Turkey Time

Thanksgiving is just around the corner so if you’re cooking your Thanksgiving dinner I’d recommend that you order your fresh turkey today from either The Fresh Market or Whole Foods and pick up the week of Thanksgiving. These markets offer a selection of fresh to organic turkeys to fully cooked meals. Whole Foods offered more choices of larger turkeys up to 32 lbs. Both offer a wide range of other items you’ll need to complement the perfect Thanksgiving dinner. Let’s take a look at what it costs from raw bird to the completely cooked meal. Although my comparison ranged from 6–10 guests all offered completely cooked meals that served more so check with these markets for more information. Here’s how it breaks down:

Uncooked (Raw) Turkeys 

The Fresh Market

TFM fresh turkey 10-14 lb., 16-20 lb., and 20-24 lb. $1.69 lb., and Bell & Evans turkeys (Thanksgiving only) 10-14 lb., 16-20 lb. and 20-24 lb. $2.29 lb.

Whole Foods

Raw fresh turkey from 10-12 lb. to 30-32 lb. $2.29 lb. and raw organic fresh turkey from 10-12 to 22-24 lb. $3.99 lb.

Fully-Cooked Thanksgiving Meals

Publix Regular Turkey Dinner $39.99

(Serves 7–10)

10-12 lb. cooked turkey

Cranberry orange relish*

Old-fashioned cornbread stuffing*

Homestyle mashed potatoes*

Gravy*

(*Weights not indicated)

The Fresh Market Traditional Holiday Dinner $79.99  

(Serves 6-8)

10-12 lb. fully-cooked turkey (regular or smoked)

3 lbs. traditional herb stuffing

3 lbs. Yukon gold whipped potatoes

30 oz. homestyle turkey gravy

1.5 lbs. cranberry relish

1 dozen soft yeast rolls

Whole Food Cooked Turkey Dinner $109.00

(Serves 6-8)

The turkey is fully cooked but needs reheating. The average weight is 9 pounds.

2 lbs. of honey baked mashed potatoes

2 lbs. of creamy homestyle mashed potatoes

2 lbs. of green bean casserole

2 lbs. of cornbread dressing

1 one pint of cranberry orange relish

1 qt. of turkey gravy

**All prices obtained from their various Web sites.