Is it worth buyibg a turkey

ET03

as there's only 2 of us I've been looking at a breast joint instead,
do they taste just as good??

Ticklemouse

I'm sure you could season it up well and add stuffings etc to make it tasty.

I think the main problem with turkey is that it can dry out and having only part of the bird may make this more so. Also, I find meat tastes better for being cooked 'on the bone'. However, there isn't any point in buying a big bird if its not going to be used. So, slather it in butter and seasonings, put some stuffing of choice under the skin and roast slowly. Should still be delish.

Tim_L

If you don't overcook it, a small turkey won't dry out too much. However long slow cooking does seem to be what people traditionally do with turkey, and it takes a lot of courage to go against this the first time you try.

Why not look at goose or duck? Both are much more manageable, a bit out of the ordinary, and you don't end up with tons of leftovers. You do also end up with lots of fat which is wonderful for roast potatoes.

windym_2

Can I suggest that if you are going to buy a turkey you splash out a little on a fresh organic turkey. This will NOT taste dried out but will be succulent and require very little attention in the oven. Christmas comes but once a year!

Teresa60

We've got a turkey crown, its quite a big one, but our butcher has cut it in half and vacuum packed it so we can have one another time. Theres no waste either.

ET03

does a turkey crown come on the bone??
and is it better than a breast joint??

competitionscafe

Why not get a really good quality organic chicken instead (I think turkey is overrated anyway) or you could get a roast pheasant (in season so reasonable prices at this time of year) or a guinea fowl or even a partridge if you have a local butcher who does game - you would need 1 partridge per person as they are small. Or what I do is get a really nice piece of organic meat, but just a smaller joint 1k to 1.5kg or so - favourites would be rib of beef on the bone or a loin of pork on the bone.

ET03

you've all given me something to think about here,
I'm tempted now to try something different

Bargain_Rzl

I haven't had more than 1 other person to share Christmas dinner with since the last time I spent Christmas at my mum's, which was in 1999.

In 2000 (the one time I was only cooking for myself) I had a pre-stuffed, pre-basted chicken (from Sainsburys) with all the trimmings I'd have had with turkey.

In 2001 and 2002 me and housemate (who wasn't my housemate till mid 2002, but we did have Christmas dins at his house) got a free turkey which housemate used to get from his work. Needless to say it was far too big for two, and we were sick and tired of it long before the leftovers were gone.

Since 2003 we've had a pre-stuffed turkey joint from Iceland/Tesco. The last two were very nice and I hope the one I bought yesterday from Tesco is yummy too. I bought one designed to serve six cos it's nice to have some leftovers for sandwiches on Boxing Day.

There were a couple of years with my parents when we had duck, which was gorgeous.

DEFINITELY don't buy a turkey just for two, unless in truly OS fashion you're prepared to use up every last scrap of it in casseroles and curries! You can't fit a whole turkey carcass in the SC for stock :rotfl:

competitionscafe

If you get pheasant, guinea fowl or partridge, buy some streaky bacon as well - to layer over the top as the smaller birds can dry out quite easily.