Turkey Run

Any Canadian living within an hour drive of the US border has more than likely heard the term turkey run. Now why would that be interesting? The simple reason is in Canada the turkey prices are regulated so getting any kind of a bargain is very difficult. This week one Canadian grocery store has turkeys on for 99¢ per pound which is a fantastic Canadian price. However due to the US Thanksgiving yesterday turkeys were on for as cheap as 29¢ per pound at some US grocery stores making a turkey run even with the price of gas well worth it!

We did our turkey run on Wednesday. Kroger had turkeys on for 49¢ per pound with an additional $10 purchase with a limit of one per customer with their store card. We shopped separately and each of us used our store cards so we were allowed 2 turkeys coming in a $10.86 and $10.39. Our next stop was a grocery store where turkeys were on for 29¢ per pound, limit one per customer with an additional $25 purchase. My husband insisted we get a turkey each even though I tried to tell him we didn't have room in the freezers for 4 turkeys. We paid $5.37 and $5.68 for the turkeys here. The total spent including the extra groceries and the 4 turkeys was $110.53. Considering the turkeys will give a yield of at least 28 L of stock and at today's sale price for stock of $1.63/500 ml would cost $91.28 it's easy to see how a turkey run saves considerably!

Turkey Dinner

As I told my husband we didn't have room for 4 turkeys in the freezers. He had alteriour motives though claiming he wanted his Thanksgiving feast Thursday night. I reminded him he wasn't American and he had had his Thanksgiving feast on our Canadian Thankgiving to which he responded with those puppy dog eyes and a bit of a pout so one turkey was put in the sink to thaw overnight.

Thawing Method: Place plug in sink then put the turkey in the sink. Place two t-towels over the bird and fill to almost covering the bird with cold water. Let sit overnight. The next morning remove the bird from the sink. Remove packaging and prepare for roasting.

I've talked about how I roast turkeys so there is nothing really new there and I've talked about how I make stuffing as well using homemade poultry seasoning. What is a bit different is the gravy and potatoes. I find corn starch makes a nicer textured gravy than flour does with a lot fewer lumps.

Gravy Method: Pour any liquid from the roasting pan into a large sauce pan. Deglaze the roasting pan and pour that through a strainer into the liquid. Make a slurry using about 2 tbsp cornstarch and enough buttermilk to make the slurry pourable. Bring the resulting mixture to a slow boil. Stir in about ¼tsp browning. Slowly pour in the slurry while stirring constantly. Let thicken while stirring then remove from heat.

Rustic Potatoes: Wash and cut unpeeled potatoes into bite sized pieces. Steam until tender. Place potatoes in bowl of stand mixer. Pour in about ½ cup buttermilk. Add about 1 c sour cream, a tbsp butter, 8 oz cream cheese and 2 tbsp roasted garlic. Beat on low to mix well but don't over beat.