Choosing the right turkey, a few thoughts:

1. Just because a turkey has a brand name that you recognize doesn’t mean that it will be the best turkey. It just means that it is well known.  Many turkey producers (turkey producers? that just sounds wrong) place many labels on their turkeys, meaning that the cheapo store brand turkey is likely the same as the butterball.  There is no discernible difference in most brand names, so just go with the cheapest, unless you are very comfortable with a brand name.
2. Just buy a plain old turkey.  No Self Basting, No Kosher.  If you buy a Kosher turkey and you brine it, you will have a very salty turkey.  Just a plain old turkey.
3. Buy a turkey in the 15 to 18 pound range.  Of course you get more meat on a 22 pound turkey, but the outer half of that meat is dry and flavorless while the very inside is raw.
4. Select the plumpest bird in this  weight class. For instance, you want a 15-pounder. Look over all the 15-pounders and select the plumpest. Some 15-pounders will be slim and some will be fat. Some turkeys are flat chested and some are kind of bony. Choose the most rounded and plump turkey. It’s that easy. If a bird is skinny, it could mean it wasn’t a very healthy bird and might be tough and dry. Also, the bone and fat will cost you just as much as the meat, so more meat/less waste is better.

Thawing the Turkey:

1. I’m not a particularly organized person, but I have drawn up a turkey timeline, here’s mine.
   1. 11/27 Thanksgiving Day, we eat at 1:00 P.M
   2. 5-5 1/2 hours to cook (with basting) and 20 minute for resting means the turkey goes in at 7:00 to 7:15 in the morning.  Don’t Forget to preheat to 425.  I didn’t say this would be easy.
   3. I want the turkey to brine 1 hour for every pound of turkey so that’s 15 to 18 hours.  Lets just say I bought a 17 pound turkey, so 17 hours brining means the brining begins at 2:00pm 11/26, the day before thanksgiving.
   4. The turkey should be thawed completely before brining.  Turkeys in our weight class should be thawed in the fridge 3 1/2 to 4 days.  This means that I begin the thaw no later than 2:00 P.M on 11/22.  You can begin earlier in the fridge if you want.   Do not thaw at room temperature, you’re just asking for sickness.  You can thaw in cold running water, but I wouldn’t recommend it.  Who wants to thaw a turkey in the sink for 5 hours and waste all that water.
2. Ok, there is no 2, I covered it all in the timeline.

This should get you caught up.  I will keep you updated throughout the coming week.  We’ll do a step by step on the brining of course, and I’ll try to include pictures.  I’ll also do post on the bird prep.  Stuffing Rosemary butter under the skin of the breast, and filling the cavity with mirepoix (onions, carrots and celery).  And a separate post on basting.  Stay tuned.