Shady Brook Turkey: A Comprehensive Guide to Your Thanksgiving Feast

Purchasing and preparing the turkey for Thanksgiving has taken on a kind of mythical status through the years. It can be challenging to take the necessary precautions to correctly store, thaw, and cook the large bird in time for a magnificent entrance to the harvest table because it’s a large chunk of poultry that you only cook once a year. Purchase the best bird. While seasonings, cooking times, and temperatures may not be as easy to control, there is one simple way to get your Thanksgiving feast preparations off to a great start:

In order to assist you in selecting the perfect turkey for Thanksgiving, we purchased, roasted, and sampled five supermarket frozen turkeys from different brands. We had taste testers judge the birds based on tenderness, texture, and flavor to determine a winner. (Also, dont miss We Taste-Tasted 5 Stuffing Mixes & This Is the Best. ).

Here’s how we did it

We visited three local grocery stores—Food Lion, Harris Teeter, and Whole Foods—to source our big birds. They were all frozen and ranged in the 12–14-pound range. Three of the birds were already brined in the bag, but two were not injected or received any additional salt.

We cooked the turkey in a very straightforward manner in order to eliminate many factors that might have influenced the outcome. Our recipe called for “spatching” the bird, which is simply chopping off the spine, turning it over, and applying pressure to the breastbone until it cracks so you can flatten it out on a roasting tray. Because the cool, moist inner cavity is no longer skewing how quickly or slowly certain parts (legs versus breast) cook to the right temperature, cooking can proceed more quickly and evenly.

After drying the bird, we rubbed it with a tablespoon of canola oil, two tablespoons of freshly ground black pepper, and a tablespoon of Kosher salt if the turkeys weren’t brined.

After an hour of cooking at 450 degrees in our oven, a Bluetooth meat thermometer was inserted deeply into the breast and programmed to sound an alarm at 150 degrees. After that was done, the legs were checked to make sure they had reached the 165-degree mark, and the majority of them only took an hour and a half to cook. After the temperature was within normal range, the bird was removed and allowed to rest for five minutes before being carved and tasted.

Each taste tester was given skin-on breast meat along with a chunk of leg and thigh meat. They had to examine the meat for flavor, texture, and tenderness. They had to rate each item on a one-to-five scale and record their observations. After some calculations and editing, the Eat This, Not That! definitive holiday ranking of Thanksgiving turkeys was produced. Here are the results, listed from worst to best.

Disclaimer: The turkeys were cooked over a two-week period, with some tasters present to provide their opinions on each bird, as each one required time to thaw and store, in addition to requiring five identical ovens to roast at the same time. As anticipated, their flavors were quite similar, making any option suitable for a triumphant Thanksgiving dinner. The crispy and delectable skin was achieved through the use of the spatchcock technique.

Size: 12.61 lbs

Additives: Up to 8% of a solution of water, salt, spices, and natural flavor.

Tenderness: Due to the birds’ heavy injections, the meat was surprisingly moist and tender—almost too watery for the breast meat.

Texture: The breast meat was the worst texture of the bunch, with a mealy, kind of crumbly mouthfeel. We speculated that was possibly because of the heavier brine and longer time sitting in a warehouse frozen.

Taste: It had a passable flavor that was almost too salty, but not too strong because there was enough sugar to balance it out. We also didnt note much flavor from “spices. “.

Conclusion: This is a fine option if you didn’t get a turkey before Thanksgiving and it’s all that’s left, but it won’t get great reviews.

Size: 12.92 lbs

Additives: Approximately 9.5% of a solution of turkey broth, salt, sugar, and natural flavoring.

Tenderness: Another plumped-up bird, this one didnt fail to bring a moist and tender bite. The thigh meat was also soft and enjoyable to eat, and the breast meat was easily cut with a fork.

Texture: Once more, the texture was on the softer side due to the quantity of brining and basting that was done at the factory. The proteins structure was possibly more compromised by the extra liquid in the meat being frozen for longer.

Taste: Given that it had the highest solution percentage among the group, it had a somewhat salty taste. But overall it had a solid, turkey-like taste with plenty of brothy and sweet notes.

Conclusion: This bird was flavorful and packed full of brine and additives, but the flesh lacked a pleasing mouthfeel. As such, it’s a passable bird but nothing special.

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Size: 12.80 lbs

Additives: Up to 8% of a solution of turkey broth, salt, sodium phosphate, sugar, and natural flavoring.

Tenderness: Possibly as a result of the sodium phosphate that is added to enhance moisture and intensify flavors, this store-brand meat was likewise fairly plumped up and quite tasty. The FDA says that additive is recognized as generally safe.

Texture: This bird’s texture was significantly better, with a firmer, more poultry-like mouthfeel and less mealiness.

Taste: This store-brand turkey has a really good flavor, with a nice, round saltiness and sweeter notes than the others.

Verdict: If you and your guests don’t mind the addition of sodium phosphate, this is a great option that is sure to please the crowd during Thanksgiving.

Size: 13.15 lbs

Additives: Non-injected. Less than 5% of retained water.

Tenderness: When using the spatchcock method, the deeper portions remained nice and tender, even though it’s easier to get a drier bite when there’s no brine.

Texture: Mouthfeel was good, with plenty of real turkey-like taste and more fibrous, but welcome and fleshy bite.

Flavor: Flavor was good, with traditional turkey meat notes of sweetness, saltiness, and umami. Even though it wasn’t organic, you could tell that the bird tasted more naturally because there were no additives.

Conclusion: If you don’t want to pay the additional $3 to $5 for an organic bird, 99 a pound or more, this is a great choice with good flavor. Just do your own home brine before cooking to amp up the moistness. RELATED: 50 Best Thanksgiving Recipes.

Size: 13.64 lbs

Additives: None

Tenderness: Although the meat was not as moist as the injected birds, taste testers found it to be much more appealing due to its firmer and more natural bite. With a little more effort, you could still cut the breast meat with a fork.

Texture: No mealy-ness at all. Mouthfeel was excellent without being tough and gave a nice chew.

Taste: This flavor is quite similar to the authentic, slightly gamey taste of a heritage or wild turkey, if you’ve ever had one. Lots of balanced notes of sweetness, saltiness, and umami made it the winner.

Conclusion: Being USDA certified organic and devoid of any additives, the only area where this bird faltered was moisture. However, that is easily fixed with a homemade brine, and the result is an incredibly tender turkey that tastes like real meat rather than mush.

Here are some more essential Thanksgiving recipes and tips:

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How to Prepare a Turkey – Shady Brook Farms