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I know this is about buying, not cooking, but gathering your ingredients is the first step, and right now this is the one worrying me most.

I'll be cooking the Thanksgiving bird this year, due to my wife's work schedule. I know that in the past she's had issues with getting to the store after the entire selection is picked over, and having trouble finding any left that are the right size.

The tempting thing to do is just go buy one now and stick it in the freezer, but this early I'd worry about it getting frostburn in the intervening month.

So when is the best time to go pick out a turkey?

T.E.D.
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4 Answers4

6

It all depends what you want:

  • Best quality: Fresh, organic, heritage turkey. Order now, pick up maximum 1 week beforehand
  • Good quality, reasonable price: Frozen organic turkey. Buy now
  • Good quality, normal price: Fresh turkey. Order now, pick up maximum 1 week beforehand
  • OK price: Frozen turkey. Buy now
  • Best price: Buy a large chicken and tell everyone it's a small turkey! :-)

When buying fresh, store in the coolest part of the fridge.

Community
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Fabby
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4

Most turkeys sold in the United States for Thanksgiving are frozen. It simply is not feasible for meat processors to process the huge spike in turkeys for the holiday and provide everyone a fresh turkey. Expect to pay a premium for a fresh turkey over a frozen one.

If you buy a frozen turkey, from a quality standpoint it does not matter whether you buy a turkey a month out from Thanksgiving (now) or wait to buy the turkey later. You will basically get the same product.

mattm
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2

Beyond what others have already mentioned, I'll add to it that I've worked before at cold storage (warehouses) in the United States where they quite literally spend all year adding inventory of frozen turkeys just to prepare for Thanksgiving. The vast majority of Thanksgiving turkeys are frozen, and those aren't just magically processed in the weeks coming up to the season either; it takes all year to build up that inventory.

For that reason and in addition to what was already stated, when you buy it is much more of a question in convenience to you of when you buy a frozen turkey. If you want a fresh turkey, that of course you should pre-order and pickup no earlier than a few days before you plan to prepare it.

dpollitt
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1

You can eat turkey any time. Buy the proper size frozen now. Look for a fresh turkey a few days in advance. If you don't find a fresh turkey the proper size then put the frozen the fridge to thaw.

paparazzo
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