how heavy is your turkey for this Thanksgiving?

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boomchakabowwow

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i decided to go small this year. this is happening at my home this year, so i am keeping stuff simple.

i am cooking a 13lb bird this year. traditional roasted bird. i did kick around the idea of doing it salvadorean style but nah..

my wife was bummed. she was wanting a big heavy beast of a bird. are smaller birds more tender? just wondering. it was amazing watching people dig for the 20 lb birds.

the rest of my meal. roasted green beans, mash potatoes, home made biscuits..and gallons of gravy. a simple turkey "blue plate" special..like you find at a diner. oh, i'll do a cranberry chutney or something.

and homemade pumpkin pie. so i can control the sugar content.
 
I'm doing 2x10 pounds. Less total time in the oven than one big bird. In my case the 2nd bird is actually going to be my 'leftovers'. :)
 
I don't really do turkeys anymore. Might do Scallops this year.
 
Will be ~14 lbs, which is pretty normal for us. My wife and I both could pass on the breast/ white meat, so it's all about the drumsticks, thighs and wings. Will be paired up with potato/ parsnip puree, some fresh cranberry sauce, stuffing overloaded w/ Italian sausage and a salad. Pumpkin pie w/ orange and ginger for dessert (w/ fresh whipped cream infused with orange liquor). Will probably make some gravy as well, although we can take it or leave it. Okay, so the stuffing will be more like a giant meatball made w/ sausage instead of ground veal/ pork/ beef :)
 
About 20-23lbs planned. Will find out at the farm on Wednesday! Can't wait!
 
I slayed two 8lb Rouen ducks at the farm on Saturday. No turkey this year, but those ducks are BEASTS.
 
#1 @ 33.26 lbs, #2 @ 23.36, and #3 @ 34.28 lbs -- All from Bolton's Turkey Farm in Sliverdale, PA. #1 and #2 are for lunch tomorrow at a school and go into the oven tomorrow at 3:30AM and 5AM respectively for lunch served at 11:30AM. I start making the stuffing at 1:30AM. #3 is for the family on Thursday. The fun begins... -Doug
 
I prefer smaller birds all around so my turkey is only 12 lbs. I will also smoke ribs with it and thought about going to get another small one as well for left overs.


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We have pizza for Thanksgiving, and usually only have turkey breasts when we have turkey (only 2 of us.) The grocery was giving away free turkeys the other day, so now I've got a 16 lb bird to deal with. It was the smallest they had. Right now it's thawing in a mini fridge that has the door held closed with duct tape.
 
DuctTapeFridge.jpg

The door will close with the turkey in there, but it puts just enough load on the magnetic strip that it pops open. If you can't fix it with duct tape, it ain't broken. :D
 
Love that mini fridge pic!

My 23.1 pounder is sitting in a 5 gal bucket of brine/ice until Wednesday night
Take out of brine, rinse, dry it off, return to fridge overnight
In the morning, rub some butter between meat/skin
A light coating of oil and my special blend of spices and aromatics before it goes in the sauna!
 
We have pizza for Thanksgiving, and usually only have turkey breasts when we have turkey (only 2 of us.) The grocery was giving away free turkeys the other day, so now I've got a 16 lb bird to deal with. It was the smallest they had. Right now it's thawing in a mini fridge that has the door held closed with duct tape.

Turkey sandwiches
Turkey a la King
Turkey pot pie
Turkey tetrazzini
Turkey Vegetable soup
Turkey Chili
The list goes on......
 
3 12 lb birds. A quarter or half a Turkey with basic fixings delivered makes some people pretty happy this time of year. We'll have leftovers from half a bird.
 
We normally have prime rib for thanksgiving. This year we are feeding some folks that we don't want to share our roast with so I am doing a turkey and we'll have the rib roast on Friday. ;)

I'm doing an 18 lb. bird butterfly cut in high heat. We'll see how it comes out. Fingers are crossed.
 
27.5lbs for tomorrow, but third in three weeks. This one is a fatty though had to do some trimming.

03EFA647-AF17-4EA1-ADDC-BAD2346A2A96_zpstpc5por9.jpg
 
15 pounder for us but stopped by a buddies who was smoking a reportedly 40lb bird in a 55 gallon drum. His dad raised and slaughtered a dozen turkeys this year.
 
18.3 pounds today. The smallest I have done in, well I can't remember ever doing one smaller. Paid through the nose for an organic bird rather than the supermarket swill (the wife's idea). More than enough for four.
 
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