Gold-plated turkeys?

[OrmIrian]

I heard that turkeys were gonig to be more expensive this year so I decided to investigate cheaper options than our usual one from the ever-so lovely but eye-wateringly expensive local butcher. Mum had a leaflet from Sainsbos - Norfolk bronze turkeys £9.99 a kg! Rang local butcher hoping he might by some miracle be cheaper - he is. By 29p

I really don't want to buy a crappy factory-farmed frozen turkey (ethical reasons as well as taste) but ouch! Our turkey is likely to cost about 60 - 70 pounds at that rate.

I thought this was a Heston Blumenthal recipe.

DH and I are vegetarian. We just buy a couple of free-range chicken breats for DC.

Buy a ruddy big chicken instead. Much cheaper and tastes nicer.

I don't thnik i can get a 13lb chicken!

LOL at Heston Blumenthal

13lb How many people are you cooking for?? Could you maybe do two things instead? My parents sometimes have a chicken and a piece of beef or ham.

I'm all befuddled by thoughts of actual golden turkeys now.

Tesco Finest Bronze turkeys are currently half price, at £20 (mine is 5kg) www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=268693557 although you have to have freezer room... TBH I'm not sure where it falls on the "crappy factory-farmed" scale, but last year's tasted fine, and Xmas lunch is such a blur anyway I was just happy to have that particular expense sorted relatively early, having paid out shedloads in the past for turkeys from local farms and Waitrose..

Thanks ravenous (good name!). That is much better. Might have to disregard my one-woman boycott of that shop!

I am feeding 9 people on christmas day, and then we like to have cold turkey for later. In fact DH feels vaguely cheated if he isn't able to eat turkey whenever he feels like it until New Year I think he may be thinking of an ostrich though....

Seriously consider brining the turkey if you have to buy a cheap or frozen one. We ordered one from our supermarket and had to choose the cheapest we could due to the inflated prices here on meat (Switzerland and noone eats turkey so it cost a hefty price to order it in)

When he arrived he looked like he enjoyed a light meal and a good run round the yard in his previous life!

I followed Nigellas brining recipe (one small mishap involving her instructions to leave outside overnight and waking up to 16 inches of snow on top of the brining bucket!!!!) but once rescued it tasted absolutely delicious.

really? I'd never have thought of that. Thanks maggots.

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/spiced-and-super-juicy-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html Here you go!!

2 days in that brine would make a pensioner turkey taste divine!