Fried or Smoke Turkey

[Soup]

Any place in NOVA where I can get a fried turkey or someone who will fry the turkey?

Any place in NOVQ where I can get a smoke turkey?
Soup

[MikeR]

So has anyone spotted a good selection of frozen smoked turkeys in a NorVA grocery store yet? I was in the Lee-Harrison Harris Teeter yesterday and saw only two (larger than I can use) Butterball brand smoked turkeys in an otherwise pretty full freezer chest. The Willston Safeway didn't have any. They even seem to have disappeared from the grocery ad flyers.

I don't want to search farmer's markets or go to Rodman's in Silver Spring or Wegman's in Fairfax. Might have to settle for the old reliable stuffed rolled breast, but really wanted to try something a little different.

[alkapal]

cherrydale safeway's ad today says they have them for 20 bucks. so call your close-by safeway about when they'll get in.

[MikeR]

Safeway has the Jenny-O (Hormel) cooked, ready-to-heat turkeys for $20 on sale through after Thanksgiving, but they're just plain oven roasted, not smoked. I may settle for one of those, though that's much too much turkey for our small group of eaters. But it's not much more expensive than a smaller uncooked breast and less hassle.

Out of curiosity, I called Butterball and asked if they could give me a contact for the local distributor to see which stores had ordered the smoked breasts. They searched within 45 miles of my zip code and couldn't find any. Guess this is another one of those "nobody buys that around there" things like Aunt Jemima buckwheat pancake mix. At least Butterball hasn't discontinued the product even though we can't get it around here.

[TheMatt]

Speaking of "too much turkey", I'm thinking about trying Trader Joe's new Fully-Cooked Half-Turkey. Like you, a full turkey is too much, so I thought this might just be perfect.

Of course, whether it's good or not...

[MikeR]

I was just looking at one of those the other day. Some Trader Joe's prepared foods are pretty good, others not so good. It was hard to tell from the package (you can't see much turkey through the wrapper) just how much meat there really is. We're not leg-eaters so that quarter would probably end up being sandwiches or chili for me over the next couple of weeks. And how to do support half a turkey for carving?

Ah, for the good old days when we went out for Chinese food on Thanksgiving. ;)

[alkapal]

well, my safeway always has the smoked turkey. just sayin'.

[MikeR]

Cherrydale? I'll have to make a trip over there.

[alkapal]

call their meat dept. before making a trip -- they'll check for you.

[MikeR]

I decided I was dreaming The Impossible Dream, bit the bullet, called your Cherrydale Safeway and they had two. I bought one. It's a whole smoked turkey, though. I was really hoping for a breast for less waste (or rather, less need to be creative with the leftovers).

I called a couple of Giant and Harris Teeter stores, both of which had advertised smoked turkeys, but none I called had ever actually ever received any. I suppose it's pretty spotty given the obvious lack of interest.

Anybody want a drumstick?

[alkapal]

i've not seen the smoked breast only. and why don't you wrap the uneaten parts to freeze and use later? smoked leg and thigh'll make a good collards dish -- or a great "white" chili with cumin and jalapeños.

[MikeR]

The chili sounds like a good idea.

[alkapal]

typically you see the recipe using chicken. i'll rustle up a recipe if you're interested.

ok, here's one i really thought looked perfect. i haven't made it yet, but it follows the "flavor profile" (ha ha) that i like for a white chili: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/559583#4064096

this one is a little different, so you might mix and match: http://familyslowfood.blogspot.com/20...

i'd like tomatillos, too, but not adobo. your tastes may vary. cumin and oregano are key -- and lime juice. i'm not crazy about the corn in the recipes. i'd use dried white beans, not canned, as the canned ones will break down quickly if you are really going to make a chili stew. (i think people use canned in the recipes when they want a quickie dish).

cilantro to finish at the table.

what is left in the pot freezes up nicely in single serving size plastic containers or zip-locks. those are nice when you don't want to go out, but want an easy, comforting nightime bite.

[MikeR]

Oy! What a lot of turkey on a 10 pounder. But for a not smoked at home with wood imported from a temple of virgins in Kansas City, the frozen Honeysuckle White smoked turkey that I got at Safeway was really, really good. Juicy, crispy skin, and a nice but not overpowering smokey flavor. Gonna have a lot of sandwiches for the next few days, though, even after putting up a pot of chili.

[alkapal]

yep, a turkey -- even a small one -- has lots and lots (and lots) of meat.

glad to know your turkey was tasty.

[Soup]

Keep the suggestions coming.

Couple of clarification on suggestions made so far.

Called 4 different popeyese around NOVA. Not one indicated that they would reheat for me.

