I prefer a fresh bird. Frozen ones take so long to defrost that they taste old to me.

I haven't bought a frozen turkey in at least 30 years, for just the reason you describe. They take FOREVER to defrost.

Even if you don't buy one from the turkey farm, you can generally get a good one from the local grocery store. The stores near me now carry many more fresh than frozen turkeys.

I also like the taste of a good fresh turkey. Enjoy

{{gwi:1560475}}

Well If i can't get a "fresh killed" bird and you have to order them weeks before, I prefer frozen to grocery store "fresh".
The guidlines say that a turkey can be labeled fresh if it hasn't been deep frozen, it can be a turkey that has been held for several weeks at around 26 to 30 degrees. That's cold enough to form ice crystals, but I don't think they keep well.
The usual guidelines say 1 pound of turkey per person....so for 15 people a 15 pound turkey should feed everyone with pretty well not much leftover. Get a bigger bird if you want leftovers.
I always find that the bird cooks faster than expected!
You can cook a frozen turkey....but have to cook it longer.
I thaw a frozen bird in the refrig for 3 days ( a 15 to 18 pound bird) and then unwrap it and sit it in the kink and run cold water through it...thaws the inside.
It's coming!
Linda C

Not exactly on the fresh or frozen topic. When I was still living at home and before I knew there was actually something you could DO with the turkey carcass... HATED picking meat off the bones. My Dad did, too. One year we had a "deconstructed" turkey. Two whole breasts, 4 legs/thighs, and 4 wings. Don't remember whether they were fresh or frozen. We made stuffing as usual, but not cavity to put it in!?! SOOO, we made it into 2 big balls on foil and sat the breasts on top... came out just fine. We ended up with all the parts everybody preferred and very little stuff to toss.

I prefer frozen to fresh and I do like lindac does--3 days in the fridge and cold water run inside. The cold water also washes out the cavity and then I can pull out any strings fat and leftover innards they missed and then I run the water through it again.

I once bought a fresh one from the supermarket and it wasn't half as good as the frozen one.

You need 1 pound per person for moderate leftovers. 1.3 for more leftovers.

The smaller turkeys are younger birds.
16 to 18 pounds is an old hen.
20-25 pounds is an old gobbler.

For your number of people I would cook 2 smaller turkeys or if you have more people who like white meat a turkey and a breast.

Not often I have to disagree with Linda, but I do this time.

I never buy a frozen turkey. I much prefer fresh turkeys. I can order fresh killed turkeys from a number of farms in the area. But I will also pick up a fresh turkey from a grocery store.

I presalt the turkey anywhere from two to three days prior to roasting.

Ann

The bigger the bird, the bigger the challenge of cooking the legs without drying out the breast. Two smallish turkeys might turn out better than a big one.

When I've had big groups over, I've supplemented the turkey with some other birds. One Christmas I had turkey, duck and a capon; the capon and the duck were much more popular than the turkey.

One other problem with frozen turkeys: some years back there was a mini scandal with some stock clerks using them as bowling balls. Now I'm not suggesting that your market's stock clerks would ever do such a thing, but in the wee hours of the morning when they're supposed to gbe stocking stuff, they'd set up plastic soda bottles like bowling pins, then use a frozen turkey as a bowling ball, sliding it down the store aisles into the soda bottles. The Butterball brand was preferred because it had a convenient carrying handle.

On America's Test Kitchen (I think) they had a technique for roasting turkeys which involved laying strips of salt pork over the breast, which was then covered with dry cheesecloth, then the cloth was moistened to make it stick in place, and foil over the whole breast. The turkey was roasted for a while, allowing the salt pork to drip into the turkey breast; the foil, cloth and salt pork was then removed and the breast skin browned for the last period of cooking. Anybody ever try that technique?

I also like a fresh bird, I often get mine from a local Amish farmer. This year, I don't know, my "supplier" moved to Pennsylvania, so I'm looking around.

My grocery store has never had a fresh turkey, so I can't comment on that, but I've had the frozen ones. I don't care for the Butterball type, many already contain the injected "flavor enhancers" which is just salt and water and the meat is kind of soft and weird to me.

