As Thanksgiving approaches, thoughts turn to the turkey and what type you should buy. It can turn into a difficult decision, especially if you are cooking one for the first time. Instead of enduring a hassle, here are some tips to help you choose a perfect, delicious turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Determine how many people are coming for dinner. Sure leftovers are great, but spending a lot of extra money isn’t. There’s only so much extra turkey a person can eat. Set a date for the RSVP so you can buy the turkey before Thanksgiving.
2. Decide if you want an organic turkey or a non-organic turkey. An organic turkey means that it was raised with no growth hormones, was fed organic food, roamed outdoors and was never given antibiotics. Organic turkeys are a bit more expensive then a regular turkey, but many people consider the money worth it. This is also a good option if you’re not sure how many of your guests eat organic food.
3. Think about buying a Kosher turkey if any of your guests are Jewish. If only one or a couple of the guests are Jewish, you may consider buying a small Kosher turkey and a non-Kosher turkey for the other guests.
4. Decide between a roasted or a deep fried turkey. Deep-fried turkeys can take quite a bit of effort to cook and there are a lot more safety precautions that you need to take if you are frying it yourself. If you are deep frying a turkey, consider buying one that is already done for you. A roasted turkey is the easier option of the two to do at home.
5. Look for a turkey with a pop up timer. These timers are very handy when you want to make sure that your turkey isn’t undercooked or overcooked. When the turkey is done, the timer will pop up. Not all turkeys come with this, so make sure to check before you buy it.
6. Decide if you want to get a fresh or frozen turkey. A frozen turkey is cheaper than a fresh one, but it’s more work for you. It needs to be thawed for hours before you can start cooking it. A frozen turkey can be purchased and kept in your freezer for a long time before Thanksgiving, so you can save some money and wait to purchase it until you find one on sale. Buying a fresh turkey usually requires placing an order for it long before the holiday to make sure you can definitely get it. It’s perishable and needs to stays in your refrigerator, so you need to get it very close to, or on, Thanksgiving to make sure it tastes high quality. A fresh turkey is a better purchase for those that don’t have the time to do the prep work.
7. Consider buying a boneless turkey breast instead of a full turkey. Boneless turkey breasts are a good buy for those that are only going to have one or two guests for dinner. A full turkey would be near impossible for a few people to finish before it goes bad. Also, if you are planning on going away right after the holiday, you won’t have to worry about what to do with a turkey that no one is going to be around to eat. A full turkey also takes much longer to prepare and cook than a boneless turkey breast.
Tags: make sure, frozen turkey, full turkey, before Thanksgiving, boneless turkey breast, Decide want, fresh turkey