Grocery store here gives free ones with bonus points on their card. Just their brand of frozen, but those are already brined somewhat at the packing house. Cut an apple in half, put it inside, and bake in a cooking bag. Works like a champ. After the holidays, frozen birds, smoked wings, and sometimes thighs are dirt cheap. I’ve paid $.10 a pound for the frozen ones. The smoked parts make great bean soup.

I always cook the dressing separately in a pan. Takes too long in the bird, which makes drying it out more likely. I mix the dressing sloppy-wet, and cook it covered in foil until the very last. I also take the bird apart for easy handling.

Another thing that works is using gravy from a jar to stretch the good stuff. Doesn’t take a whole bunch of real gravy to make the Heinz crap taste pretty good for sandwiches.

Last time I saw that attempted, the fire trucks were a bit, ah, late....

Deep fried turkey is great.

But not for Thanksgiving.

For something like a big party with enough people to consume the bird in one sitting...deep fried is good.

We don’t cook dressing in the bird. bbb, bb, b , barf !!

We don’t even make ‘turkey dressing’

What happens here is that a large hen is cooked in a slow cooker a day before, all the meat is rendered off the bone. Also several skillets of cornbread are made, dressing is all put together from scratch, all that broth is mixed in too,all that chicken meat is blended in with the dressing and baked in separate casserole pans. Several batches are made because a few crybaby extended family members, one doesnt like celery, another one cant do onions. Etc. Personally I wouldnt cater to them but whatever.

Wait scratch that, the whiney ass uncle that doesnt like celery; we dont associate with him any more. He tried to screw Nana out of $60k when mee-maw and pee-paw’s house sold last month.

We're having bone in ribeyes and twice baked potatoes
On Wednesday.

Im smoking a 22 pounder

Bastard

Smoke it a few hours to put an edge on the gravy. I don't care what happens to it after that. Pass the potatoes.

I love Thanksgiving dinner. We are having a dozen folks over this year and will our usual 2 stuffed turkeys and all the trad sides. Then I will have turkey and dressing sandwiches for several days. Feasting w/ family is never bad. My wife has never made a dry turkey.


mike r

Fuggin A!

No celery!?!

Clearly an azzhole. Shoulda known he’d try to steal!

If anybody is planning on thawing one in the damned refrigerator, you're too late. Needed to go in about Labor Day.

I am reminded of the one and only Merriams turkey I killed. National Forest in Colorado, 3 hour drive one way, slept on the ground for four nights, finally got a nice gobbler. I took great care in plucking it, cleaning it and freezing it whole for Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving day my dad and brother had the turkey fryer set up and fried a domestic bird that turned out great. I then handed over my thawed perfectly plucked wild Merriams Turkey that I was very proud of. They weighed it, scratch out some ciphering on a scrap 1 x 4, dropped it in the hot oil and went back to drinking busch lattes. Some time passed and they announced the bird was done. What they pulled from the hot oil could be best described as a rather large chunk of wet charcoal. Worse Thanksgiving ever.

Phouggin A+

This is the time of year for people to burn off unwanted decks (or perhaps whole houses or parts thereof) quite simply using the two simple components of a tub of hot oil and a turkey.

Nah! Cold water in the sink. Roll it around once in a while.

I just gave $1.99/lb for a brined one.

We thaw ours in a cooler of cold water overnight.

Wife and I are heading to my parents for Thanksgiving like always. Believe we are the only ones joining them this year. Wife is a damn good cook but Moms turkey and dressing(made seperate from the bird) are the best I have ever ate! We eat at around 1 then the old man and I go out back and shoot our guns we plan on using for deer season and maybe shoot a few mags out of various other guns or some clays. Been that way as long as I can remember.