Purchasing and preparing the turkey for Thanksgiving has taken on a kind of mythical status through the years. Its a big hunk of poultry that you only cook once a year, so taking the care to properly store, thaw, and cook the big bird in time for a glorious entrance to the harvest table can be tricky. While it may not be as easy to control for seasonings, cooking times, and temperatures, there is one easy way to start off your Thanksgiving feast preparation on the right foot: Buy the best bird.
To help you decide which turkey to buy for this Thanksgiving, we bought, roasted, and tasted five brand-name frozen turkeys from the supermarket. We had taste testers judge the birds based on tenderness, texture, and flavor to determine a winner. (Also, dont miss We Taste-Tasted 5 Stuffing Mixes & This Is the Best.)
Turkey is a staple for holiday meals and Sunday dinners. But not all turkey is created equal. The brand you choose makes a big difference in taste, texture and overall quality. With so many turkey brands on the market, how do you know which is the best? I compared the top turkey brands based on expert tests and reviews as well as customer feedback. Here are the best turkey brands to buy for optimal flavor, juiciness and value.
Highest Rated: Plainville Farms Fresh Young Turkey
Plainville Farms fresh turkeys consistently earn top marks for their premium quality. These birds are prized for their plump juicy meat with outstanding flavor.
Plainville Farms raises their turkeys in small barns in New England. The turkeys live in a stress-free environment and are fed an all-vegetarian diet with no animal by-products. Plainville Farms only offers fresh turkeys not frozen. They are air-chilled rather than water-chilled to prevent absorption of excess water.
Expert tasters praise Plainville Farms turkeys for their “very tender and succulent” meat with a “robust turkey flavor” Their freshness also makes a difference in juiciness. These are smaller birds compared to mass market turkeys, ranging from 10 to 18 pounds The smaller size contributes to a more concentrated turkey taste.
Plainville Farms turkeys are more expensive than basic supermarket brands. But fans say the premium quality and flavor are worth the price. These are ideal if you want the very best-tasting fresh turkey.
Runner Up: Butterball Premium Fresh Turkey
After Plainville Farms, Butterball earned the next highest scores in turkey taste tests. This fresh turkey brand is known for quality and consistently moist meat.
Butterball fresh turkeys are minimally processed with no preservatives or additives. They are fed a vegetarian diet with no animal by-products. Their turkeys are raised cage-free in barns with room to roam.
Compared to Plainville Farms, the Butterball fresh turkeys are less expensive at your local supermarket. You’ll get great flavor and texture without paying quite as much as the premium Plainville birds. The turkeys range from 10 to 24 pounds.
Experts praise the Butterball fresh turkeys for their juiciness and well-seasoned flavor. The meat has a “plump, heavy” texture when cooked properly. Overall an excellent option if you want a high quality fresh turkey without the splurge on Plainville Farms.
Best Heritage Breed: Mary’s Free-Range Turkey
Mary’s Free-Range turkeys stand out for their exceptional rich, complex flavor. The difference comes from using heritage turkey breeds raised on small family farms.
Popular commercial turkeys are selectively bred for massive breast meat. Mary’s uses heritage breeds like Bourbon Red and Standard Bronze which have darker, more flavorful meat. The turkeys live outdoors with plenty of space to move around naturally. Their diverse diet and slower growth contributes to the intense taste.
Cooking a heritage breed turkey requires some technique. The leg and thigh meat finishes cooking before the breast. Letting the bird rest after cooking evens out the temperature. Taking the extra time rewards you with phenomenal old-fashioned turkey flavor.
At $4-5 per pound, Mary’s costs over twice as much as basic turkeys. It’s a worthwhile splurge if rich turkey flavor is your top priority.
Best Kosher: Empire Kosher Fresh Turkey
Empire Kosher earns rave reviews year after year for their premium kosher turkeys. Their fresh turkeys consistently impress with delicious flavor and perfect moisture.
These certified kosher birds are raised in Pennsylvania barns with unlimited access to feed and water. They are hand-fed vegetarian feed made from locally grown crops. Each turkey is hand-slaughtered and salted to drain blood per kosher standards. This labor-intensive process is reflected in the price.
Empire’s turkeys are prized for plump, juicy breast meat that stays moist when cooking. Tasters love the “robust turkey taste” with no unwanted seasonings. If you want a kosher turkey that tastes as good as the best premium turkeys, Empire Kosher is the top choice.
