Best turkey from a grocery?

I heard organic fresh turkey is best because it's not pumped full of salt and preservatives. Any suggestions on turkeys?

This needs to feed 12 people preferably with leftovers. Looking to buy around Andersonville. Thanks!

Fresh turkey's harder to find, but there are certainly frozen turkeys that are better than others, less full of junk. To some extent you should be able to tell just by looking at its packaging-- the less it promises to baste itself, cook your mashed potatoes for you, etc., the more it's just a turkey without a lot of junk. Ho-Ka's are a good brand for a pretty natural turkey, and they're relatively easy to find.

thanks Mike!

Fresh Farms has been carrying fresh Rosebud Farms turkey, which says it's "all-natural." The regular ones are a bit on the smaller side, but I've been buying and quartering them, and cooking the quarters as needed. I've been pretty happy with the results.

Nothing out of the ordinary, but it tastes like turkey (I've never tried a Ho-Ka, I hear good things) but they won't break your budget and don't seem to have gunk - I agree with Mike, watch the label (somewhere I had a file of turkeys where I was comparing the amount of added water, which is usually printed on the label - very hard to find a frozen turkey with minimal added water.)

thanks!

I found a place in Morton Grove that sells Ho-Ka. Not that close without a car, but I think my neighbor would give me a ride, especially since he's invited.

I know the Fish Guy on Elston has Ho-Ka turkeys also.

I will almost guarantee you that Treasure Island will carry Ho-Ka turkeys. I'd give them a call closer to Thanksgiving. I've seen them a million places and I've never knowingly been to Morton Grove.

awesome thanks

I received an email from Taste Food and Wine in Rogers Park announcing that they will take orders for all natural, Amish turkeys. I can't remember all the details, but give them a call. They are right off the Red Line at Jarvis.

Taste Food & Wine
1506 Jarvis
773-761-3663

Ed and Erv's on Touhy takes orders for fresh birds. I have bought Ho-Ka turkeys at Devon Market (if that is any closer to you).

Ed & Erv's Food Store
(773) 764-3610
2210 W Touhy Ave
Chicago, IL 60645

thanks and thanks

Ah, Ho-Ka...that's the brand Trader Joe's (at least the one in River North on Ontario) said they would carry starting November 11th.

We have done a fresh Ho-Ka turkey the last few years, and will do another this year. Great bird, and a local business(for me).

We may even take the short drive over to Waterman to get our bird this year.

There is a list of where their turkeys are available on their website.

http://www.hokaturkeys.com

I'm thinking of doing the same this year, taking a drive to the farm. Just wondering if by waiting until the week of Thanksgiving and hoping to buy a fresh turkey there, I'm running a risk of them being sold out.

I presume that the turkeys in the Chicago-area stores listed on their website will be frozen. Am I wrong about that?

Another question for anyone, is there a difference in quality in buying one fresh versus frozen, or is it just the convenience of not having to dedicate space in the refrigerator for several days to defrost a frozen one?

Katie wrote:I'm thinking of doing the same this year, taking a drive to the farm. Just wondering if by waiting until the week of Thanksgiving and hoping to buy a fresh turkey there, I'm running a risk of them being sold out.

I presume that the turkeys in the Chicago-area stores listed on their website will be frozen. Am I wrong about that?

Another question for anyone, is there a difference in quality in buying one fresh versus frozen, or is it just the convenience of not having to dedicate space in the refrigerator for several days to defrost a frozen one?

The Ho-Ka's are always fresh. I've never seen a frozen one. Of course, I'd never buy a frozen turkey, so I could be wrong.

stevez wrote:The Ho-Ka's are always fresh. I've never seen a frozen one. Of course, I'd never buy a frozen turkey, so I could be wrong.

I remember seeing them at Sunset last year, and I think they were in the fresh poultry cabinet, not frozen, but I couldn't remember for sure.

So you would never buy a frozen one, which goes to my last question - why?

Im going to wait til the weekend before, but phone first, and reserve one if I can. Previous years I pre-ordered one @ Polancics in Ottawa.

My opinion on frozen turkey.. I think most things, especially meat suffer when frozen, so I avoid buying any frozen meat.

thanks again for all the advice. I think my best bet is to order a fresh Ho-Ka to be picked up on 11/21, the day before my dinner.

Katie wrote:So you would never buy a frozen one, which goes to my last question - why?

