Gobble Gobble-Need Source for fully cooked Kosher turkey for a Brooklyn Thanksgiving.

[kernel]

Are there any sources of a fully cooked kosher turkey in Brooklyn. I know the delis sell them but we were disappointed with them the two times we tried them and they were very expensive too. We are in the Sheepshead Bay area but have car-will travel. Thanks.

[nyrose23]

Hi, when I lived in Queens New York Walbaums has fresh and frozen EMPIRE FULLY COOKED BBQ TURKEYS,they are much more expensive than regular name brands but you WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED AT ALL,JUST FOLLOW DIRECTIONS ON THE PACKAGE AND YOUR GOOD TO GO,MAKE SURE THAT WHEN YOU OPEN THE PACKAGE YOU HAVE A PAN UNDER IT TO GET ALL THE BBQ JUICES IN THE PAN,THIS IS THE ONLY BRAND OF TURKEY I BUY FOR ANY TIME OF THE YEAR AND ALL HOLIDAYS,THE TURKEY IT TENDER AND SO JUICY AND THE BBQ SAUCE YOU CAN'T GET ANYWHERE IN THIS WORLD OTHER THEN EMPIRE ! I now live in HOT CLAMMY FLORIDA AND THENK GOD THEY SELL THESE IN MY PUBLIX SUPERMARKET.Spend a little more this year BUT YOU WILL NEVER REGRET IT, I PROMISE !!

[MartyB]

I was at Mauzon's for their chicken special ($10.99 for a chicken and a great tasting diet cole slaw) and saw that they are selling a Thanksgiving dinner special:

----------------------------------------------

(Serves 10-12 people)

3 quarts of chicken or vegetable soup

Choice of :
Cooked turkey (14-16 lb raw weight) w/gravy and bread stuffing
5 large BBQ chicken
Brisket of Beaf w/Gravy ($30 extra)

Choice of:
Sweet potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Potato or Sweet Noodel Kugel.

String beans Almandine
Cranberry Relish
Cole Slaw
Cucumber Salad

$159 + Tax

[berel]

FYI, Costco has Empire frozen turkeys 2.19 a lb (up from 1.79 last November)

[MartyB]

Gourmet Glatt is advertising Empire Turkey Frozen for $1.79/lb. I already bought mine from Brachs for $1.99/lb.

As of late Gourmet Glatt is the store of my choice. I was die-hard Brachs fan, but Gourmet has improved much as of late. They have decent prices; lots of specials. They are very much on top of their inventory and have a very large selection.

As an example, I love Axelrod yougurt. Brachs use to have specials on them, but I have not seen them on sale for while. Gourmet has been selling them week after week for $.50 each vs the $.79 that Brachs has been charging (I buy at least 20 of them per week).

My typical Friday shopping now consists of going to Brachs for their excellent Broccoli soup (appy counter) $2.99/qt. Then I head on over to Mauzone for their chicken special ($10.99 chicken & really good diet cole slaw). I then go to Gourmet Glatt, pick up a piece of sweet noodle kugel from Chap-A-Nash (just LOVE it) and do the rest of my shopping there except for sushi. I then head over to Key Food for my sushi (12 pieces for $4.99 for a California or vegtable roll).

Here is a link to their specials
http://www.gourmetglatt.com/specials/...

[bubbyrebecka]

Have they reopened since the fire?

[mullertwin]

I just saw that Pomengranate is having a $100 16-20 lb turkey for Thanksgiving along with gravy. Yes, it's not cheap but takeout/prepared kosher food IS expensive. I recommend Pomengranate as we think they have the best take out in Brooklyn. I buy 1/4 to 1/2 lb of their fresh turkey every week and it's not dried out or full of preservatives like the regular deli turkey.
http://www.thepompeople.com/menu.pdf scroll down for the turkey only deal

[kpirontibhci]

I know that Long Island may be a trip, but Zahn's in Bethpage is fabulous! I feel it would be worth the trip.

Have a great holiday!

[GilaB]

I can't find a Zahns in Bethpage, although there's a Zan's in Lake Grove, about 30 miles from there. Is that what you meant?

[susiejane]

Zahn's is a non-kosher BBQ poultry place with 3 or 4 locations in Long Island.,

Different from Zan's kosher deli, which as I recall was originally sort of a franchise of Ben's.

[MartyB]

If we are talking Long Island, I know last year Brach's had a thanksgiving dinner special of a full meal with a whole turkey and all the trimmings. I don't remember how many it feed or how much it was but that may be the way to go. I will post the details when I see them advertise.

[cheesecake17]

I've seen fully cooked turkeys in the takeout section of Pomegranate for sale carved by the pound. I believe it was something like $23.99/lb. Maybe try calling them and checking if they'll be preparing any for Thanksgiving or if you could reserve a whole one.

[MartyB]

So if my math is right a 14 pound bird that goes raw for $28 would cost $336 at Pomegranate. I think you will find hundreds of people who would cook one for you for a fraction of that.

