Already cooked Thanksgiving Turkey in DC?

[NJL1999]

I may wimp out and buy an already cooked turkey...any suggestions on where to order one that can be picked up that day? I know in CT some restaurants offer this but not sure where to go in DC....

[gustaf]

I ordered a roasted one from Georgia Brown's this year. They have a choice of roasted or fried turkey. It was like $55 for a 12-16 lb. bird, I think. Reheating instructions are included so I am guessing I will neee to throw it in the oven for an hour or something.

I have also heard the Fairmont and the Mandarin do take out Thanksgiving.

I usually prepare the Cook's Illustrated High Roast Turkey, and I receive A-MA-ZING reviews. I am nervous for the response this year, but I am tied up with travel for work.

Good luck.

[Lowbar]

Just an FYI for your planning purposes, its probably going to take more than an hour to re-heat that bird. Probably closer to two, especially if its on the heavier side of that range. Let us know how it is!

[gustaf]

The Thanksgiving pickup at Georgia Brown's was quite hectic. It was less than organized, and I am very glad I brought my order typed out. The kitchen was able to put the order together in less than 15 minutes, and I was out the door. The catch was that everything was so hectic in the bar arae during the pickup time, and I did not check that I had everything before I left. We did not get stuffing or corn bread, and we didn't figure it out until we were sitting down to a late lunch. (I called and went by and picked it up so we would have it for leftovers. I am glad I did. The stuffing was OUTSTANDING!)

The turkey was really good. We reheated (it was still warm) for a little over an hour, and it looked perfect with beautiful golden brown skin. The turkey was perfectly juicy and had a slight smoke flavor (it was roasted at GB's). My folks loved it, and it was EASY since it came in a foil roasting pan. It was a 14 lb turkey, and we had loads of leftovers.

The sides were all great. The butternut squash grits were a hit with everyone. They were all cream and butter. Mmmm. Green beans and Brussels Sprouts were amazing. Everything else was great as well. They come warm and in microvavable plastic containers so we reheated it all in the microwave. They were great to store leftovers in as well.

We made our own pies so I cannot comment on GB desserts.

Bottom line: I would do Thanksgiving takeout from GB's again in a heartbeat, but I would take a list of what I want and triple check that everything is included prior to leaving.

[heeter]

You could always buy one of those new Jenny-O frozen turkeys - stick the froze solid thing into the oven and hope for the best.

[Lowbar]

I will probably get ridiculed for this but I actually enjoyed a turkey that someone had picked up from Popeye's. It really was quite tasty. It did require a thaw and a couple hours of re-heating I think.

[weezycom]

Boston Market does pre-cooked rotisserie birds. I don't know the price and haven't tried the turkey, but their chickens are okay.

[MikeR]

Just about all the grocery stores have a ready-to-eat Thanksgiving dinner deal, though as far as I can tell, they all need some heating time. You can't pick up a turkey at the store and take it right to the dinner table.

I suppose it stands to reason that the fancier food stores like Balducci's offer better grade meat with nore elaborate preparations and side dishes.

But you probably knew that.