Thanksgiving (US) 2023

[gulfporter]

Curious to know everyone's menu. 

 

But first a question about this recipe I am contemplating.  https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/christmas-dinner-wellington

 

I've had good luck with BBC recipes in the past.  But the cooking time on this chicken wellington is 1hr. and 15min.  I know I can instant read the temperature when baking it, but that seems a bit long given the chicken is pounded quite thin.  But maybe the mass of the chicken and the raw sausage makes the long oven time necessary.

 

Since this is for Thanksgiving, I am thinking of using raw boneless turkey breasts.  Would the cook time remain about the same?  I will endeavor to pound the turkey as thin as is called for with the chicken. 

 

 

[Duvel]

Can you precook the roulade sous vide, then chill and prep with the cold cooked roulade ?

[gulfporter]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

Can you precook the roulade sous vide, then chill and prep with the cold cooked roulade ?

No, I don't sous vide.  

[BeeZee]

I'm contemplating making dressing with apples instead of mushrooms. Other than that, haven't given the menu any serious thought since we have a LOT of serious health issues swirling around immediate and extended family so it's hard to know what we'll be doing in 3 weeks. It may be a last minute scramble.

[Arey]

This afternoon my niece called to discuss Thanksgiving dinner which she usually gets from a restaurant and brings down here.  She wants something a bit more elaborate than a Wawa turkey sub. I refrained from reccomending  Stouffer's  frozen turkey breast  dinner which I rather like. (Hey,I'm 83 years old with arthritis  and  use a walker.Most of my kitchen equipment is either too high or too low  for me to reach) While checking out what's available she came

across one restaurant that charges $200 for a thanksgiving dinner that serves 6 people, but does not include a turkey. 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2023 by Arey (log)

[heidih]

My personal take is do some comfort sides you can handle and let the others bring what thay want. In the end it is about togetherness not turkey At somepoint you age and disabilities need respect. Want turkey - bring it. My two cents. I;ve lost enough people to respect that next year the talke may be smaller.

[scubadoo97]

Another big family Thanksgiving coming up.  Same place, same crowd, average head count 100.  I was given the job of making hummus again and on the clean up crew.   

[gfweb]

11 hours ago, Arey said:

This afternoon my niece called to discuss Thanksgiving dinner which she usually gets from a restaurant and brings down here.  She wants something a bit more elaborate than a Wawa turkey sub. I refrained from reccomending  Stouffer's  frozen turkey breast  dinner which I rather like. (Hey,I'm 83 years old with arthritis  and  use a walker.Most of my kitchen equipment is either too high or too low  for me to reach) While checking out what's available she came

across one restaurant that charges $200 for a thanksgiving dinner that serves 6 people, but does not include a turkey. 

 

 

Boston Market does a good job

 

[rotuts]

quite some time ago  in my area , Fz turkey was a seasonal loss-leader

 

and this was the same in CA were i grew up : Safeway turkeys were 24 cents // lb

 

that's how long ago that was

 

then stop and shop and Shaws added a purchase minimum.  that was easy to meet

 

if you got ll your Thanksgiving Suff at one stop.  

 

Market basket has Fz turkeys this year @ 69 cents // lb  2 limit.

 

back in the day when I used to hack up those turkeys and SV the best parts

 

it was easy to get the limit , cart them out to the car ,and go back and get a second limit .

 

I was surprised seeing the 69 cent price  .  given inflation etc   that's quite a deal.

Edited November 9, 2023 by rotuts (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Even before @rotuts' coup, my mother gave me $20 towards Thanksgiving dinner.   Instead of the turkey she had in mind, I went to Lucky and bought one at .19/lb -> $6. bird.    Did not confess my larceny, but remember everyone around the table complimenting the turkey,   

 

In later year I bought a very expensive heritage turkey that was just awful!     Scrawny, stringy, tough.   I mean, that bird had lead a hard life!

[rotuts]

@Margaret Pilgrim 

 

I remember the Lucky store near where i grew up.  they had this odd yellow ' marker '

 

in front , that was several stories high .  you pre-dated me by 5 cents 

[Laurentius]

12 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

In later year I bought a very expensive heritage turkey that was just awful!     Scrawny, stringy, tough.   I mean, that bird had lead a hard life!

I once learned this lesson with a $100 fresh heritage bird.  It literally had nothing redeeming about it.  Much worse than any frozen supermarket bird I'd ever cooked.

[btbyrd]

Frozen supermarket birds are pumped full of brine, phosphates, and "natural flavors" to idiot-proof them. Not to mention their being genetic freak shows designed to produce giant spheres of breast meat as quickly as possible, rendering the birds flightless and obese (usually living entirely in an indoor grow operation having never seen the sun or breathed fresh air). Heritage turkeys have different proportions and require more work, but they certainly have more flavor because they've lived twice as long and actually, you know, been outside and done some real birdly things. 