Best Organic: Willie Bird Turkey
Wilde Chicken & Turkey offer the best tasting organic turkeys based on customer reviews and expert tests. Their Willie Bird Turkey brand is certified organic and USDA approved.
These turkeys are raised cage-free in California with an all-vegetarian diet. They are minimally processed with no preservatives or artificial ingredients. Their slower growth and special mineral-rich feed enhances the flavor. Willie Bird turkeys are brined before smoking for added moisture and taste.
Reviewers praise the tender, succulent meat and convenience of a pre-brined turkey. The smoking adds delicious flavor without overpowering the natural turkey taste. It’s the best option for those seeking an organic turkey.
Best Mail Order: Holy Grail Steak Co. Premium Turkey
Looking for a premium quality mail order turkey? Holy Grail Steak Co. offers ultra-fresh turkeys directly shipped to your door. Their turkeys earn rave reviews for exceeding grocery store quality.
These turkeys are pre-brined to lock in moisture. They are free of antibiotics, hormones and animal by-products. Each turkey is flash-frozen at the peak of freshness to preserve the flavor and texture.
Customers repeatedly praise how juicy and delicious these turkeys turn out compared to what they can find locally. The pre-brining makes them forgiving to cook as they stay so moist. While mail order turkeys cost more, these provide gourmet quality from the convenience of home delivery.
Best Value: Honeysuckle White Whole Turkey
For shoppers on a budget, Honeysuckle White turkeys provide the best bang for your buck. These pre-brined turkeys offer better quality than basic store brands at a very reasonable price point.
Honeysuckle White is known for their high standards from breed to processing. Their whole turkeys are minimally processed with no artificial ingredients. A salt and water brine keeps the meat moist and adds some seasoning.
Reviewers say Honeysuckle White turkeys offer quality “almost on par with premium brands” at an affordable cost. They are consistently juicier and more flavorful than basic no-name turkey brands. This is the go-to option when you want great quality and value.
Honorable Mentions
Here are other excellent turkey brands that earned positive reviews:
- Jennie-O Oven Ready Turkey – Well-rated for convenience and taste
- Whole Foods All Natural Turkey – High marks for quality and health standards
- Trader Joe’s Brined Turkey – Praised for good flavor at a budget price
- Butterball Individually Frozen Turkey – Top choice for juicy meat if preferring frozen
While specialty turkeys offer premium quality, you can also get excellent results from major brands like Jennie-O and Butterball. Going beyond the generic store brand is key.
The Bottom Line on Selecting the Best Turkey
Plainville Farms premium fresh turkeys earn top honors for their unmatched flavor and texture. For high-end quality on a budget, Butterball fresh turkeys are runner-up. Willie Bird organic turkeys take top pick for organic, while Empire Kosher leads in kosher quality. Mary’s Free-Range heritage birds offer unbeatable rich turkey taste. No matter what you’re looking for, choosing one of the top brands highlighted here will help guarantee turkey perfection.
Here’s how we did it
We visited three local grocery stores—Food Lion, Harris Teeter, and Whole Foods—to source our big birds. They were all frozen and ranged in the 12–14-pound range. Two of the birds were not injected or didnt have any added salt, while the other three were already brined in the bag.
For how we cooked the turkey, we kept it super simple to remove a lot of variables that could possibly skew results. We went with a recipe that includes “spatchcocking” the bird, which is just cutting out the spine, flipping the bird over and pressing down on the breastbone until it cracks, allowing you the flatten it out on a roasting tray. This allows for quicker cooking, and a more even roast because the cool and moist inner cavity is no longer skewing how fast or slow certain parts (legs versus breast) get cooked to the proper temperature.
We dried the bird, applied a tablespoon of canola oil to each side along with two tablespoons of freshly ground black pepper, and, for the turkeys that werent brined, one tablespoon of Kosher salt.
Our oven was set to 450 degrees and after an hour of cooking, a Bluetooth meat thermometer was stuck deep into the breast and set with a 150-degree alarm. Once that went off—most of them only took about an hour and a half to cook—the legs were then checked to make sure they hit the 165-degree mark. When all temps were OK, the bird was taken out and left to rest for 5 minutes before carving and taste testing.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e
Each taste tester was given skin-on breast meat along with a chunk of leg and thigh meat. They were tasked with studying the meat for tenderness, texture, and flavor, and then ranked each according to a one-to-five scale and they wrote down comments. Those results were then calculated and edited, and created the Eat This, Not That! definitive holiday ranking of Thanksgiving turkeys. Here are the results, listed from worst to best.
