topic How long would you keep a fresh turkey before roasting? in Kitchen

How long would you keep a fresh turkey before roasting?

JJsMom — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 17:27:17 GMT

If you buy fresh turkeys, how far in advance would you get it?

Re: How long would you keep a fresh turkey before roasting?

I am still oxox — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 17:29:23 GMT

No more than three days I will buy a turkey Sunday to cook for Thanksgiving

Re: How long would you keep a fresh turkey before roasting?

grandma2pkmh — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 17:40:05 GMT

@JJsMom I go by the "use by" date on the price tag. They are usually weeks in the future. Think how long they sit in the grocery store before someone buys it.

Re: How long would you keep a fresh turkey before roasting?

cherry — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 18:16:45 GMT

From the Butterball website

Storing Fresh Turkey: Fresh turkey should be refrigerated at 35º F to 40º F. The lower temperature is preferred. Cook as soon as possible to ensure maximum freshness. If you are not confident about the temperature of your refrigerator, cook or freeze the turkey within 4 days of sell-by date.

Re: How long would you keep a fresh turkey before roasting?

Nightowlz — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 18:43:56 GMT

If it was me I would buy on Tues. I for sure would not buy one before Mon.

Re: How long would you keep a fresh turkey before roasting?

ID2 — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 18:49:27 GMT

I'm buying a fresh turkey from a local farm. They "slaughter" it on Monday, I pick it up on Tuesday and won't be cooking it until Saturday (our Thanksgiving dinner) without a problem. I do it this way every year.

Re: How long would you keep a fresh turkey before roasting?

RedTop — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 18:49:30 GMT

I usually buy my fresh turkey breasts on Saturday before Thanksgiving. I’ve never had a problem with keeping them in the refrigerator until I cook them on Thursday.

Re: How long would you keep a fresh turkey before roasting?

Carmie — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 18:52:21 GMT

in my area, fresh turkeys are scarce and they sell out fast. If you snooze, you lose. Most of them also are half frozen inside when you get them anyway.

If you have a place to keep it properly refrigerated to about 38 degrees, i’d Get it on Monday. If no storage, I’d see if the market could hold one for you.

Those Fresh turkeys are all sent to the market ahead of time, so if you wait later in the week, your turkey isn’t any fresher. The only difference is, the market can store it at the proper temptature.

Re: How long would you keep a fresh turkey before roasting?

Big Joanie — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 19:37:10 GMT

For dinner on Thursday .. i always got mine Tuesday or Wednesday ..

However I did take the giblets etc. out of the inside immediately ...

and rinsed out the cavity ....of course I had to rinse the cavity out

again come Thursday ....but where I ran into trouble was leaving

those giblets sit in the turkey till Thursday morning ....

We had a turkey farm right in our town ...

Re: How long would you keep a fresh turkey before roasting?

kelsey17 — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 20:00:40 GMT

@I am still oxox wrote:
No more than three days I will buy a turkey Sunday to cook for Thanksgiving

I also buy my fresh turkey on Sunday for Thursday...has been fine...but i do remember to turn the temp down a bit

in my fridge to keep things just a little cooler then usual...

read that somewhere some years back....so i have always done it...

Re: How long would you keep a fresh turkey before roasting?

DiAnne — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 21:58:05 GMT

I used to pick the turkey up at farm on Tuesday to cook for Thanksgiving.

Re: How long would you keep a fresh turkey before roasting?

JJsMom — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 18:30:04 GMT

Thanks for the helpful replies. They prompted me to check the Sell By dates on the turkeys, and they ranged from 11/24 to 11/26. I wasn't comfortable getting it so soon, so I think I'll wait until this weekend to see if they put out fresher ones. I did notice they were partially frozen. That probably helps them keep longer. Thanks again for the responses!