Where: Market Basket.

Test run: i doubt it

When to buy: don’t wait til day before

Fresh vs frozen: fresh

Size: 1.5 lb per person but need standard size oven.

Very easy to make a dry turkey. Buy a brine kit. You can find them this time of year.buy squash already cubed and peeled.

You can definitely get a good bird at a supermarket. Make sure you thaw it properly in fridge (it can take a couple days). I don’t think a test run is necessary. There are lots of Turkey tutorials on YouTube which are super helpful (I’d pick an easy process for your first time). You’re totally gonna crush it!

Most grocery store will let you reserve a fresh turkey now.

You tell them size (how many pounds) and when you want to pick it up. The turkey will take up a lot of fridge space, so I always order several weeks in advance and then pick it up the morning before Thanksgiving (Wednesday). Then I brine it overnight and cook it Thanksgiving day.

At the risk of jinxing myself, I’ve never had an issue, they always have my turkey ready at pick up time the day before Thanksgiving. I’ve always used Stop and Shop and been perfectly satisfied. We just got a Market Basket, so I may try them this year.

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Market Basket sells complete Turkey dinners. The Turkey is precooked and you only have to warm it up. The sides are very good. Overall, the meal is a very good deal. Reserve well in advance.

I also started brining my turkey several years ago and I definitely think it’s better.

A brine bag is the way to go. It’s a very thick plastic bag so it resists leaks. It’s easier to get in your fridge than trying to brine the turkey in a big pot (like a lobster pot) and trying to fit that in your fridge.

I didn’t have anybody to show me how to do it, I just figured it out from the internet. It’s not that hard, just read up on it now, so you can get everything you need ahead of time. Good luck!

Edit, I just realized that this redditor was talking about a dry brine, sorry. I’ve never done that, I’ve always done a wet brine. But I would agree that the dry brine is probably easier and maybe a good place to start.

The wet brine worked out fine for me but I had cooked a few turkeys before trying it out. The dry brine is probably easier for a first timer? Again, good luck.

Don't forget to give thanks for the opportunity to rid the world of another turkey. Turkeys are awful animals; deliciousness is their only redeeming quality.

As other have said, you can get a perfectly fine bird at the grocery store. Give it enough time to thaw.

My aunt used to get up at like 4 in the morning to put the turkey in the oven for like 9 hours. This is an abomination against cooking and renders the bird as dry as the Gobi desert.

Other top Thanksgiving tips:

1. Potatoes: Mashed
2. Stuffing: Yes. (Corn bread stuffing is simple and delicious if you need to make from scratch in order to satisfy disapproving in-laws. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with Stove-Top.)
3. Gravy: Extra fat means extra flavor!

It's well past time for Thanksgiving to finally cast off its eurocentric, colonial historical roots and embrace its true destiny as an exclusively food-based holiday. We should be thankful for putting turkeys to their best, last use, and that's IT.

My cousin brines hers in a cooler with ice! She’s smart.

The others have addressed the bird. The NYT has the balance covered

https://cooking.nytimes.com/thanksgiving/menu-planner

https://cooking.nytimes.com/thanksgiving/442665-make-ahead-thanksgiving-recipes

https://cooking.nytimes.com/thanksgiving/dinner-ideas-tips

https://cooking.nytimes.com/thanksgiving

If you're anxious about it cook one side a week between now and then to see what you like, what you're good at, etc. They're all good!

Pffft, look at this guy who doesn’t just smack em with his car when they cross the road.

Most supermarket turkeys will come frozen and "whole". (Plucked, gutted, with some amount of the innards put back into the cavity inside of a plastic bag.) In your fridge, it can take 3-5 days to defrost the bird. You can defrost in one in about a day if you put the frozen bird inside of a clean 5-gallon bucket and fill it with cold water. Having a small trickle of cold water running into and out of the bucket will speed this up. (Putting the bucket in a clean bathtub is my go to, if I need a quick defrost.)

