Small Turkeys for Thanksgiving??

[diznee25]

Hi everyone!

My fiancee' and I want to have a quite, intimate Thanksgiving dinner with just the two of us. We were wondering if small WHOLE turkeys can be purchased from stores. (Around 3 or 4 pounds.)

Surely there are many small families out there who can't down a 15 or 20 pound turkey! What do you do?

Thanks,
Michelle

 

[Meriweather]

I buy a turkey breast and roast that.

 

[DISshopkeeper]

Ditto on the turkey breast. Plus ya GOTTA have some leftovers. And then there's soup!

 

[mtemm]

unless you really like dark meat I'd go with the turkey breast, too. I occasionally make a split breast for dh and I and just the split one leaves plenty of leftovers. I think the full one would leave enough for all kinds of leftovers. Make sure you get a bone-in one...tastes like thanksgiving to me!

 

[FloridaCat]

You can purchase a Baking Hen, 3-4#. You can stuff and roast like a Turkey. Taste is not that much differnt.

 

[disneychrista]

Why not just skip the turkey all together and make the dinner "everything but the turkey"? This is what we do (since we are vegetarians). Stuffing, Mashed Potatos & Gravy, Cranberry Sauce, Veggies, rolls and whatever else you have normally.

Just a suggestion.

 

[cart-mom]

Grilled Turkey
Serves 8 Prep time: 5 minutes Total time: 1hour 35 minutes
per serving - 239 calories, 4.7g fat, 44.4g protein, 2.2g carbs
1. In a bowl combine 1T each dried basil, oregano, and parsley with 2teaspoons garlic powder,
1teaspoon pepper and paprika, and 1/2 tsp. onion powder. Rub mixture and 2T. olive oil over
2 boneless, skinless turkey breast halves. Cover, refrigerate at least 1hr or longer.
2. Heat grill on high. Season turkey with salt. Grill until seared on first side, 5-8 minutes. Turn
turkey; move to cooler part of grill. Cover grill/close the lid; cook until turkey reaches an internal
temp. of 160 degrees, 10-20 minutes. Remove from grill; let rest 10 min. before carving.

The recipe says it serves 8 but I can never stretch it that far. It's so easy and so tasty. If you can't grill it you can just bake it in the oven at 325 degrees for about 40-50 minutes - check for doneness by temp.

 

[Allie322]

My parents live in another part of the country and are often alone for Thanksgiving. My mother gets a 10-14 lb. turkey and has the butcher cut it in half. She puts one half in the freezer for another time, and serves the other half for her and Dad on Turkey Day.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I know Marie makes a turkey breast thing here every so often, it's great!!!!! With me on Atkins, I will eat the whole thing, LOL.

 

[La_brer_bear]

Cajun Fried Turkey

3 days before:

Completely thaw Turkey (8 - 12 lb for best results)

1 day before:

Marinate turkey at least 8 hrs before frying (follow instructions on marinade)

Make sure to inject marinade as you insert and remove needle to assure even distribution of spices.

Coat skin and cavity with some type of seasoning salt and pepper mixture (rub into skin and cavity).

D-day

Get pot big enough for turkey and to have no less than 6" of clearance once turkey is placed into pot.

Fill with enough "high temperature oil" any will do, real Cajuns use "Hog lard" (it's cheap.

Bring oil up to cooking temperature (350 f, a regular safety match will light, in grease, at 350 f).

Tie turkey legs together with wire (usually one comes with turkey) and hook an unpainted metal coat hanger onto this wire. This is how you lower turkey into oil and remove once cooked.

Carefully lower turkey into oil and allow coat hanger to hang over side of pot.

Cook for approx. 3 to 3.5 min per pound (if pot is large enough turkey will begin to float when done).











Bob's Secret Marinade


20 oz Wishbone Italian Dressing (Strain out the seeds)
8 oz. Lemon Juice
6 oz. Louisiana Hot Sauce ( I prefer Louisiana Gold)
2 oz. Onion Juice
2 oz. Garlic Juice
15 oz. Worcestershire
6 oz. Red Wine
4 oz. Soy Sauce

Fill injector and inject turkey 8 oz. each breast and thigh and 6 oz. each wing and leg. After inserting needle move it around and inject in several areas without removing the needle. You don't want to make too many holes because the marinade will leak out. For best results, this should be done in time to allow 24 hours in the refrigerator prior to cooking. The marinade also speeds up the cooking time actually steaming the inner parts. Cooking time for a 10 - 12 pound turkey is around 35 - 45 minutes. It's done when it floats. Ma cher that's good yeh.


Bon Appetit

Bob Hebert

 

[diznee25]

Thanks for the receipes and suggestions! Everything sounds so yummmy.

I didn't know there were so many options available for a two person holiday meal! We'll have to think this over and luckly we have a few weeks to decide.


Thanks to all,
Michelle

 

[GeorgeG]

I'll cast another vote for the left-overs.