Last year, I rebelled against the price of turkey parts being so much higher than a whole turkey. I bought a small store brand turkey for $6 ($0.59 per pound for 10 pounds) and cut it up. Carcass, wings and legs went to make stock for Thanksgiving dinner. Breasts and thighs were boned and frozen for later meals. I'll do the same again this year if my shoulder progresses to the point where it can stand the rigors of preparing a holiday meal.
Turkey parts? I've never bought a "turkey part" (except see below).
Honestly, I'm part of the reason supermarkets quit selling turkeys at dirt cheap prices during the holidays. For years I've always loaded up on as many turkeys that would fit in my freezer. Keep in mind that I'm single so I don't have a family to feed...
I'd freeze them whole or I'd part them out. Is the whole worth more than the sum of the parts? (Not as far as I can see...)
If I had a deep freezer (I didn't) I would have bought enough holiday turkeys to last the rest of the year!!! I would have bought a couple dozen if I only had the place to put them (frozen).
I was the supermarket's worst fear! I'd buy lots of loss leader turkeys and then the rest of my spending was frugal.
I've always told people (like I'm telling the forum now) that cooking a turkey is no more complicated than cooking a TV dinner. For basic turkey all you do is preheat your oven and then wash off the turkey and stick it in No stuffing, no surface treatment required (like buttering). Just stick it in the oven and time it (# per hour) or better, use a remote reading thermometer.
I've cooked whole turkeys many time to eat alone. I don't need any festivity. And whenever I've cooked a turkey you could almost count on my making turkey enchiladas and turkey crepes in the successive nights...
A local supermarket had fresh legs and thighs packs on offer, the pack weighs a min of 4lbs (I picked the four biggest at 41/2lbs) The pack price was £3 or under $5.
I boned stuffed and roasted a thigh last night and it had very good flavor.
(Exception to Greg's rule above.) I've always been a sucker for nice thighs. I see a nice package of thighs and I see possibility, not the supermarket parting it out and hoping the sum is more than the parts.
Chicken livers used to be cheap, cheap, cheap! Then people who didn't freak out at the thought of eating liver starting hitting the chix livers and the price went up and they're almost as expnsive as the rest of the parts now.
I just simper when I see some nice thighs at the supermarket! I grab them right away and if nothing else I roast one of them and make Williams ranch sauce from the package (and often pour it over myy potato and/or starch ingredient.
You can
get turkey thighs ready to eat in about 40 minutes! A single thigh makes a nice dinner for a single guy! And cheap! I can't recall exactly but it's approximately $4-$5 for a generic turkey thigh inner per Person. This is one of my all time favorite quick and simple recipes!
Wow, just wow. I don't even want to know what the weekly food bill is for a family that keeps kosher.
