Is there any other brands of turkey that are a good alternative to Butterball?

[DodgerGirl]

Last Thanksgiving we had a Butterball turkey and we were disappointed with it and for years my family had always bought Butterball turkeys every Thanksgiving and now we might have to search for another turkey brand and I would like to know what everyone can recommend as an alternative to Butterball? We are looking at Jennie-O turkeys and how good are they?

 

[NYCgrrl]

There have been changes in the Butterball line. Now they sell birds injected with salt/sugar water (traditional for the company) and “natural” turkeys.
Anyway, nationally there are Jenny-O and ShadyBrook turkeys as well. You have to read the label to know you are getting one that is pre brined or not.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We like Shady Brook Farms. The fresh ones - not frozen. They sell out really fast around here.

 

[disneychrista]

I bought a Jenni-O boneless breast last year and was pleasantly surprised.

 

[gmi3804]

Why would you switch after having one bad one after many years of good ones? Are you concerned that they're all bad now? Did you ever consider buying a fresh one?

 

[TippyThomas]

We always got ours fresh, no brand name required.

 

[Giraffe_Zen]

Bell and Evans.
The 365 brand from Whole Foods isn't bad either.

 

[neverlandsky]

I’ve made the switch to fresh whole chickens for Thanksgiving. Can’t do the frozen turkeys anymore - they taste off to us and fresh turkeys are expensive and harder to find for our area.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I don't know what grocery store chains are common in your area, but we usually go with the grocery store's "brand." Butterball is overrated. I'll buy it if they drop the prices and it's the only option that's larger. I try to stock up on store turkey when they drop the price to Thanksgiving levels. In an average year, we have at least four full turkey dinners. Some years, as many as 8-10 due to chest freezer storage. So, we're well practiced.

I will say that prep is really a big part of it. Most of the birds today are prepared so that you don't need to baste. While simple foil over a roasting pan has always done well for us, we bought a large self basting roaster several years ago that has been a gamechanger with moistness. We just pop it into the oven for the last hour or so to brown.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I will say that prep is really a

big part of it. Most of the birds today are prepared so that you don't need to baste.

I found that placing double layers of cheesecloth over the breast area takes care of the basting problem. Just pour your favorite basting liquid over the cheesecloth and no more burnt wrists or constant opening the oven. Remove the cloth about 45 minutes before the end of cooking time and you’ll have perfectly golden crispy skin throughout.

 

[TippyThomas]

I found that placing double layers of cheesecloth over the breast area takes care of the basting problem. Just pour your favorite basting liquid over the cheesecloth and no more burnt wrists or constant opening the oven. Remove the cloth about 45 minutes before the end of cooking time and you’ll have perfectly golden crispy skin throughout.

I know I can always count on you for some excellent cooking tips.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I found that placing double layers of cheesecloth over the breast area takes care of the basting problem. Just pour your favorite basting liquid over the cheesecloth and no more burnt wrists or constant opening the oven. Remove the cloth about 45 minutes before the end of cooking time and you’ll have perfectly golden crispy skin throughout.

This is what we use. It can handle up to a 26 pound turkey. I oil and salt the skin and may add in some stalks of celery and sliced onion for extra flavoring, but we literally just put it in this thing and forget about it for several hours.

 

[Nayan]

When I used to cook turkey I never bought name-brand ones, always store-brand and would do my own thing whether brining, basting, etc. Never had a 'bad' one.

 

[BayouQueen]

Last Thanksgiving we had a Butterball turkey and we were disappointed with it and for years my family had always bought Butterball turkeys every Thanksgiving and now we might have to search for another turkey brand and I would like to know what everyone can recommend as an alternative to Butterball? We are looking at Jennie-O turkeys and how good are they?

We had a bad experience with Butterball last time, too. We purchased it frozen. It was so bad I didn't eat it. Just tasted old.
But for years they've been very good, so I'll give them another chance. There was a lot of upheaval in meat and poultry processing during the pandemic. Maybe things just weren't back up to speed yet.

 

[BayouQueen]

This is what we use. It can handle up to a 26 pound turkey. I oil and salt the skin and may add in some stalks of celery and sliced onion for extra flavoring, but we literally just put it in this thing and forget about it for several hours.

View attachment 911300

I need one of those roasters. I have a clay Romertof cooker I use sometimes, but it won't hold a large turkey.
My mom made great turkeys. She always started breast side down and flipped it half way through to keep the breast moist. That was a really messy -- and probably dangerous -- operation. I like your roaster better!

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I need one of those roasters. I have a clay Romertof cooker I use sometimes, but it won't hold a large turkey.
My mom made great turkeys. She always started breast side down and flipped it half way through to keep the breast moist. That was a really messy -- and probably dangerous -- operation. I like your roaster better!

Yeah, we don't flip the bird. OK, that didn't sound right, but you know what I mean. I think we tried one year and aside from it being a piping hot bundle of poultry that could easily go rolling, it didn't make a difference. I'm always trying to aim for turkeys in the 20-25lb range (unless DH wants to smoke a smaller one), so big was necessary. It has a rack with handles, so it's really easy to just lift it out and place it into a traditional roasting pan when it's time to move it to the oven for browning. We got it at Costco several years ago and it was pretty cheap for the size. Definitely a good purchase.

 

[MICKIMINI]

We bought a fresh turkey from Whole Foods a couple years ago for Thanksgiving. It wasn't any better than a frozen turkey from the supermarket. One time purchase for us.

 

[BrianL]

I don't find that brand makes much of a difference. I usually pick out the turkey, and I am usually looking at size and shape - I like the big ones - 20 lbs. and up! I think the more even looking ones come out best, but it's really all in the preparation.

 

[tvguy]

We used to get Diestel branded turkeys from Whole Foods. Expensive, and you have to sign up a month in advance to get one, but good. Just not sure they are worth the cost.
Any more we just buy a Foster Farms Turkey Breast Roast. With just two of us, that is still several meals worth of turkey.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I just bought a Butterball turkey and a Honeysuckle turkey. I plan to make one on Thankgiving and then one in the Spring sometime. We usually do Butterball but I wanted to try Honeysuckle to see what it's like.

We also use an electric roasting pan like above. I read tips online for how to still get it browned nicely. And it's good to free up our ovens for all of the sides and whatnot.