Expensive frozen turkeys at Fairway

[F Schubert]

I preordered a "Heritage" (ie, fresh, organic, free range, pedigreed, etc) turkey from the UWS Fairway last week. I picked it up this morning from a truck parked in front of the store and was handed a bird that was frozen solid. The guy at the back of the truck explained that they left the "reefer" on overnight. I returned the turkey and got a fresh, but regrettably non-organic turkey from inside the store for about 1/5 the price. I felt bad, but I couldn't bring myself to pay that much money for frozen meat.

It seems to be a frequent problem with Fairway: nice products screwed up by clueless handling.

[affrmedny]

FYI, ALL turkeys are shipped frozen on a truck then thawed when they get to a retail store. There's no such thing as a "never frozen", "fresh" turkey unless you by it at a chicken market or farm that fresh kills them.

[snaporaz]

Aside from your not wanting to spend that much on a bird that had been frozen, it would probably not have safely thawed in time for T-day. I'm told a mid-range turkey (16ish) takes three days to thaw in the fridge from frozen solid.