Most turkeys will come with a built-in "thermometer". Don't trust it. It will pop only at a high temperature. (It's really there to make sure the turkey isn't underdone, but that means it will be over done, if you trust it.) Spending ~$25 to get yourself a probe thermometer (e.g. this one from Target) and pulling the bird at around 150-155F (measured deep in the breast) will help tremendously. DON'T stuff the cavity - it only increase cooking time, and, in order to get the stuffing safe to eat (160F), you will dry out the breast meat.

OR, I've actually been using America's Test Kitchen's version of Julia Child's semi-pre-cut recipe that cooks over top of the stuffing / dressing. If you're ok with doing a little bit of butchering (and not having the visual impact of a whole bird for presentation), I have found this to be the absolute best way to cook a turkey (and I've been celebrating / cooking Thanksgiving & Friendsgiving for over 2 decades). I really like this recipe both for the ease of cooking, and, since I butcher the night before, I can use the backbone (plus a couple of extra legs I buy) to make the best stock to make the best gravy. Also, by butchering the night before, I salt it (so I don't have to do a separate brining step).

If folks want me to type up something like a recipe, lmk.

Always buy fresh. Assume an extra 2 hrs of prep time. Why? Because you're new to cooking. Try to prep ahead of time. If you have a laptop find a great recipe on youtube. Then duplicate it. The reason to use a laptop or a tablet. Is you can see how it's done. You can stop it if need be and chop onions etc. Don't be worried.

Other people have explained cooking/ acquiring turkeys but I’ll give you a few tips for some sides, I recommend getting some cranberry sauce it’s a thanksgiving staple here in Mass, stuffing, and mashed potatoes are almost always at thanksgiving dinners, also some veggies like corn, carrots, and others like those, also make your thanksgiving your own! add some side dishes or other foods from your home country to make it more unique, hope this helps!!!

Not about the turkey, but a tip — don’t try to do it all yourself. Get other people to make/bring things. Plan out a timetable to use your stove oven to cook or rewarm dishes.

Turkey is boring, IMO, but I love all the sides. Add something from your home if it makes you happy. Coworkers made a tandoori turkey and I always hoped for an invite! :-)

Where you get it is totally up to you; there's nothing wrong with going to your local Market Basket and picking up a random frozen bird. If you like, you can also go to a local butchershop with fresh turkeys sourced from New England; or anything in between.

I would aim for roughly 1lbs of turkey per person that will be attending.

No need for a test run, just following some Youtube instructions closely on day of and you'll probably be fine.

Yes, that’s definitely an option, you just have to make sure you keep it cold enough that the turkey doesn’t spoil.

Short story, long:

If you've ever roasted a whole chicken, it's not really any more complicated except larger, so it takes longer. Be sure you have a pan big enough. If you don't, go to Goodwill or other thrift store. Or a friend might have one to lend.

Thaw the bird. Don't put it in the oven in a frozen state. Here is a simple roasted turkey recipe with good newbie tips and with a link to a gravy recipe.

https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/easy-no-fuss-thanksgiving-turkey/

Don't miss the part about resting the turkey after it comes out of the oven.

Before you start doing anything else with the bird, check the cavity for the "extras" which will usually be the liver, the neck and maybe some other innards. I use the neck to start a broth for making gravy. I cook the liver for a brief amount of time and that is MY TREAT.

I suggest NOT to put bread stuffing inside the bird though that is traditional. It can create bacterial issues if the bird isn't properly stored. I am not normally a germ-o-phobe, but this is one time when you need to be careful, and since this is unfamiliar to you, I suggest keeping it simple.

Turkeys go on sale soon after Halloween in most grocery stores. Don't go overboard on a huge bird unless you have a lot of refrigerator or freezer space. Except for when there are known shortages, you can probably find a bird right up to Thanksgiving, but don't forget it might need to thaw (in the refrigerator is safest).

If your in-laws are American, ask them for help -- it's customary to have people come with side dishes or pies in many families. Especially if it is your first time doing Thanksgiving.

Get the smallest turkey for the number of people you're serving (see the recipe for guidelines on size) and keep the carcass to make turkey soup over the weekend. Turkey soup is the best! Also, turkey parts go on sale after T'giving. If you like turkey, that's a good time to stock up. I love turkey but it is funny how many people actually don't!

