Two weeks ago I found a sale at Wegmans with frozen turkeys at $0.29/lb. I got a 14 pound bird for a little over $4. I spatchcocked it (I know that’s a weird word) and put it on my smoker with the same seasoning I’d use for a pork shoulder. My wife made an incredible stock with the spine and neck and all the other things. Probably the best turkey I’ve ever made. I was considering buying a chest freezer just so I could fill it with those cheap turkeys. Then my ADHD took over and I was on to another project
Dry white meat turkey is overrated. It shouldn’t need gravy to be palatable. Turkey legs are underrated because everyone is convinced the white meat is better. Which is ok — more dark meat for me!
/giphy turkey legs
@katbyter I will note, however, that the deep-fried turkey legs foisted off on festival-goers as “food” are generally overdone, dry, and nasty. I know very few people who have intentionally bought one a second time. OTOH, properly roasted whole turkeys yield an abundance of succulent dark meat.
@ircon96@katbyter@Kyeh@tinamarie1974
Not a fan of white meat mostly because of it being so dry. However, the first time I cooked a turkey I had the juiciest white meat ever!! When you can’t tell which side is up you’ve got 50/50 chance of getting it right. Lol
In other words… The juiciest bird is the one cooked upside down!
@katbyter@Kyeh@Lynnerizer@tinamarie1974 I’ve accidentally done the upside-down thing myself, to much teasing from my family, until i found out that a lot of experts do it that way on purpose. In your face, doubters! Some people think you have to have that golden, crispy skin, but the guy who holds the world record for fastest turkey carving says if it comes out of the oven that way, it’s already way overdone. He recommends cooking the skin separately on a sheet pan while the bird is resting & being carved. There’s a solution for everything!
@ircon96@katbyter@Lynnerizer@tinamarie1974 That sounds like a good method; the skin often gets leathery when you try to crisp it on the bird, and it makes sense that you’re overcooking the white meat if you let it get all “golden.”
For the first time, Thanksgiving dinner is falling to me. I struggled for weeks because I do NOT want turkey and all that goes with it. The struggle is over! We are having Mississippi pot roast. Simple to make and delicious. Recipe
@katbyter For the first 30 or so years of my life we had turkey and all the trimmings PLUS pasta, meatballs and all that goes with that. Those in charge decided having both was just too much. I was heartbroken when they decided to keep the turkey course!
@katbyter I wholeheartedly disapprove. That is a blatant waste of bacon and an abomination of all that is holy and bacony. I’m moved to weeping by the image of savory slices of bacon falling from the undeserving turkey once graced by its warm and salty embrace only to drown in a pool of vegetable and turkey broth to grow soggy and limp while laughter becomes distant and scattered among the voices of football announcers. The bacon, now but a shadow of its once glorious being can only hope to be rescued and enjoyed by the labrador before being discarded in shame in the trash with other inedibles; the cauliflower, the broccoli.
How was one held in such high esteem brought to such a lowly state?
The best turkey i ever had was the one we brined, using Alton Brown’s “Good Eats” method. We used the same herb/spice combo that makes Bell’s stuffing so delicious, so the whole turkey had that flavor & even the breast was super juicy. (Aren’t you glad i didn’t say, “moist”? ) It was pretty labor intensive, but SO worth it! I think if we had done it on a regular basis, we would have been a lot more proficient at it.
Yumm, tasty white meat turkey sandwiches for the next several days, punctuated by hot savoy bowls of dark meat turkey soup, with plenty of vegetables and noodles in it…
Two weeks ago I found a sale at Wegmans with frozen turkeys at $0.29/lb. I got a 14 pound bird for a little over $4. I spatchcocked it (I know that’s a weird word) and put it on my smoker with the same seasoning I’d use for a pork shoulder. My wife made an incredible stock with the spine and neck and all the other things. Probably the best turkey I’ve ever made. I was considering buying a chest freezer just so I could fill it with those cheap turkeys. Then my ADHD took over and I was on to another project
Dry white meat turkey is overrated. It shouldn’t need gravy to be palatable. Turkey legs are underrated because everyone is convinced the white meat is better. Which is ok — more dark meat for me!
/giphy turkey legs
@katbyter Same here!
@katbyter @Kyeh I’ll second (or third) that!
@katbyter I prefer the thighs (same with chicken).
