I unpacked my Honeysuckle turkey

[spinbaby]

I usually prefer a natural turkey, but between inflation and five foster kittens eating us out of house and home, I settled for an injected bird from Aldi. I unpacked it this morning to do a light dry brine and rest it uncovered in the refrigerator for a couple of days to get that crispy skin we all love. The turkey was still partially frozen after thawing five days in the fridge and, after finding a chunk of ice the size of my fist inside it, I decided to weigh all the ice and liquids off of it.

The turkey was sold as a 14.3-pound bird. The liquid and ice off of it weighed 1 pound 1.6 ounces. I think I would have been better off buying the natural bird.

[Diamond_Dog]

1. That's par for the course for a frozen bird.

I thaw mine for 4 days in the fridge-usually 15-16 lb. - and it’s still full of ice in the cavity after that amount of time.

I’m not complaining because my store was selling them for 78 cents/lb.

[Freddie]

2. My turkey is always free

Giant gives them away with 400 shopping points, which is easy to do. It’s always a frozen giant or no-name brand but it’s always fine. If it comes out dry “that’s what gravy is for” as my grandma always said.

[Warpy]

3. Frozen turkeys are always like that

They're big birds and need that iced saline in the cavity as well as outside the bird to ensure the whole thing freezes evenly. While you feel ripped off for that pound of ice, you were paying for a safely preserved bird as well as its meat.

I'm not nuts about turkey, it's pretty flavorless stuff that desperately needs the gravy and cranberries or mango salsa or something. My favorite holiday bird is the capon, 2 of them will feed as many people as a small to medium turkey, it will taste a whole lot better, and the leftovers won't haunt the kitchen for 2 weeks. Also, the carcasses make much better soup.

[spinbaby]

5. I'm not used to frozen turkeys

The fresh ones I used to order have very little extra liquid, making me think maybe frozen is a false economy.

[Warpy]

7. Not really, just realize the stated weight contains a pint or so of water

and a pint's a pound, the would 'round.

I know about them because my workplace would distribute frozen turkeys to staff between Thanksgiving and Xmas. I always butchered them down, turkey meat being better that way. One favorite was the thighs and wings slow cooked with onion, garlic, lots of green chile, and tomatillos, to be shredded into turkey carnitas. Hot turkey carnitas in a quesadilla, YUM.

[hippywife]

4. I agree with Warpy's assessment.

If there's still ice on the inside, I just run cool water through it and that takes care of the problem.

When we were able to afford it, I used to get our turkeys from a local farmer who, while not registered organic, raised them organically. While I wish I could still support local farmers and growers for a number of reasons, paying upwards of $70 a bird just wasn't sustainable for our budget.

[Callalily]

6. We bit the bullet and ordered a

fresh turkey. It's our contribution to the family meal, so we're okay with paying the extra amount. But unfortunately we've both come down with Covid so now we have a 14+# turkey for two people! The butcher said they'd cut it in half for us, (half to freeze) so that'll be more manageable. And now I've got quite a repertoire of left-over turkey recipes that sound just as delicious as the actual Thanksgiving meal.

Additionally, I can make my spicy cranberry sauce as it's only my daughter and me who love that stuff!

[Retrograde]

10. Leftovers!

That's why I always get a fair-sized bird, even though there will only be 7 people. And I want a good batch of stock from all the bones.

[Callalily]

12. Turkey leftovers are the best.

I want to try a new recipe with the leftovers, Instant Pot Holiday Turkey Biryani.

[rsdsharp]

8. I hope you don't have trouble with brine. I wet brined

an injected breast several years ago, and the meat came out like styrofoam.

[spinbaby]

11. Not a full brine

I just did a dry brine of salt and sugar on the skin—not under the skin like I would have with a plain bird. It’s been resting uncovered in the fridge for two days and will get a light coating of oil and baking powder for browning. We love our crispy skin.

[japple]

9. My step daughter and her family have raised turkeys for a few years. Last year, she flew from PNW to

the southeast with frozen turkey breasts for her birth mom and me. No problems at all with the flight. She had them well wrapped in her check-on luggage. Still frozen when she got to her mom's house. She gave us the lowdown on raising turkeys. Said they are much nicer than chickens, but very dumb. She said she and hubby felt like they were slaughtering their half-wit children. It was a good turkey breast, but after she told us about how cute they were as babies and described their childhood, etc., I just lost my appetite.
I still eat turkey, but it has to be an anonymous commercial turkey.