Brine that bitch and spatchcock it. You're welcome.

Thank you, very helpful

Awesome! Thanks

I’ll have it with a Guinness

I may have to use the cooler option. My fridge and freezer aren’t very big

I’d take that recipe or a link to it if you’ve got it handy.

Enjoy. Sometimes the best part is the left overs.

My mom and I have some seventy years combined experience, and we did a test run, just for fun. Plus, you get extra carcass to throw in the freezer, so your Thanksgiving gravy will be extra flavorful.

Put a cookie sheet on your counter. Put a wire rack (I like the V shape) on the cookie sheet. Weigh your turkey in grams, then put it on the wire rack. Cut off the plastic it's wrapped in. Remove anything in it's cavities, like a severed neck or a bag of giblets. Save those. Remember how much your turkey weighs in grams? 1/100th of that weight, in kosher salt, all over. Rest overnight in the fridge. Next day at noon, turn on your oven, 375 is a lovely temp, put your bird in the oven. In about three hours, stick your thermometer in the inside of where the leg meets the body. If it's 160, pull out the bird and rest it for half an hour (I would def eat a Turkey that was like, 145, but I will not be held liable for your food poisoning). Make a note of how long that took. On Thanksgiving, add half hour, and count back from when you want to eat. You will need extra time.

You can simmer any unused Turkey bits, including the test run's entire carcass, and make Turkey flavored water (shut up, that's what stock is). Simmer for how long? More than twenty minutes. I put them in a pressure cooker for four hours, which is prob like 12 hours of stove top. So between half an hour and twelve hours. Melt equal amounts (say 2 or 3 table spoons) of butter, and then add equal amount flour. Whisk for three to five minutes. Add Turkey water. This is now gravy. Please salt and pepper.

She puts lots of ice in it but the turkey is in the brining bag. It’s cool enough this time of year that’s it’s not a big issue. Don’t brine more than 24 hours, it gets gross.

Brine the turkey...

It's best to start drinking early in thanksgiving day.

You can get turkeys at the store, if you get frozen make sure to have several days to thaw. Also recommend cooking in a bag, Reynold’s Oven Bags, cool much faster and don’t have to worry about basting/drying out. Also, recommend getting a good instant read thermometer, I would not rely solely on the pop up timer. Always cook a turkey to temperature, the recommended times are often not accurate, start checking temperature 30 minutes before end time.

I usually do 1-1/2 to 2 lbs per person, this will give you tons of leftovers, go closer to 1 lbs/person if you don’t want leftovers.

Final option is to buy a cooked turkey and pick up on Thanksgiving, many places do this.

Also, if you want a fresh turkey you might have to preorder a couple weeks ahead. I would check with your local store.

I have never done a test run with a turkey.

All depends on the time and money you want to put into it. If you want the best of the best, you have to order a turkey in advance and will need to start prepping the bird 1 to 3 days before. If you just need to get a turkey on the table that is edible, then you can get one at the grocery store week of (it will be frozen and will take 2 or so days to defrost in fridge). You can also buy pre-made everything if you want the least amount of time involved. I've cooked Thanksgiving from 2 people to 40. I've ordered high end heritage breeds and cooked standard grocery store frozen birds. Ask away if you have any specifc questions. Time and money are the items you need to figure first.

Frozen needs to be defrosted for about 4 days in the fridge. Fresh is good to go. Buy either about a week out. Make sure you remove all the giblets and neck. (that was my mistake with my first one). You can buy a complete Turkey dinner from many places around and that might be easier.

If you are making the Turkey generally everyone brings their favorite dish. So ask whoever is coming to bring something and try to coordinate so that you don't end up with 6 stuffings and no veggies.

So many great tips. Start roasting whole chickens soon. Judge the doneness, dryness, crispy skin etc.

Did not read the whole thread but even if it’s been said, invest in a good digital thermometer and learn how to use it on a whole bird!! (Remove and throw away any little pop up indicator you might get with your turkey). Nothing worse than cutting into a rested turkey and have it bleed. OK, there’s lots of stuff worse, but still.

If you do frozen, do NOT forget to defrost the turkey.