Disclaimer: Since each turkey took time to thaw and store, plus would require five identical ovens, to roast at the same time, they were cooked over a two-week period with some taste tasters who were around to be able to give their opinions on every bird. And they all tasted very similar, as would be expected, so either would be a good choice for a successful Thanksgiving feast—and all skin was crispy and delicious, thanks to the spatchcock method.
Size: 12.61 lbs
Additives: Up to 8% of a solution of water, salt, spices, and natural flavor.
Tenderness: Since these birds are pretty heavily injected, the meat ended up to be very tender and moist, almost too watery for the breast meat.
Texture: The breast meat was the worst texture of the bunch, with a mealy, kind of crumbly mouthfeel. We speculated that was possibly because of the heavier brine and longer time sitting in a warehouse frozen.
Flavor: The flavor was decent, with almost too-salty taste, but it wasnt too overpowering as there was enough sugar in it to balance it out. We also didnt note much flavor from “spices.”
Verdict: If you failed to secure a turkey before Thanksgiving and this is all thats left, its a fine choice but its not going to bring rave reviews.
Size: 12.92 lbs
Additives: Approximately 9.5% of a solution of turkey broth, salt, sugar, and natural flavoring.
Tenderness: Another plumped-up bird, this one didnt fail to bring a moist and tender bite. It was easy to cut the breast meat with a fork, and the thigh meat was also tender and easy to eat.
Texture: Again, because of the amount of brining/basting done at the factory, the texture was on the less firm side. The proteins structure was possibly more compromised by the extra liquid in the meat being frozen for longer.
Flavor: Since it had the highest solution percentage out of the bunch, the flavor was a bit on the salty side. But overall it had a solid, turkey-like taste with plenty of brothy and sweet notes.
Verdict: This one was pumped full of brine and additives, so it had a nice flavor, but the flesh didnt have that nice mouthfeel; therefore, its a decent bird but not a standout.
Size: 12.80 lbs
Additives: Up to 8% of a solution of turkey broth, salt, sodium phosphate, sugar, and natural flavoring.
Tenderness: This store-brand was also pretty plumped up, and so the meat was also tender and pretty delicious, possibly because of the sodium phosphate, which is added to increase moisture and intensify flavors. The FDA says that additive is recognized as generally safe.
Texture: The texture was much better in this bird, with a firmer and more poultry-like mouthfeel, without much mealy-ness.
Flavor: Really nice flavor for a store-brand bird, with a nice, round saltiness and sweeter notes than the other turkeys.
Verdict: A great choice and certain Thanksgiving-crowd pleaser as long as you (and your guests) dont mind the addition of sodium phosphate.
Size: 13.15 lbs
Additives: Non-injected. Less than 5% of retained water.
Tenderness: Without the brine, its easier to get a drier bite when closer to the skin, but with the spatchcock method, it was still nice and tender on deeper portions.
Texture: Mouthfeel was good, with plenty of real turkey-like taste and more fibrous, but welcome and fleshy bite.
Flavor: Flavor was good, with traditional turkey meat notes of sweetness, saltiness, and umami. Though not organic, you could tell that since there were no additives that it was a more natural-tasting bird.
Verdict: If you dont want to spend the extra money for an organic bird, which can range from $3.99 a pound or more, this is a great choice with good flavor. Just do your own home brine before cooking to amp up the moistness. RELATED: 50 Best Thanksgiving Recipes
Size: 13.64 lbs
Additives: None
Tenderness: Though again, the meat was not quite as moist as the injected birds, the firmer and more natural bite made it the big hit with taste testers. You could still manage to cut the breast meat with a fork, you just had to push a little more.
Texture: No mealy-ness at all. Mouthfeel was excellent without being tough and gave a nice chew.
Flavor: If youve ever had a heritage or wild turkey, this comes close to that true, slightly gamey flavor. Lots of balanced notes of sweetness, saltiness, and umami made it the winner.
Verdict: With no additives of any kind and being USDA certified organic, the only thing this bird fell a little short on was moisture. But thats easy enough to remedy with a home brine, and then you get the ultimate tender turkey that also tastes like real meat and not mush.
Here are some more essential Thanksgiving recipes and tips:
Is this content interesting for you? Join our FREE Daily Newsletter This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Now, youll have the best and latest food and healthy eating news right in your inbox—every single day