Are frozen turkeys any good for Christmas Lunch?

oldtractor

All the frozen turkeys i've ever had have been good. I like them. I do find they usually take longer to trhaw than it says on the packaging. Easier to part thaw them thenremove the legs, finish thawing then cook.

Mrs_Huggett

As you are having a lot of people on the day I would buy two medium sized ones, they would be better at defrosting too! AND you get four legs, four breasts etc! and you should have some left over for tea time sarnies.

ash28

Fresh or frozen for me. I don't mind either. As others have said just make sure it's defrosted properly. We defrost in a cold utility room and it can take a while.

I used to order our turkey from the butcher and one year I wanted it boned, not a crown or anything, but a full turkey with no bones, I wanted to lay out the turkey, stuff it and then roll it and sew it up, so it made a roll - easy to carve etc.

The butcher asked if I minded if they froze it after they had boned it. I didn't.

I can and have boned a chicken before but have never tackled a turkey and done that way it was absolutely delicious.

esmf73

Always get frozen due to young children pets and not having space in the fridge to store a fresh one.it usually gets defrosted in the garage. Tastes fine x

Griizelda

esmf73 wrote: »

Always get frozen due to young children pets and not having space in the fridge to store a fresh one.it usually gets defrosted in the garage. Tastes fine x

Ditto. I've bought a cheap (for a Turkey) one from Lidl this year - 4.8kg for £9.99, which is a really good price. Their fresh chickens always taste good, so hopefully this Turkey will too.

I put butter under the skin, a large onion at the front of the cavity and cover it with bacon (I cook the stuffing separately). So far, they've all been tasty!

Buttonmoons

The past 5 years I have always bought Lidls frozen turkey (its about £9) it tastes great, I always stuff mine with onions and lemons, baste it in butter and cover it in bacon, though last year I used parma ham and It was much better - even the leftover turkey tasted amazing and made a fantastic turkey and stuffing (scottish stuffing - oatmeals and onion) pie, mmm double cream...

sweetpea26

Mrs_Huggett wrote: »

As you are having a lot of people on the day I would buy two medium sized ones, they would be better at defrosting too! AND you get four legs, four breasts etc! and you should have some left over for tea time sarnies.

I second that Mrs Huggett. That is what I am doing. I always buy frozen after one year I spent a fortune on a fresh organic bird and to be honest I didn't see what the big difference was. So I will prob get mine in Aldi or Lidl. £9.99 each.

foxgloves

For 3 or 4 years, we got our turkey free-range from the local village farm shop.....couldn't tell the difference between the white turkeys & the bronze, but both were excellent......& cost about £50. Then our income halved so this was no longer possible. last year, we bought an Elmwood frozen turkey from the Co-op (Elmwood isn't free-range, it's RSPCA approved standard which is the lowest we're really prepared to go on welfare). Can't remember how much it cost but it was MUCH more affordable & although it wasn't such a strong gamey flavour as the farm shop birds, it was extremely good, we thought, & we're definitely planning to buy another one this year. The only thing with a frozen turkey as I bet someone's already pointed out, is that they always seem to take longer to thaw inside than the label says they do, so just bear that in mind when you're planning the prep & cooking times.