Lets Talk Turkey

[LadyFish]

Since I know we have some members who enjoy<br />cooking and even more who enjoy eating, I thought<br />I'd take a poll and get some fresh ideas before I<br />put my dinner together.<br /><br />We know women rule the world and the kitchen but<br />when it comes time for holiday meals, the men <br />rule. I would like your opinions on the following:<br /><br />1. Do you buy free-range, shoot your own,

<br />or just cook the free one that comes with<br />$50 worth of groceries?<br /><br />2. What is your favorite way to have your Thanksgiving turkey?<br />Do you like is roasted, or deep fryed? <br /><br />3. Do you prefer corn bread dressing or bread dressing?<br /><br />4. What are your favorite side dishes?<br /><br />5. What type of wine is best suited for Thanksgiving Dinner?

 

[tylerin]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

I don't get it?

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

 

[gaugeguy]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

The roasted, store bought, 20 pound butterball is about the best!! Wild turkey just is too dry and rubbery for me. Corn bread stuffing, and pass the baked apples and cranberries please. Not a big wine drinker, but a glass of white zinfendel wouldn't hurt me. Yep, I'm ready to eat and fall asleep watching football afterwards.

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

guageguy, cornbread stuffing in New Hamshire? Why I never.... <br /><br />There must a southerner in the wood pile somewhere along the line.

 

[KennyKenCan]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

Hi LadyFish,<br /><br />1) Here on Long Island, there are no wild turkeys, so I have to get mine from the grocery store.<br /><br />The freeby for purchasing $50 worth of groceries fits my budget.<br /><br />2) I love deep fried turkey, but the family usually goes for the roasted.<br /><br />3) Cornbread stuffing!!<br /><br />Is there any other?<br /><br />4) Got to have them potatoes and squash with plenty of gravy!<br /><br />Gravy should have had its own catorgory, with or without jiblets.<br /><br />5) And of coarse you must be talking about wine that you would drink with the meal...for me, Red Wine is it!<br /><br />But of coarse, you have to have a White Wine between the meal and dessert, to cleanse the palate.

 

[oddjob]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

1. Do you buy free-range, shoot your own, <br />or just cook the free one that comes with<br />$50 worth of groceries?<br /><br />I aint paying alot for this Turkey! Free is fine. Dont like the butter ball, Dang thing must be on Steriods. I prefer smoked turkey but plain is fine just please dont dry it out! Wild is the best flavor.<br /><br />2. What is your favorite way to have your Thanksgiving turkey?Do you like is roasted, or deep fryed? <br /><br />roasted<br /><br />I prefer smoked turkey but plain is fine just please dont dry it out! <br /><br />3. Do you prefer corn bread dressing or bread dressing? <br /><br />Both!...? but you really got to try breaded oster casserol( moms specialty)ummm... then you can forget the bread stuffin.<br /><br />4. What are your favorite side dishes?<br />inorder:<br /><br />Green beans<br />mash taters/gravy<br />Corn or corn casserol<br />breaded oster casserol<br />sweet potatoes<br />black eyed peas<br />peas<br />spinach<br />greenbean casserol<br />country ham<br />Rolls with the 4-5 lines acrossed the top.<br /><br />And you better have some crannberry sauce , no excuses!or the cranberry er..carrot salad thing. That will work also.<br /><br />5. What type of wine is best suited for Thanksgiving Dinner.<br /><br />Red but your culinary folks will say white dinner wine.

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

Wow, y'all are surprising me with the cornbread stuffing. As a kid in NY and all we ever had was white/wheat bread dressing. It had sausage, sometimes cranberries and pecans, celery onions, etc.<br /><br />When I moved to Texas I was introduced to cornbread dressing with jalapeno's. I loved it. These days, I make three; whitebread, cornbread with jalapenos and oyster.

 

[grandx]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

Here's my take Ladyfish, <br />1. Wild turkey has no place on a thanksgiving spread, deep fried ****** strips after marinating for hours is the only way to eat that.<br />2. Deep fried whole turkey is good, I have the equipment and done it many times, but a real pain if your only frying one.<br />3. Soak turkey in seasoned icy brine solution overnight and cook in an oven bag gives them some flavor and keeps them as moist as possible. Probably how I'd do it this year, but I'll be at the inlaws (likely have turkey loaf cooked in microwave).<br />4. Sides: yams, fruit salad, asperagus/pea casserole, fresh baked bread (with butter no margerine), real cranberries, I could go on and on. Inlaws... maybe instant mashed potatoes, corn out of a can along with canned suace, and sliced white bread.<br />5. Dressing: Cornbread a must, but momma's has a mix of white bread in it as well... Inlaws: stove top at best, w/ canned gravy.<br />6. Wine: I always drink a merlot or a cabernet, have little use for white wines no matter what meat is served, but you cannot forget the rest of the guests. I always make sure theres plenty to drink. You can bet there will be some drinking where I'm going, have to wash that swill down with something.<br /><br />Inlaws are in Houston, not far from ya, if you have an extra setting let me know. <br /><br />Happy Thanksgiving.<br /><br />Grandx

 

[gaugeguy]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

Ladyfish,<br />I got to travel quite a bit as a kid and when I was in the service. I make a mean batch of sausage gravy, I can just feel the arteries clogging!!