Do NOT trust the pop-up timer. Those things are wrong so often. Use a real meat thermometer.

Found the true irishman

this is the way

This doesn’t answer your question exactly, but: I grew up here, and my family doesn’t do the turkey — it’s usually roast leg of lamb, or something else that feels celebratory, decadent even - and definitely family style.

For me it’s about the gratitude, not the gobble gobble.

I look for a fresh bagged one in the supermarket the Tuesday before, about 15-16lbs for a couple people and keep it in a cooler. Get fresh herbs before then though, they can sell out. If you want a fresh killed turkey from a local farm, you'll want to look into ordering in advance. You might want a roasting pan with a rack, but they also have disposable aluminum roasting pans. The turkeys usually have the neck and giblets (organs) in a bag in the cavity, and you want to remove those before cooking. Meat thermometer, baster, twine and aluminum foil are good to have and I like using washable silicon oven mitts for moving the bird. I used to brine in a food grade 5 gallon bucket, but recently I've been doing a rub under the skin and on top of the skin and strips of bacon/salt pork across the top, and that comes out ok.

All sorts of great ideas here! I am just going to put this out here, as a couple years back, I ended up doing a last minute dinner with a still frozen turkey.

Wasn't fancy, but, the White meat (usually dry) stayed moist. Lots of pan drippings, too, for gravy.

Your oven's going to be out of commission for the day, and a good food thermometer is Important. Still: it is possible to cook a frozen turkey and have it turn out well.

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-a-completely-frozen-turkey-for-thanksgiving-225796

If the health quality of the bird is important to you, find a local farm, farmstand, or wholefoods-type market where you can get a farm bird raised on quality feed and in a healthier environment. Most (not all) supermarket birds are factory-raised, wing-to-wing, in wretched pens. A farm bird will cost more, and that's a show-stopper for a lot of folks, but if you have the means or interest, the option is available.

I thought I'd be able to find a free link, but the recipe and video are behind America's Test Kitchen's paywall. [link] Maybe you might be able to see the video? I've taken the ATK recipe and tweaked it over the years.

(If you know how to break a bird down into leg quarters and bone-on breast, most of the day-ahead prep is just that. Here's a link to a video on breaking down a chicken; skip the part about separating the legs from the thighs, and, once the breast has been cut off of the lower ribs and backbone, leave it whole; stop 2:10 into the video.)

BTW, this is a fair bit of work (maybe more than other recipes), but it's most all done the day before, so it's very little work day off. Cutting the bird into pieces also cuts the cooking time down to ~ 3-4 hours for a bird that starts out at 15 lbs. Yup, it's that fast.

Ingredients:

For stock: celery, onions, carrots, two additional legs or wings, whichever is cheaper

for stuffing / dressing: celery, onions, carrots, (fresh) sage leaves (and any other herbs that you like), a full loaf of non-mass-produced bread, and 4 eggs. I like to add sautéed mushrooms, dried cranberries, and pecans, but they're all optional.

for the bird: I usually use a 15+ lb bird, salt, pepper. (Optional, but I really like them: wooden / bamboo skewers, kitchen twine, and a few extra sage leaves - ~1 tsp chopped fine)

Steps:

T-5 days, buy bird, place in fridge.

T-1 day (AM) poke and prod to see if it feels like it's thawed; if not, use the water bath trick.

T-1 day (PM - start early, just in case it's not 100% thawed), remove from fridge and package. Save the neck, heart and lungs for stock (pitch the liver). Carve the wings and leg quarters off of the body. Use kitchen shears to cut off the lower part of ribs and backbone (leaving just the breast still on parts of the ribs).

Optional part: Using a paring knife, cut through the back of the thigh and debone it (leave the leg bone in, just remove the thigh bone). Sprinkle salt (1/2 t), pepper (1/4 t), and thinly sliced sage leaves (1/2 t) onto each thigh; then, using the skewers and twine, roll, skewer, and tie to close it back up. If you don't want to do this bit, just rub the salt and pepper over the dark meat.

