Start getting ready for Turkey Day!

Hello my foodie friends!

I am going to start posting some great Turkey day recipes in the next week or so.  Don't worry, I will be handing out tips and other recipes as well.  I want you to start getting ready for the big eating event though.  If you start now - you will be saving a lot of money by the time we get to The Big Dinner.

This week, you need to start making your veggy/chicken/whatever stock and freezing it because you will need a lot for the wonderful feast.  Look up my recipe for making stock - even if you make a small batch every week or every other week with all of your leftover tidbits, you won't have to buy stock to make your stuffing, gravy, etc.  This will save you anywhere between $5 and $8 because your stock made from leftovers doesn't cost anything to make.  I know $5 doesn't sound like a lot but if you can save $5 here and $5 there - it adds up.

I have been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for something like 16 years.  I have tried lots of different tips for making the perfect turkey and a few years ago, I finally tried brining because my brother-in-law swore it was the key.  He was right. 

The biggest money saving tip I can offer is - buy your turkey when they are on sale for some ridiculous price.  I promise that the brining method I will post at a later date will make even the cheapest turkey taste like a million bucks.  Two years ago, I bought a frozen turkey for 59 cents a pound - after using my coupon, the 20 lb turkey cost me something like $9.00.  It sat in my freezer for a week or so and I was not confident that it would be any good.  It was delicious.  Last year I bought an organic, free range, pre-brined, blah, blah, blah turkey  (it cost $105).  I thought it was going to be the most amazing thing I ever ate - it wasn't.  It was good but no better than the $9.00 turkey from the previous year.  So start looking for a bargain turkey.

The one thing I have to tell you before you go turkey shopping is this - the defrosting/brining/drying/cooking method that I am talking about will take at least 6 days.  So if you want to embark on this adventure, you have to have patience.  You will also need a vessel (I use a very large bucket) that will hold your turkey under some sort of refrigeration for 3 days. If you don't have a fridge big enough (or empty enough) to hold the turkey in it's vessel, you can purchase a cheap styrofoam cooler for this purpose (and keep it in the garage, kitchen floor, etc) - you will just need to keep adding ice to it to keep it cold.

Are you intrigued?  Are you excited about serving an awesome turkey dinner that will cost less than $5.00 per serving.  That $5.00 per serving includes your turkey, gravy, some sort of bread, 2 sides, and 2 veggys.  We will talk about dessert another time.

If you have any questions or need me to repost my stock recipe - let me know.

Happy eating
K