 

[oddjob]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

 

[TexSkeeter150]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

1. Do you buy free-range, shoot your own, <br />or just cook the free one that comes with<br />$50 worth of groceries?<br /><br /> Just got the free one with the groceries. <br /><br />2. What is your favorite way to have your Thanksgiving turkey? do you like is roasted, or deep fryed? <br /><br /> I will be deep frying mine this year.<br /> <br />3. Do you prefer corn bread dressing or bread dressing?<br /><br /> Corn bread stuffing for me. <br /><br />4. What are your favorite side dishes?<br /><br /> Mashed Pot's and Giblet Gravy....Jalapeno Corn Cassarole (YUMMY).....Cranberry sauce (you know the one in the can) <br /><br />5. What type of wine is best suited for Thanksgiving Dinner?<br /><br /> I love the bold Cabernets myself but you also can't go wrong with the Pinfolds shreraz's.

 

[JB]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

MMMMMMM!<br /><br />* Store bought, big young tom, roasted.<br /><br />* Cornbread/chestnut/giblet dressing.<br /><br />* Broccoli, rice pilaf, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce.<br /><br />* Brut Champagne, Cold Duck or a still Rhine white, like Blue Nun.<br /><br />OOOPS! Gained 5lb. just writing this.

 

[Raghauler]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

1. Free one that comes with $50 worth of groceries.<br /><br />2. I love deep fried, and do it several times a year, but not for Thanksgiving. For T-giving, I follow the multi-generation family recipe: Roasted stuffed with sausage and chestnut bread dressing w/ onions, celery, etc. When roasting, I add a couple of inches of water to the pan and cover the bird with wet cheesecloth. Sear at 375-400 for the first twenty minutes, then reduce temp to 325. Baste the cheesecloth every twenty minutes (or less - make sure it never dries out completely). If the water boils away in the pan, add more... I need it for the gibblet gravy anyway.<br /><br />I like the cheesecloth... it makes a VERY moist bird, and I find that it works a lot better than covering w/foil because it doesn't hold in the heat and "over roast" the bird. Basting is more work, but is worth it. Boiling the cloth makes great broth for soup a day or two later, as well.<br /><br />4. Side dishes: mashed potatoes, string beans w/almonds, peas, squash, cranberry sauce (of course), those little onions in cheese sauce (as kids, we called these whistleberries, since they make a certain end of one's body "whistle" later in the evening).<br /><br />5. Wine: any red table wine... we like rosè (Mateus, or Lancers).

 

[bh357]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

1) Usually my family is eating the free-with-the-groceries one, or the on-sale-for-pennies-a-pound one.<br /><br />2) DEEP FRIED...mmmmmmmmmmm<br /><br />3) I like "Stove Top"<br /><br />4) Mashed potatos, cranberries, rolls (lots and lots of rolls), this fruit salad type thing that my mom just calls "marshmellow fluff"<br /><br />5) Guinness Stout

 

[Xcusme]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

For years I have removed the bones from the turkey BEFORE baking. The only bones not removed are the drumsticks and the wings. Sounds strange, I know, but , you wouldn't believe how moist it is. Best part, it's easy to carve at the table. I saw this technique displayed on an old Julia Childs cooking show 20 years ago and thought I would give it a try. I can remove the bones from the turkey in about 15 minutes. Another plus is that you can use the cheapest no-name turkey, and it still comes out the same. Forget the Butterballs, they just inject them with margarine.<br />I laugh when I hear folks getting up at 4AM to start to make the turkey, basting all day long, what a pain. I start cooking at noon and eat at 4PM. Since the bird has no typical "Turkey Shape" it's called 'Laid Back Turkey" by Julia.

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

WOW GUYS!!I am truly impressed. And here I was thinking all you ate was crow. <br /><br />I find it interesting to learn about everyone's cooking and/or family Thanksgiving traditions.<br /><br />More.....

 

[rwise]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

Well,,,<br />lets see..<br />1. the free range is probably best for you, but, I'll take what I can get.<br />2. roasted is good, but, I would inject it with something like cajun creole garlic buter and then smoke it for about 16 hours at 180 - 220 deg. pull it out let it set for a few minutes the peal the skin off to reveal the lovely pink meat. you no the "b" word!<br />3. corn bread for me and mine!<br />4. all of them! and the pies to....<br />5. I'll just have a beer thanx.....<br />Richard

 

[Columbia]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

Free range turkey (less sodium), roasted with any old dressing, gotta have yams baked with marshmallows on top....green beans with bacon bits, crescent rolls, a nice Riesling.

 

[one more cast]

Re: Lets Talk Turkey

I like home raised turkey but honeysuckle white from wally world will due. Roasted so I can make lots of gravy.(deep fry in the summertime) mashed taters, yams,cranberry sauce from a can, homemade cinnimon pickles and sausage stuffing baked in a pan not in the bird.any semi-sweet wine works for me.