Called Red hot and blue and they will smoke a turkey. If the they buy the turkey cost $4/lb. If I bring in the turkey, it cost $2/lb. I'm very intrigued with this option. I wonder if they'd do a good job? (They BBQ is average)

[lynnvega]

I can smoke it for you. I have a great cookshack electric smoker... best smoker made!

[Insidious Rex]

Can you smoke a turkey like you would smoke any meat? Just slap it in the smoker and wait? Or is there a different strategy? Do you have to cut it up? And here is the dumb question of the day: can you smoke a turkey fully dressed with stuffing in it?

[MikeR]

Yes, you can smoke a turkey in a smoker. There's probably instructions on the Weber or Brinkman web site. You have to take out whatever's inside but no need to cut it into pieces. I'm reluctant to do it in the cold, though, since smoking time is quite unpredictable even in mild weather. I might plan dinner for 6PM and the turkey won't be done until midnight. I suppose that smoking one over the weekend or earlier in the week and just refrigerating it and re-heating before serving it wouldn't be any different than buying one pre-cooked, just more bother and less predictability.

Since smoking is a fairly low temperature process, it's probably not a good idea to stuff it because the stuffing might never get hot enough to kill any bacteria living in there. None of the pre-smoked turkeys that I can't find in stores are stuffed, and all, in their cooking instructions, warn not to stuff it before re-heating.

Today I asked the nice food demo lady at the Bailey's Crossroads Trader Joe's if she'd opened one of their half turkeys up for a demo yet, and what it looked and tasted like. She hadn't done one yet (and probably won't) but she did say that they served it to the employees as part of their group dinner after the Thanksgiving flyer came out, and that, in her (quite possibly biased) opinion, it tasted great.

[jerseygirl72]

Rocklands BBQ (all locations) does AMAZING smoked turkeys, complete with gravy and cranberry sauce. I've been buying them for the last 3 years. They're a little pricey but well worth it....

www.rockands.com

[alkapal]

http://www.rocklands.com/

heard their regularly-available smoked chicken is good, too.

[skipper]

Can't you order one from Popeye's? I seem to recall Popeye's doing that for Thanksgiving.

[jerseygirl72]

You can order a turkey from Popeyes, check out the link: http://www.popeyes.com/turkey.php

They are pre-fried and frozen and the cost is $41.99. You have to defrost and reheat them for 2 hours prior to serving. Popeye's will reheat the turkey for you for an additional $5. I would suggest reserving your turkey early...like TODAY ;-).

[MikeR]

I got a Popeye's smoked/fried turkey last year and found it to be somewhat underwhelming. It was OK, but I would have been just as happy with one roasted in my own oven for about 1/3 the cost. I might try a smoked grocery store Butterball this year. Not big turkey eaters here, but I can't seem to get one of the guests to break the tradition and have something else. He didn't stop complaining for a week after going to his sister's one year and she (a non meat eater) served a Thanksgiving salmon. <g>

So I serve him turkey, and no matter how it comes out, he's had his Thanksgiving turkey. Fortunately he's a good friend.

[hill food]

pardon me, but he's still a stodge

[MikeR]

True, but anyone who always starts out a new project by buying a new tool is a great resource. If I could only get him interested in cooking. <g>

[hill food]

I could use more friends like that. gearheads, tech types and cooks are usually interesting on more levels than apparent.

and they have great sets of resources at hand. (can I borrow a socket set with a breaker bar, a terra drive loaded with bootlegged software, a Springform cake pan and a French whisk?)

[MakingSense]

Maybe the best smoked turkey in the US of A is from Greenberg's in Tyler, TX. They ship it to you.
Good prices and better than anything you'll find locally. http://www.gobblegobble.com/

Fried turkey is best hot, right out of grease. Sorry to say, this is really a DIY deal.
The cost of the oil often exceeds the price of the turkey, but if you have a place to store the oil, it can be used several times.
To avoid setting your deck on fire, you can use one of the new indoor electric turkey fryers. http://www.amazon.com/Masterbuilt-200...
They use less oil and can be set right on your kitchen counter. Also useful for other things so it's not a one-trick pony.

[hill food]

saw one of those suckers at Wallyworld the other day. but if you're gonna DIY over open flame, PLEASE don't do it next to the house, I for one don't want to read of yet another tale of holiday misery caused by the food. (alcohol-abuse and long-suppressed emotions are a different matter)

[MikeR]

Magruder's did fried turkeys in the past. Check with them to see if they're still doing it. Red Hot and Blue does smoked turkeys.

[alkapal]

smoked turkey is sold at safeway around thanksgiving.

[hill food]

not of help as it's DC, but the Inman's will fry one with about a week or so advance order. I'm sure other indie places will do it too. topic seems to come up every year.