How long will fresh turkey keep in the fridge? And where are you getting yours?

[lynniep]

I've never bought a turkey before. I've never even made christmas dinner. However I guess you can only get away with it for so long, and I'm 37 now, so I did ok!

DH's family have invited themselves up here for Christmas (well, boxing day for three days) and expect the works. This is fair, as his mum has fed us in the past, but shes a domestic goddess and I am most certainly not!

I'm full of dread, so I plan on making life as easy for myself as possible. Everything will be bought pre-packed and bunged in the oven on the day. I realise this is bringing great expense on us. Its worth it!

However, I just havent got room in the freezer for anything ( I may have to have some sort of clear out depending on response to this) and particularly for a frozen turkey which will take up most of the freezer. I do have a spare fridge in the garage though that I can use, and I'm guessing most turkeys will be fine in there. Five days should be absolutely fine shouldnt it?

I'm nearly fainting at the price of fresh turkey too - I had no idea at all!! I'm not buying from our local butcher because its 50 quid (size for 7-10) and much as I'd like to support him thats too much for me. I saw Waitrose ones were £33 which has still shocked me, but is more like it. Anyone recommend a supermarket (Waitrose, Sainsburys, Tesco and Asda all deliver here) that does decent fresh turkey and all the other gubbins you need? (What other gubbins do you suggest as well, I was thinking bog standard Roasties, Parsnips, Carrots, maybe mash? gravy, pigs in blankets, sprouts) Should I be buying two deserts? actually yes I should cos the kids will want trifle. What in gods name do I feed them on for the other two days?

Oh I'm in a right flap now!

[lynniep]

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[AMumInScotland]

I think 5 days should be fine - another thing you could consider is buying a frozen one and letting it defrost either in the fridge in the garage, or just sitting on top of it, then into the fridge once it's defrosted. I always get frozen ones, its just so much cheaper

If you don't usually do roast dinners, then try to keep it simple. I only do roast potatoes and don't bother with any boiled ones or mash, as my family all just love the roasties.

We do carrots and parsnips - roasted together in the oven after the turkey is out. Sprouts, peas, gravy - all on the hob.

Stuffing - I always do it in a separate dish and don't actually stuff the bird.

pigs in blankets or just little chipolatas - you can do them in the oven too.

And I think a choice of trifle instead of the christmas pud is always good, as not everyone will want a heavy pud.

The trick for cooking it all is to work backwards and have a list of what you have to do when. So T-40 mins, put the water on for the sprouts, etc, working back from when you hope to eat it.

[dreamingofsun]

best way of cooking turkey is to wrap in double layer of foil, so no gaps and leave bit of room at top and glob marg over bird prior to this. then it steams which keeps it moist whilst cooking (and better still means you don't have to do anything) and then you take foil off for last bit and baste. I can give you temps/timings if you are interested.

I try and buy stuff which you either keep in the freezer (eg nice icecream) or can be stored and used another day eg cheese - as found i ended up binning a load of stuff otherwise.

don't forget to make the table and dining room look nice - makes it look as if you have made an effort and detracts from any less than perfect food.

[lynniep]

oh thank you so much for your help. I hadnt even thought of that - getting a frozen one but then letting it defrost in the fridge. I'm so thick sometimes! I think thats probably the best (and cheapest) plan of action. I'll try to get a delivery as close to christmas as poss. and pray they dont run out!

Stuffing - I forgot about that.

thanks for the advice on the other stuff. I will investigate birds before I ask for timing advice! I have to feed 5 adults and 4 children (so I guess the equivalent of 7 adults)

the plan to overhaul the dining room has started. we have never actually used the dining table - its just storage for kids stuff and my sewing stuff, so I am making a proper effort to get it all clear and the kids stuff into storage so that the room is as clear is it can be and we can acutally use the table for intended purpose.

Oh sh*t I dont think I have enough cutlery and crockery!!!

[GrateHits]

Marks and Spencers pork and chestnut stuffing is lovely. I get a frozen pudding as well, something like a meringue roulade, as most of us are not keen on christmas pud.

[lynniep]

um, ok I've been looking and now possibly more baffled than before. Whats a turkey crown? and I've seen you can get turkey breast joints -whats all this about? - will I get frowned upon for going for a 'joint' ? it looks so much easier than fannying around with a massive bird. No-one ever wants anything other than breast anyway from what I remember.

And I've just remembered my sister-in-law is a veggie. Arrrggh!!!!

[lynniep]

oh I like the idea of the port and chesnut stuffing btw, but my dH wont eat pork, and as I just realised, my SIL doesnt eat meat at all, so I think I need separate stuffing sans meat.

I think I need a new post for SIL ideas...

[AMumInScotland]

A turkey crown is like a turkey with the legs and wings cut off, so it is just the breast meat but still on the body IYSWIM? Its quite a good way to do it if everyone prefers breast, though you'll need to think about how much you need as there's obviously less meat than when you have the legs too.

Turkey joints - it sort of depends if you have the kind of family who get sniffy about things, or if they see a pile of meat on a plate and tuck in enthusiastically!

Oh and for the veggie - last time I had one of those to cater for I did a dish of mushrooms stuffed with leeks and blue cheese, which was her "main" and others had some as an extra veg. But you might want to start a whole new thread for suggestions - or there may already be one!

[dreamingofsun]

crown is a turkey with its legs and wings chopped off - fine if you have no-one who likes dark meat. joint is the same but with no bones i guess - if they don't see it how would they ever know? are you carving it....i always get my husband to do this on the basis its the man's job - and he normally doesn't set foot in the kitchen.

there are lots of stuffing recipes if you google without meat.

[lynniep]

thanks guys. I'm going to go for either a crown or a joint. MIL may think its a bit 'downmarket' but she'd never say so - she's very nice. And to be honest if she wants feeding she'll have to go with the flow, which means the easiest for me to deal with. UncleIL will eat whatevers put in front of him. DH wont care. SIL will just laugh at me whatever I do cos she likes taking the p*ss, and no doubt I'll mess up on something, but I'll ignore it. Its her way of showing she likes me...

I think I'll just slice the meat in the kitchen and pass the plates of meat through to the dining room, and I'll put the veg on the table so people can help themselves. So no-one will 'see' the turkey anyway. I have a small hot plate which may come in useful for some of the veg.

Someone else started a thread on veggie meals so will keep an eye on that!

[orienteerer]

Most supermarkets will let you pre order a turkey now, for collection on 23rd or 24th.

[dreamingofsun]

i would think about ordering your food online now. the slots near christmas will go very quickly and the supermarkets can have long queues.

[DaveO]

Hi Linniep
I think that a fresh turkey should be cooked within 2-3 days max, also here's a good recipe for the stuffing, chop up all the giblets excluding the neck takes to long, gently fry the heart and kidneys for 5-6 minutes then add the finely chopped liver until they are all browned. Mix a pack of Paxo Sage & Onion stuffing with a 500 gramme of raw Pork sausage meat add the cooked giblets a bit more sage and thyme herbs say 1/4 -1/2 a teaspoon add small jar of pitted Green olives and an egg, then stuff it all into the neck cavity and sew it up, make sure you allow additional cooking time for this extra weight, I know that you and your family will really enjoy it, as my family prefer it to the turkey!!

[BarkisIsWillin]

If your mil is a domestic goddess she will probably be more than happy to help you with something, and will probably be great for advice, so if she offers, have a job ready for her.