@ircon96 @katbyter @Kyeh Ill yale everyones white meat, thank you very much!!!
@katbyter I will note, however, that the deep-fried turkey legs foisted off on festival-goers as “food” are generally overdone, dry, and nasty. I know very few people who have intentionally bought one a second time. OTOH, properly roasted whole turkeys yield an abundance of succulent dark meat.
@ircon96 @katbyter @Kyeh @tinamarie1974
Not a fan of white meat mostly because of it being so dry. However, the first time I cooked a turkey I had the juiciest white meat ever!! When you can’t tell which side is up you’ve got 50/50 chance of getting it right. Lol
In other words… The juiciest bird is the one cooked upside down!
And I won’t even tell you about the giblets!
@ircon96 @katbyter @tinamarie1974 @Lynnerizer Hmmm, that kind of makes sense! So do you still cook them that way?
@katbyter @Kyeh @Lynnerizer @tinamarie1974
I’ve accidentally done the upside-down thing myself, to much teasing from my family, until i found out that a lot of experts do it that way on purpose. In your face, doubters! 
Some people think you have to have that golden, crispy skin, but the guy who holds the world record for fastest turkey carving says if it comes out of the oven that way, it’s already way overdone. He recommends cooking the skin separately on a sheet pan while the bird is resting & being carved. There’s a solution for everything!
@ircon96 @katbyter @Lynnerizer @tinamarie1974 That sounds like a good method; the skin often gets leathery when you try to crisp it on the bird, and it makes sense that you’re overcooking the white meat if you let it get all “golden.”
Guess it depends upon whether it was prepared well or not…
@shahnm
For the first time, Thanksgiving dinner is falling to me. I struggled for weeks because I do NOT want turkey and all that goes with it. The struggle is over! We are having Mississippi pot roast. Simple to make and delicious.
Recipe
@callow Slow and low makes everything great!
@callow first and only time I hosted I made lasagna. Everyone was happy.
@katbyter For the first 30 or so years of my life we had turkey and all the trimmings PLUS pasta, meatballs and all that goes with that. Those in charge decided having both was just too much. I was heartbroken when they decided to keep the turkey course!
@callow I do love MS pot roast
@callow @katbyter Top tip: when you host for the first time, serve frozen pizza. You’ll never have to host again.
Bacon
@tweezak
/image thanksgiving turkey bacon
@katbyter
That’s quite the work of art!
I bet it makes the white meat a lot less dry…
@katbyter I wholeheartedly disapprove. That is a blatant waste of bacon and an abomination of all that is holy and bacony. I’m moved to weeping by the image of savory slices of bacon falling from the undeserving turkey once graced by its warm and salty embrace only to drown in a pool of vegetable and turkey broth to grow soggy and limp while laughter becomes distant and scattered among the voices of football announcers. The bacon, now but a shadow of its once glorious being can only hope to be rescued and enjoyed by the labrador before being discarded in shame in the trash with other inedibles; the cauliflower, the broccoli.
How was one held in such high esteem brought to such a lowly state?
The best turkey i ever had was the one we brined, using Alton Brown’s “Good Eats” method. We used the same herb/spice combo that makes Bell’s stuffing so delicious, so the whole turkey had that flavor & even the breast was super juicy. (Aren’t you glad i didn’t say, “moist”?
) It was pretty labor intensive, but SO worth it! I think if we had done it on a regular basis, we would have been a lot more proficient at it.
Yumm, tasty white meat turkey sandwiches for the next several days, punctuated by hot savoy bowls of dark meat turkey soup, with plenty of vegetables and noodles in it…
I make a hell of a good Thanksgiving turkey, but I don’t eat white meat. Life is too short.
Factory raised, gigantic breast turkey is overrated. Well prepared normal turkey pretty good.
Ham or steak is better no matter which turkey you prepare.
The turkey is just a backstop to my favorite part - the cornbread and sausage dressing.
@macromeh And mom’s giblet gravy
Overrated, because I don’t like turkey.
Have you ever tried Turkey spam? Compare nutrition against regular spam.
@hammi99 Yeah, but how many people eat Spam for the health benefits?
Although, depending on how bad your general diet is, it’s all relative, i guess.
Even when I still ate meat, I thought turkey was overrated.
not my favorite protein…