Ok, so the news that Butterball turkeys are Halal came a little late in the game. But since I found out about it I have become obsessed. My husband is known to roll his eyes when he hears me talking about it with people. But the simple fact that I can go into my all American grocery store and buy halal meat is mind blowing to me. I find it very difficult when it comes to halal food. I do all the shopping in my house, but I hate going into a halal market by myself. I am not comfortable with it. I guess I will save that topic for another post. Back on track… where was I? Halal in my grocery store… right.
Last Saturday I was plopping around my local Target and I saw a butterball turkey on sale. And I walk past it and then turn around and walk past it a few more times. I look in their bin and start an internal debate. (don’t know if some of it was said aloud… you would have to ask the other patrons) The smallest turkey they had for sale was a 19 pounder. 19 POUNDS!!!! Mind you there are only two of us at home that I have to cook for. 19 Pounds of meat. Would this become our third roommate?
I finally surrendered to the fact that the sale wouldn’t last forever and other stores were selling them for double the price… so I bit the bullet and put it in my cart. I was now the proud owner of a 19lb butterball… with no idea what to do with it.
I have cooked a turkey by myself once in my life. My mother is an amazing cook, and she is the one that usually does this at Thanksgiving. The one time I did a turkey was when I was still in college living with my roommate Elise. I don’t really remember having to thaw it for 5 days as per the instructions on the turkey and given to me by the older gentleman that ran me out. I guess I had a panic stricken face when he ran me out, because he was full of advice. It was so heavy that along with my other items I couldn’t carry it all up my stairs. I had to call Hassan and get him to take it up the stairs to our apartment. And this is how 2 became 3.
It is Wednesday night and ‘IT’ is partially thawed out. My mother usually brines her turkeys but I honestly don’t have a vessel besides a trash can that could hold this thing. I have a roasting pan but that is shallow…. so wet brine is out of the question. I hauled my partially frozen turkey out of the fridge and opened her up. I was going in. I was going to dry brine this sucker. 20 min later and the threat of salmonellae cleaned away… my turkey is back in the fridge bagged up. Don’t know when she will actually thaw out, but when she does I am ready.
With an apartment this small its strange having our third roommate be a frozen 19lb butterball. One good thing is that she doesn’t talk very much and I don’t have to worry about her flirting with my husband. Sure she hogs all the space in my tiny fridge, but like all things this too shall pass.