[rotuts]

yet , supermarket birds , properly cooked 

 

remain tasty 

 

and require no Trust Fund for purchase .

[btbyrd]

They're fine. They're just fine. Supermarket birds were designed to taste good despite being slaughtered at like 14 weeks and despite being cooked by rank amateurs who almost always do it poorly. That's why the birds are like 8-15% flavored salt/phosphate brine by weight. I don't know that I'd say they remain tasty, but rather that they're remarkably tasty in spite of everything that brings them to most people's tables once a year.

 

My local Whole Foods sells what they label as heirloom turkeys for $3.99/lb. I don't think that's an unreasonable price to pay for a whole animal. $80 for a huge 20lb centerpiece to serve at a huge family gathering? I don't think you even need a trust fund for that.

 

It's also nice that cheap birds taste good too. 

[MaryIsobel]

2 hours ago, btbyrd said:

They're fine. They're just fine. Supermarket birds were designed to taste good despite being slaughtered at like 14 weeks and despite being cooked by rank amateurs who almost always do it poorly. That's why the birds are like 8-15% flavored salt/phosphate brine by weight. I don't know that I'd say they remain tasty, but rather that they're remarkably tasty in spite of everything that brings them to most people's tables once a year.

 

My local Whole Foods sells what they label as heirloom turkeys for $3.99/lb. I don't think that's an unreasonable price to pay for a whole animal. $80 for a huge 20lb centerpiece to serve at a huge family gathering? I don't think you even need a trust fund for that.

 

It's also nice that cheap birds taste good too. 

i too fell down the "organic, free range, heritage turkey and it was the worst turkey ever and about 4x the price of a grocery store bird. Grocery store bird, not injected (ie: not Butterball) dry brined and slow roasted. It's always good. I always used to get a 25 lb or so bird but they have been hard to come by for the last couple of years so I buy the smaller ones and roast two.

[heidih]

I have driven past lots of the big turkey ranches here out near County Fairgrounds. They are running round .  Everyone loves a loss leader and well prepared pretty dang tasty. Granted California trends non hormone/antibiotoic. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I love chicken, pigeon, duck and most of their friends.   But I truly find turkey, be it supermarket or heritage, a holiday obligation rather than something I look forward to.    When hosting, a successful holiday is when I have packaged and sent home with others all of the leftovers.    Special kudos when someone opts for the carcass.    Now that we understand each other, Butterball has over time provided us with the most tolerable bird.   Juicy (yes, I know), tender, flavorful.    Whatever evil they do with those birds, it does taste good on the plate.   

 

Just sign me "Philistine".   

[ElsieD]

Neither one of us cares for turkey.  We always have capon.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

4 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Neither one of us cares for turkey.  We always have capon.

You send out invitations?   Our group is only 6 this year...

[liuzhou]

I figured out years ago how to deal with turkey and always follow my established method.

 

This involves never buying it or eating it. There are much better meats. In fact most, if not all, meats are better.

[ElsieD]

5 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

I figured out years ago how to deal with turkey and always follow my established method.

 

This involves never buying it or eating it. There are much better meats. In fact most, if not all, meats are better.

 

Ah, a man after my own heart!

[Margaret Pilgrim]

6 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

I figured out years ago how to deal with turkey and always follow my established method.

 

This involves never buying it or eating it. There are much better meats. In fact most, if not all, meats are better.

I had such an epiphany maybe half dozen years ago when I stood tall and announced, after some 50 years of hosting, "I have cooked my LAST turkey!"  

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

You send out invitations?   Our group is only 6 this year...

Sure.  Come on over!  Or do you need a formal invitation?

[Laurentius]

7 hours ago, btbyrd said:

They're fine. They're just fine. Supermarket birds were designed to taste good despite being slaughtered at like 14 weeks and despite being cooked by rank amateurs who almost always do it poorly. That's why the birds are like 8-15% flavored salt/phosphate brine by weight. I don't know that I'd say they remain tasty, but rather that they're remarkably tasty in spite of everything that brings them to most people's tables once a year.

 

My local Whole Foods sells what they label as heirloom turkeys for $3.99/lb. I don't think that's an unreasonable price to pay for a whole animal. $80 for a huge 20lb centerpiece to serve at a huge family gathering? I don't think you even need a trust fund for that.

 

It's also nice that cheap birds taste good too. 

I've never had an exemplary or revelatory $$$ heritage turkey.  IM(limited)E, they've all been a pretentious and disappointing waste of money.  Not hazarding another >$100 hoping for something different.