[berel]

if Costco get those $1.79 a lb turkeys again 1.79 X 14-15 lbs = $26 or $27 add in a Reynolds brown in Bag and the cost of cooking. the ease it is to cook a turkey I don't know why one would buy a cooked turkey.

[DeisCane]

I can imagine lots of reasons why. Elderly people who can't handle something that heavy. People living in a small apartment without a full-size oven. People who otherwise keep a vegetarian/milchig kitchen.

[cheesecake17]

I know several elderly people who would shell out anything for a perfectly cooked turkey if it would mean having the whole family together on Thanksgiving. Husband's grandparents would never be able to cook a turkey- it's too heavy and unwieldly to purchase, carry home, prepare, and cook.

[berel]

at that point it's time for Zaydee & Bubby to go the kids

[DeisCane]

Maybe zayde and bubby live in the most central location...or have the biggest dining room...or have the most bedrooms for sleepovers...

[cheesecake17]

it's funny.. the older they get the more they want all the kids and grandkids over. If Thanksgiving were to take place at one of the kids houses, someone would always have an excuse not to go. But no one would ever not show up at grandparents.

Thanksgiving is also a great time for the whole family to get together- it's a not a chag which means driving and all is ok, it's a day off for everyone, and it's just a relatively quiet day. If they want to buy a turkey and have the family over, I say why not... it's once a year!

[bubbyrebecka]

Maybe one of the kids could roast the turkey, wrap well to insulate, and bring to Bubby and Zaddy's. I've done this when my parents could not. There are memories to be made for everyone, including the grandkids. Try it.

[bagelman01]

Maybe the kids don't have a kosher home. This year we are attending Thanksgiving at a family member who does not keep Kosher. To accomodate certain family members, they are ordering everything fully cooked from a kosher purveyor, buying and using new plates, glasses, cutlery, serving pieces, tablecloths. They are cleaning the ovens (auto setting) and heating everything double wrapped. It will cost them big money to host, but will make the entire family able to be together for Thanksgiving for the first time in 24 years. Jewish holidays don't work, as more than a couple of family members are pulpit rabbis who 'work' all Jewish holidays.

[queenscook]

If they are double wrapping everything, why are they bothering to clean the ovens? The question stands in the vice versa form, as well.

[MartyB]

Just why did Costco stop carrying turkeys? Right now the cheapest one that I have seen was Brach's with $1.99/lb. You are right, nothing easier than making a turkey - and I hardly cook, but I would cook a turkey.

Goodness! Over $300 for turkey! Simply amazing!

[berel]

probably not that much demand for Turkeys after Nov/Dec. I'm hoping they stock them in the next couple of weeks. $1.99 isn' t too bad either

[MartyB]

Just came from Costco. - I was disappointed, they were charging $2.19/lb. Last price was $1.79/lb – big increase - so I went to Brachs and bought a 20lb bird for $40 ($1.99/lb). I was afraid if I wait too long they will raise the price or run out of it.

[bagelman01]

Sometimes it's cheaper to live out of town. I was visiting my sister in Massachusetts Wecnesday and stopped in Shaw's Supermarket (we used to have them in Connecticut, but they all closed last May).
In the freezer case they had Empire whole turkeys, turkey breasts and whole roasting chicken. All were 99 cents per pound. Needless to say I loaded the car with enouh to fill my freezer.

[avitrek]

A 14 pound raw bird will not weigh 14 pounds cooked. Also, if you are buying carved turkey then you are only paying for meat. That 14 pound turkey has a lot of bone that you're paying for at $2/pound. I'd guess a 14 pound raw turkey probably yields ~4 pounds of cooked meat. So, that $28 raw turkey costs $96 cooked and carved. That's still expensive, but the markup isn't unreasonable.

[cheesecake17]

I wasn't saying how much it would cost to buy it whole- rather fully carved. Maybe they will be special ordering whole turkeys for Thanksgiving or it would be possible to buy a whole turkey at a lower price than a carved one. And I mentioned Pomegranate because their takeout food is (in my opinion) of a higher quality than most other places I've been to.

Lots of people can/won't cook a turkey. Just because you and I think it's relatively simple there are so many people who just cannot or will not cook a turkey.

[queenscook]

Your math is not right at all. Turkey has bones, skin, etc. You don't get anywhere near 14 pounds of meat from a 14 pound bird. When you buy carved turkey by the pound, you are getting only edible meat (unless you are specifically requesting a drumstick on the bone, maybe), so there's no way you'd need anywhere near 14 pounds of carved meat to serve the same number of people that you would buy a raw 14 pound turkey for.

[DeisCane]

Full turkey: 1-1.3 pounds per person
Turkey meat: 1/3-1/2 pound per person

Depending on how much you want in terms of leftovers.

[brooklynkoshereater]

Park East sells fully cooked kosher turkeys - http://www.parkeastkosher.com/kosher....