Minneapolis/St. Paul Nesties
stephmarie
member
Samuel Robert 4/4/11 (Photo by Gruman Photography)
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Ordering a turkey?
We are hosting our first Friendsgiving this year and I need to get a turkey. I haven't made a definitive decision on how to prepare the turkey, but since I'm thinking of either brining or salting it I'm wary of buying a frozen Butterball type turkey as I don't want it to end up too salty.
I've never ordered a fresh turkey before and don't want to end up paying a fortune. I see Whole Foods has an option for $1.99/lb and I haven't checked out any other places.
So, where do you get your turkey? Bonus questions: Do you salt or brine? Have you salted or brined a frozen turkey?
Samuel Robert 4/4/11 (Photo by Gruman Photography) 
Re: Ordering a turkey?
That's what I'm afraid of and don't really want to deal with that so I'm leaning towards something like this.
I've brined for the past two years and just used a regular Butterbal Turkey. I do think the brining kept the meat a little juicier. For baking, I used an Emeril recipe that he showcased on Martha Stewart's show one year featuring a bacon and sage butter spread that goes under the skin before baking. It turns out really pretty and flavorful.
This is pretty close:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/bacon-and-herb-roast-turkey-breast-recipe/index.html
We always brine (butterball or jennie-o typically) and it is always a-maz-ing. We rotate between these two:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Molasses-Brined-Turkey-with-Gingersnap-Gravy-107284
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Honey-Brined-Turkey-with-Giblet-Cream-Gravy-102478
It stays so juicy you can do it on the grill without any problems whatsoever.
Our turkey always comes from Calister Farms at the St. Paul Farmers Market (fresh!) but the Whole Foods option sounds like a good deal (fresh, organic, price).
We always brine, it ends up being a much juicier, and tastier, bird. While we usually just make our own brine, this Alton Brown recipe is good/easy.
Dad and I had a turkey off a couple years ago. He grilled one, I brined and baked mine. I thought they were both fabulous. I used the standard frozen one from Cub with the Williams and Sonoma brine mix, but I think any brine mix would be fine. The turkey stayed SO juicy.
It was the first time I made the turkey as well. I followed the brine directions and for the turkey I followed the great step by step from the Pioneer Woman. Turned out great. Good luck!