The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 33rd annual survey finds the average cost for a 16 pound turkey this year is about $1.36 a pound. That’s down from last year.
Thanks to an ample supply of the holiday bird, Thanksgiving retail turkey prices are the lowest since 2014.
Gone are the days of Mom waking up at 5 am to slather oil on the turkey before popping it in the oven.
HEB Cooking Connection Manager Linda Rossman said it's still in to smoke or deep fry. The latest trend is all about the brining or injecting the turkey in different flavors, especially Cajun, but it takes a lot of prep time.
"Let it sit in the refrigerator 12 to 24 hours, then cook it. So that dry turkey is no more. It's going to have flavor and it's going to be juicy," said Rossman.
She said if you're going to brine, start de-thawing that turkey now because it takes five pounds a day to defrost a turkey.
"Don't count Thanksgiving Day. Count it being defrosted and ready for Wednesday. Unless you're brining, then you have to think Tuesday because you're going to have to take 12 to 24 hours to brine that turkey before you cook it," said Rossman.
She said figure out the oil level before deep frying your turkey by using water. Take your turkey with the wrapping still on it and pour water in the fryer. Dunk the turkey in the water in the fryer and let all the water pour out. Remove the turkey to see where you should fill the oil to, by the amount of water left in the fryer.
Once you’re done, clean out the pot and dry it. Make sure there is no water left in it before you put the oil in.
Select organic turkeys at Whole Foods will cost $3.49 a pound. Amazon’s Whole Foods is offering no-antibiotic turkeys for $2.49 a pound. Amazon Prime customers pay $2.99 per pound for an organic turkey and $1.99 per pound on no-antibiotic turkeys.