I do brine the fresh turkeys and they come out nicely. I pick mine up usually the day before I need it and the only problem is that I usually get a bigger bird than I really wanted, a small one is 20 pounds.

Watch, this year I'll end up with a Butterball because no other is available and I just refuse to pay shipping on a TURKEY. I like them, but not that well!

Annie

I hope I'm not misquoting, but FWIW I recall Alton Brown recommending frozen over fresh for supermarket turkey, for one because of the questionable designation that Linda C mentioned, but also because frozen birds aren't subject to the bruising that fresh birds are, when tossed around.

Of course I'd imagine that all goes out the window when we're talking about a fresh kill from a local farmer.

I like dark meat so my favorite is a young wild bird. The one that my son got this spring was the best turkey I've ever eaten.

I've had a lot of very good frozen birds. Only once did I get a fresh (supermarket) one. That's because we had last minute change of plans & there weren't any frozen ones left in the store.

On the subject of defrosting--I never have room enough in either refrigerator to fit in a turkey. What I do is defrost it in an ice chest. I generally take it out of the freezer 2 days ahead & monitor the progress. Here in Wisconsin, if it's thawing a little fast, we just transfer the ice chest outside or into the garage for a while. Otherwise, you could just empty the icemaker out onto the bird.

Thanks for the responses. I love reading the different opinions and experiences. Arley, turkey bowling!!!?

OK... I'm still undecided. But I guess the next question is high heat? slooooooowwww roast? Use the gas grill?

I'll either go larger bird or a smaller bird and extra breast....

I use fresh turkey breast for Thanksgiving. This year I will have the butcher butterfly it so I can put it on the grill. We love grilled turkey--I do 1/2 of a turkey breast on the grill all year around.

Beachlily - can you give a novice instructions or point me to some that i could use to grill a butterflied breast?

OMG, Bizzo, I just wing it!

First, when I'm at the meat counter this year, I want the turkey butterflied but with the skin and bones left in it.

From the same shop, last year the butcher asked me one time if I wanted it deboned. Hemming and hawing, I said yes. What I got was a 1/2 turkey breast that was 3-4" thick, skin left on. I grilled it and it made wonderful sandwiches. No problem trying to carve it and get all the meat off the bones.

Here's what I intend to do this Thanksgiving--

Wash the turkey breast and dry it. Then stuff sage leaves under the skin along with some small pieces of butter. The skin be covered with a rub of Penzeys Southwest Seasoning.

I use a small gas grill so it isn't set up for indirect heat. Usually, I keep the heat in the 325-350 degree range The turkey breast will be placed on the grill, skin down for the time it takes to make the skin a light golden brown. Then flip the turkey so that it rests on it's bones and cooks for the rest of the time that way. Total cooking time should be 60-75 min. I use an instant read thermometer (I target about 170 degrees), but cut into the thickest part of the breast--meat near the bone should no longer be pink.

Using these instructions, your turkey breast should look dark golden brown and very moist. This is our favorite way to cook turkey.

Since we have a couple of months before Thanksgiving, please cook a 1/2 turkey breast yourself. Cooking times will be similar and you will get a feel for how it's done and whether or not you like it. It's easy and delicious!

Last year I went to Stew's for Thanksgiving. He cooked 3 15 to 16 pound turkeys (we were 23 people) one on the grill, one in the turkey frier and the other in the oven with stuffing.
The one we agreed was best was the fried....everyone agreed. Second best was split between grilled and oven roasted.

I used to go to a butcher shop that would order fresh killed turkeys is you placed your order early enough.
They closed....and I went to frozen. Then one year my supermarket advertised "Fresh Turkeys", so when I was in I asked them when I needed to order. Was told no need to order they were in already, and was pointed to a case with very firm ( as in frozen) turkeys with a sell by date 3 weeks hence.
That is not a fresh turkey....just not a deeply and quickly frozen one and not any where near as good as a frozen bird.

The shop I use get's their turkeys in fresh--I have to order by the first week in November.

Oh, Bizzo, if you do the turkey on the grill, cornbread dressing in a baking dish works really well!