Rub about 1-2 teaspoon of salt onto the breast meat, getting up under the skin, if possible. Place breast and legs onto something like a 9x13 pan, and place in fridge. If you have the space (so no uncooked food would touch it), you can leave it uncovered to dry out a bit.

For the stock: [I do make my own; it's basically this video, but using the turkey bones and skipping the tomato paste.] Roughly chop (don't bother peeling) 2-3 celery ribs, 2-3 carrots, 2-3 onions and place into a roasting dish. Layer the backbone, wings, neck, heart / lungs, and the extra wings/legs on top of the vegetables and roast at 425F until deeply golden brown all over, checking and flipping about every 30 min. (~1.5-2 hours) Once browned, add everything to a stock pot, add 2-3 quarts of water to cover everything, bring to a bare simmer, and let just simmer over night. (You should see an occasional bubble breaking the surface.)

T-day: Strain out the bits from the stock. Defat. (Save the fat for making a roux and/or moistening the stuffing.) Reduce. Cover and keep warm (above 140F) until you need it later.

(About 3-4 hours before you're going to be eating) Stuffing: (uses 1.5lbs of bread, cubed; 3 medium onions, chopped fine; 4-6 celery ribs, minced; 2-3 carrots, minced; 2 Tbs chopped sage; 4 eggs, beaten; and the optional mushrooms (sautéed), cranberries (up to 1 cup), and pecans (up to 1/2 cup, chopped).

Get the bird out of the fridge to start to warm up. Slice the bread into 1 inch cubes; dry / slightly toast in a 300F oven on two baking sheets. ~25-30 min. Remove from oven, add the bread cubes to the largest bowl you have and increase oven temp to 435F. Melt 4 Tbs of butter in a 12 inch, oven safe frying pan. Sweat the onions and a large pinch of salt for ~10-12 min; add the celery, carrots, sage leaves, and ~1.5 tsp pepper and sweat for another ~5 min. Transfer the veg to the bowl with the bread; wipe out the pan with paper towels. Lightly oil the skin on the breast, place it skin side down in the pan and roast in the 425 oven for 30-minutes.

While the breast is roasting, add anything else to the stuffing that you're using, plus the four eggs, and stir to combine. Arrange the stuffing onto a roasting dish, but try to mound it up & keep it from the sides. (The turkey will just cover the stuffing, so that the stuffing doesn't overcook.) Once the 30 min is done, pull the pan and breast out of the oven, place the breast skin side up on 2/3 of the stuffing (thin / pointy part of the breast pointing in), then add the leg quarters to the other 1/3 so the legs lie along the breast. Use a spoon / spatula to skootch the stuffing under the bird. Put the bird / stuffing pan in the oven (still at 425F).

(Use the frying pan (and any cooked-on bits) to make a gravy out of some of the stock.)

Roast the bird and stuffing at 425 for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temp to 350 and roast until the breast meat hits ~155-160F on a probe thermometer (should be ~40-80 min longer); thigh meat should hopefully be ~175F. Remove from the oven and let rest for ~30 min. (If the thighs haven't hit 175, they can cook a bit more.) Taste the stuffing for seasoning (salt and pepper as needed). If you want toastier stuffing, you can put the bird on a cutting board to rest and cook the stuffing a bit while the turkey is resting.

This is the best to do, reserve a fresh turkey for pickup.

If the outside temp is cold enough <40F (but not too cold) you can put it outside in the cooler, so you don't have to change the ice. I've used a 5 gal bucket out on my porch before instead of a cooler.

Alton Brown has the best roasted turkey recipe. It's also faster than old fashioned methods. https://youtu.be/VxbBBwj0-mA

We did that and grilled it one year. It was quite good. That or Alton Brown's recipe are the best ways I've had it.

Honestly your best bet is to slaughter your own Turkey with your vehicle.

Thanks for the silver!

Also, don’t forget to take the plastic bag containing the giblets out of the turkey cavity before cooking!

Supermarkets are going to have a hard time getting turkeys this year, especially bigger sizes

Brining was going to be my suggestion as well. This is a true game changer with Turkey especially. So much juicer.

Pellet grill is the way.

Look up Alton Brown's brined turkey, it's amazing and not difficult!

