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I have always had frozen turkeys. Is there much difference in the flavor, texture, moisture between the two? Just wanting your opinions.
I guess I must not be an expert on turkeys as I see very little difference. Now days the frozen turkeys are very good so I can't see paying the extra money for a fresh one. And just because it says fresh doesn't mean it has never been frozen. If poultry is frozen down to around 31 degrees...I might be off a degree or two with that....they can legally be sold as fresh. Here's another disadvantage which I doubt you want to hear....lol ....and that is fresh will have more of a "reaction" similiar to beans than the frozen ones.
Elizabeth
I'm no expert, but I've had both, and I really can't taste a difference.
I had that same question answered by a show put on by the Cook's magazine people. Their consensus was that brine or no brine (they do recommend brining) the frozen turkey was superior. Reason being that the "fresh" ones are kept chilled at such a low temperature to prevent spoilage that ice crystals form in the muscles and cause the cells to break within the meat tissue causing fuid leakage. The end efect of this is a much drier bird. After learning this I was not compelled to spend the extra $$ for a fresh bird.
I do buy fresh turkeys and really like them a lot better. Let me explain that there is a small turkey farm just down the road from where I work. I know they are very fresh there, they sell them out of the cleaning room. Smells ghastly, not spoiled just turkey insides, LOL. At least that way I know that their facility is very clean. I have to get an 18-20 lb one. I tried to order a 14 lb bird the first year and the farmer told me that was a chicken.
I have roasted both fresh and frozen and my family and friends preferred the frozen, which was fine by me because they are on sale!
We cook fresh and it is always worth the extra. Anyone who has ever joined us for Thanksgiving has opted for fresh after that!
My mom always insisted on fresh turkey from the turkey farm in town. Many years later, I always do a frozen turkey. I did try fresh (from the same turkey farm) for a year or two. I stuff the stuffing in the bird. I noticed that the stuffing came out mushy and not as good in the fresh bird - too much moisture. Stuffing comes out great when stuffed in the frozen bird. For that reason (and also because it's much cheaper!) I'll stick with the frozen turkeys.
I tried a fresh turkey and I really couldn't tell a difference either. The only reason I would buy a fresh turkey would be if I didn't have time to defrost a frozen one! That being said, I'd better go out and buy a frozen turkey soon!
Salbo
I buy both. Everyone prefers deep fried, but a good fresh roasted turkey far out weighs the deep fryer. Fresh is moister therefore my reason behind roasting. Moisture is sealed in whenever I deep fry thus fore the reason for using frozen for this method (my frozen turkey's are always on the dry side).