When you buy a frozen turkey, you can hold onto it for as long as you’d like before you thaw and cook it. With fresh turkeys, the window is a shorter one. How far in advance should you buy a fresh turkey? Let’s take a look.
How Far in Advance to Buy a Fresh Turkey
If you’ve purchased a fresh turkey from the local supermarket or grocery store, you have just one to two days to cook it off. On the other hand, if you’ve gone directly to a turkey farm, you should be able to hold onto the turkey for up to 10 days before the meat begins to deteriorate.
About the “Fresh” Designation
Turkeys are only considered “fresh” if they’ve never been chilled to a temperature below 26 degrees Fahrenheit.
Frozen turkeys have been chilled at or below 0 degrees, and therefore must have the word “frozen” on their label. If the bird was ever stored in the temperature span between 1 and 25 degrees, it may be labeled “previously frozen,” but not always.
Advantages of Buying Fresh
If you’ve ever eaten a fresh turkey, you may already know that the meat is superior to that of specimens that were previously frozen.
Fresh turkeys are better able to retain moisture, which brings out the natural flavor of the meat. The overall texture is superior, too, with a rich, meaty quality.
The freezing process has another interesting effect on the turkey: it takes longer for the meat to reach the ideal serving temperature. When cooking a fresh turkey, you can expect it to be done sooner than a specimen that was frozen and thawed.
Bear in mind that you’ll need to plan ahead if you want to procure a fresh turkey for your next event. Flock sizes are generally determined in the spring, as farmers plan ahead for the holidays. That means there will only be so many birds available.
How Far in Advance to Buy a Fresh Turkey
When buying a fresh turkey from the grocery store, you should plan on cooking it as soon as possible.
Fresh turkeys should keep in the fridge for one or two days before they start to deteriorate. That’s not a lot of time. We prefer to buy these specimens the day before we want to cook them, then leave them uncovered in the fridge overnight.
There might be a “best by” or “use by” date on the package. You can use that as a guideline. However, if there’s a “sell by” date, ignore it—those are in place to remind the store to rotate their stock, and shouldn’t be treated as storage recommendations.
Buying From the Source
There is a caveat to the “one to two days” rule. If you buy your fresh turkey directly from the farm, you have up to 10 days before you need to cook it.
It takes time for fresh turkeys to be processed and packaged for sale, and even more time for them to be shipped to local retailers. Buying from the source will eliminate the extra shipping step, so you’ll have more leeway.
There are other obvious advantages to buying directly from the source. For one thing, you’ll be able to see how the turkeys are treated before slaughter. Feel free to ask the farmer about their feeding practices, or any other questions you might have.
You’ll also be supporting a small local business, which is always a plus. We recommend fostering good relations with anyone who can help you procure quality meat products.
How to Store a Fresh Turkey
The guidelines for storing fresh turkey are similar to the ones for thawing and storing frozen turkey.
First of all, set the bird on a rimmed baking sheet or platter on the bottom shelf of the fridge. Fresh turkeys won’t leave behind as much liquid as frozen ones, but some of the juices may still leak out during storage.
Make sure that the refrigerator temperature is holding below 40 degrees. A temperature range of 34 to 38 degrees is ideal for storing fresh turkey.
For extra crispy skin, leave the turkey uncovered in the fridge overnight. You can even season it ahead of time if you’d like, but it’s also acceptable to wait until the last minute to apply the salt or spice rub. Cook the turkey within two days.
If you don’t have enough room in your fridge to store the turkey, you can use a cooler that’s stocked with ice packs. Be aware that you’ll need to swap out the ice packs at least once a day to ensure that the cooler maintains a low enough temperature.
There are probe thermometers available that are equipped with alarms. The alarms can be programmed to go off when the temperature inside the cooler climbs too high. We would recommend investing in one of these if you plan to store a turkey in a cooler.
Can You Freeze the Turkey if Plans Change?
What if you’ve purchased a fresh turkey, but you won’t be able to cook it within the prescribed time frame after all?
If this is the case, you can stick it in the freezer. The meat might not retain all its best qualities, but it’s better to preserve it than to throw it out.
Remember that you should either freeze or cook the turkey within 2 days. If you wait any longer, the meat will already be going downhill in terms of freshness and quality.
Wrap the turkey well in a double layer of plastic wrap, then add a layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil on top of that. Make sure the packaging is as tight against the bird as possible. If there are too many gaps, the risk of freezer burn will increase.
Date the package so that you’ll know when you put the bird in the freezer. It’s best to thaw and cook the turkey as soon as possible, but it should maintain its quality for up to a year when stored in this manner.
Can I Buy a Frozen Turkey Locally?
Let’s say you want to support a local farm by buying a turkey from them, but you would prefer the convenience of a frozen specimen. What are the chances that the local farm will have one?
You’ll have to call ahead to make sure, but most farms should have these in stock. Farmers will often “flash freeze” their meat in order to preserve the quality.
As a bonus, they can also tell you exactly how long the turkey has been frozen. That’s not the case when you buy frozen turkeys from the supermarket. In fact, those specimens might have thawed and been refrozen, which can affect the texture and moisture content.
How Long Can You Store a Turkey after Thawing?
Freezing the turkey will preserve it for as long as it remains frozen, but once you thaw it, you need to move quickly. After the turkey is thoroughly defrosted, it should be cooked in one to two days.
For optimal results, use the refrigerator to thaw the turkey. The meat should defrost at a rate of 24 hours for each 4 to 5 pounds. Never leave any meat product on the counter to thaw, as this greatly increases the risk of food poisoning.
It’s permissible to refreeze the turkey at any point, even if it’s already thawed. You don’t need to cook it first. Just bear in mind that repeated thawing and refreezing processes could make the turkey meat too dry when you do finally get around to cooking it off.
The Bottom Line
How far in advance to buy a fresh turkey depends on where you bought it. If you rely on the grocery store, you don’t have much time to spare. That’s why so many consumers prefer the convenience of frozen turkeys.
Best of luck, and happy grilling!