I have an aversion to frozen meat of any kind. It tends to get mushy due to poor freezing and/or thawing technique (not to mention things like freezer burn). We have so many good butchers in the area, I just don't see the need to compromise on the quality of my meat. Lot's of people claim they can't tell any difference between fresh and frozen. I say more power to them.

is it true the larger turkeys tend to be drier? I'm looking at 20-25lbs. Is that true, and if so is there some way to manually make sure it's not too dry? Does being fresh help that?

Chitown B wrote:is it true the larger turkeys tend to be drier? I'm looking at 20-25lbs. Is that true, and if so is there some way to manually make sure it's not too dry? Does being fresh help that?

I think the reason why a larger turkey is drier is because it's hard to cook it evenly. Parts of it get dry while other parts need to cook more. I would stick with a bird that is no more than 15 lbs and if you really need that much turkey, do two 12 lbs birds instead of one gigantic bird.

Larger turkeys tend to be older turkeys, and older turkeys tend to have less fat. This could make them dryer. I usually buy turkeys in the 12-18 lb range, so I don't know whether one in the 20-25 lb range will be drier. I agree with Aschie30 that you might be better off with two smaller birds: less likely to dry out, shorter cooking time, easier to handle, etc.

Brining the turkey will help keep it moist and also make it less susceptible to being dry if you overcook it.

If you buy a fresh turkey, just be cognizant that this doesn't guarantee it will be juicier than a fresh bird. Here is what Cooks Illustrated has to say:

We always thought it would be a good idea to buy fresh turkeys wherever possible, assuming they would be better. If you can buy your turkey at a local farm, that might be true, but supermarket birds labeled as "fresh" can actually be tougher and drier than frozen ones.

Why? Turkeys may be labeled as "fresh" if they have been chilled to as low as 26 degrees. But at this temperature, tiny ice crystals can form in the meat. If the temperature fluctuates (during storage or transport, at the supermarket, or on the way to your home), these crystals can melt, combine with neighboring crystals, and then refreeze. These irregularly shaped ice crystals will start to poke the cell membranes in the meat, make holes and the cell tissues in the muscles will start to lose their internal contents. Then when they are cooked, those birds will be dry."

I would think that the Ho-Kas sold through retailers who know what they are doing would be fine.

thanks again. I don't think I have enough oven space for two birds side by side...... i have a really small oven. Unless they would both fit on my open top roaster. I might have to do one and then the other, but that would make the times way too far apart. Maybe I can borrow an oven next door.

Chitown B wrote:thanks again. I don't think I have enough oven space for two birds side by side...... i have a really small oven. I might have to do one and then the other, but that would make the times way too far apart. Maybe I can borrow an oven next door.

How many guests? I think the rule of thumb is 1 1/2 lbs of turkey (pre-cooked weight, factoring in bones) per guest.

aschie30 wrote:

Chitown B wrote:thanks again. I don't think I have enough oven space for two birds side by side...... i have a really small oven. I might have to do one and then the other, but that would make the times way too far apart. Maybe I can borrow an oven next door.

How many guests? I think the rule of thumb is 1 1/2 lbs of turkey (pre-cooked weight, factoring in bones) per guest.

12ish. Plus leftovers. So, that's 18 lbs for dinner, plus some left. 20-22 lbs, or maybe two 12 pound birds?

Obviously I don't know how big your oven is, but if it is too big for two birds, it might not be ideal for one really large bird either. You need to have room in the oven for air to circulate around the meat.

One thing you can do is cook two birds, one at a time, but leave them slightly underdone. Then break them down (cut off the legs, thighs, etc) and reheat them together just before you serve. Or you could just cook one and then the other and not worry about the differences in temperature.

I think one 18 lb bird would be fine for 12 people, especially if you have a lot of interesting sides. If they are really big eaters or you want a lot of leftovers, you could certainly cook more. But I usually figure 1.5 lbs per person and always have leftovers.

great, thanks I need to measure tonight and see.

We've had Ho-Ka turkeys from various western-'burb retailers for a number of years and have been pleased with them, enough that we haven't tried alternative sources or brands.

Fresh Farms on Touhy has a big Ho-Ka sign up in the meat department. They are taking orders.

My oven is 17.25 H X 18.25 D X 23 W

the lowest the rack goes is 3" high, so subtract 3" from H.

Trying to do 18lb or so. Anyone think that'll be a problem? I can't seem to find dimensions anywhere.