list may change the flavor for you.
Free-range – This is a label regulated by the USDA and requires that the birds have access to the outdoors and natural pasture where they can spend time foraging for insects, nuts, seeds, grasses and fruit, providing them more variety in their diet.
Organic – This is another label regulated by the USDA. To call it organic, turkeys must be fed a certified organic diet free from antibiotics, GMOs and animal byproducts. They must have year-round access to the outdoors with shade and shelter as needed.
How much to get?
There’s lots of different theories on this one. Rule of thumb, 1 – 1 ½ lb/person but that can vary, depending on number of adults, big eaters or small, do you want leftovers, etc. Butterball has a link with a calculator for number of guests by adults plus children here: http://www.butterball.com/how-tos/choose-a-turkey
Martha Stewart says it depends on the size of the turkey. Smaller birds have a smaller meat to bone ratio, so allow 2 lbs. Her tips are here: http://www.marthastewart.com/274812/turkey-tips She also includes a lot of other tips including how to prepare the turkey and dressing on this site.
Personally, our family always gets a large turkey because we want lots of leftovers for another meal with all the fixings, and lots of turkey sandwiches and finally homemade turkey soup. What about you?
How do you carve a Turkey?!?
You can google that one and get the photos… but here’s one from Martha Stewart: http://www.marthastewart.com/856454/how-carve-turkey-four-steps
Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving from all of us at Perfect and Simple Solutions. We hope our Silicone Suction Lids are a big help keeping food warm for the dinner table and keeping those leftovers fresh.