I recommend a pasture raised turkey from a local farm. Ever since I switched to these, everyone says the turkey is amazing. I use Alton Brown’s method of 500 degrees for 15 minutes and then the turkey triangle for the rest of the time. It’ll make sense if you look it up, there’s funny videos from him on youtube. Goodluck!

And if you do frozen, it will take DAYS to defrost. You can’t just pull it out the night before.

And fresh ain’t “fresh.” It’s frozen to a lesser degree but still an old bird. They’ll charge you more for one. Better to get a rock solid frozen bird at a lesser price than to pay a premium for a nicer name but similar bird.

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The only reason to cook a turkey is for the gravy imo

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There are turkey holiness. You can call and ask questions about size, thawing a frozen turkey and cooking. Look up Butterball.

Edit: Hotlines not holiness

Do they do them for one ?

I agree with other replies. You can pre-order full turkey & side meals from several grocery stores, but you should put your order in as soon as possible. Last year we called 3 local stores the week before and theyall had stopped taking orders. So, order now if this is your route to go.

You can buy fresh or frozen, but if you buy frozen there are 2 things to think about. One - do you have space in your freezer to store the turkey until -number two- depending on how big the bird is. You start defrosting the bird. Which you should start defrosting at least a day or 2 days before you plan on cooking it. . . With fresh you don't have to worry about possible weeks of storage in the freezer or thawing it out before cooking.

You can buy frozen at any market/grocery and some also sell fresh birds. Again don't wait until until the last minute to buy frozen. I know people that had a hard time finding the appropriate size bird last year. If you want to buy fresh you can web-search possible farms that sell fresh, but these you should call ahead to see if must reserve a bird.

Last thing is cooking. I hate it because of the timing. If you're lucky to have a double over stove then you are golden. You don't have to worry about baking food at one temp and roasting a bird at another. But in my limited experience with one oven and 4 top burners, timing is everything. So if you don't ask family to each bring a side. Then you may want to think about casserole dishes that can be placed in the warming drawer if you have one. This way depending on the amount of sides you cook, you can cook them in the last hour before the bird is done and put them in the warming drawer. This way you can also clean away & wash smaller pans before the birds done.

Oh and speaking of cooking the bird, if you decide to cook. You will have to empty out the birds cavity, it will have a bag full of uhm, parts, basically bird organs. You can roast those on the side of the bird and use them as part of the gravy. Second, I don't know if cooking stuffing in the bird is still a thing, but you might not want to do that if I was your plan. That is something that can go either.

The test run would be a good idea to see if you want to see how the timing is and how long the bird will cook. Plus if you do end up cooking. You can make a bad ass turkey stock and soup with the carcass. Soo good.

Good luck.

They have a fair amount of prepared food every day, I would think they must offer a hot turkey dinner that week

Don’t forget to regularly baste the turkey while it’s in there. Everyone has a different method. My family has always basted every 30 minutes.

We’ve never had a dry turkey. It’s always gotten a lot of compliments, even at large gatherings when didn’t know we made it and were speaking freely.

Personally I recommend brining beforehand like some others suggested . I’ve tried wet rubs 24 hours before and brining. IMO brining is the way to go.

Or go to the deli, get some real good turkey slices and some sharp cheddar. Then get cranberry sauce, mayo, stuffing mix, Lettuce and some really good bread. Have a Thanksgiving sandwich and I recommend having it with some yummy Butternut squash soup...and a Guinness.

We place an order at Whole Foods 1-2 weeks in advance. You can likely get a frozen turkey anywhere with no advance order, but then be sure to get it in time for a long (day+) defrost period.

Enjoy!

Depending on where you go and what you pay. You can buy fresh from a butcher.

Some frozen birds have an estimated defrost time printed on the label, but not all. Like cook time, it's largely based on weight. For the size birds I get, putting it in the fridge the Saturday night before Thanksgiving is usually good.

Or a farm.

I get mine from a farm.

You've got a lot of good advice here. But I'll add one more. I'm the guy who has to clean up after cooking, and its really worth it to get a single-use aluminum roasting pan, which you'll find in any big grocery this time of year.