3 On Your Side: Talking Turkey
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Here is something to be thankful for, the cost of Thanksgiving dinner will be down this year. The price to feed 10 people ringing in at $49.04. That's about $4.90 per person, and down 44 cents from last turkey day.
Besides price, there are a lot of other things to consider. So 3 On Your Side consumer reporter Jim Donovan talks turkey.
They come in lots of different sizes, with many different labels.
"For some people it's like if the turkey is organic, or if it's antibiotic free, some people you know just want to know whether or not if the turkey is local, or whether or not it is humanely raised and the good news is that there is something for everyone," said chef Rachel Perron.
With Thanksgiving less than a week away, stores like Wegman's are stocked up!
"We have fresh, frozen, anything thing you're looking for we pretty much have," said Wegman's Chef, Joe Galiazzi.
What about price?
"You're going to pay about $1 more per pound for a fresh turkey," said Galiazzi.
But be prepared, if you're looking for a fresh Butterball, the nation's largest supplier is shipping about half of their usual number this holiday.
Even though it may be smaller, there's at least one benefit to having a fresh bird.
"The advantage of the fresh turkey is that you don't have to thaw it, because thawing a turkey takes a lot longer than most people think," said Perron.
Twenty-four hours for each four pounds of weight. That means it takes four days in a fridge to thaw out a 16 pound bird.
And how do you know how much is too much, or too little to cook?
Well there are apps and websites for that.
The Butterball site is complete with calculators and conversion tables to determine everything from how long to cook your turkey to what size to buy.
Expect 10 adults and six kids at the table? If they're big eaters and you want leftovers, you'll need a 23 pound bird and 22 and a half cups of stuffing.
After all, you don't want to have anyone leave your Thanksgiving table hungry!
