In Cook’s Illustrated’s taste test, Butterball came in dead last, it was the only turkey in the “Not Recommended” category.
Although ubiquitous in supermarkets during the holidays, this injected turkey met with strong dislike from our tasters. It had “no meaty flavor” and very noticeable off-notes. Tasters described it as “musty” and “greasy” and noted that it tasted “like fish” or “canned tuna.” Although the dark meat was “relatively moist,” the white meat was “too dry.”
Yeah I don’t think I’m a good turkey judge. I think the brine and gravy make the bird. I only eat turkey with gravy so I’d probably screw up the results.
I liked the fact that they said the butterball turkey was greasy. Maybe that is why I like them. I like fatty meats.
Comes out great, actually. Very juicy and can make a gravy from it.
Only thing I miss is no crispy skin from the oven.
@heidicooksandbakes I like turkey but not that much.
@gracieggg The bone in breasts mentioned above were cooked in a slow cooker. I put the breast in the slow cooker. Sprinkle in a packet of onion soup mix (like you would make onion dip with) and dump in a can of cranberry sauce. Plain canned whole berries work fine but I like to use a cranberry relish. It adds a little something extra. Depending upon your slow cooker, cook 4-6 hours on high. A shorter cooking times leaves the turkey sliceable. I usually cook it longer and “pull” it.
Thank you! This sounds interesting. Now I’m a little bummed that I elected for a free ham from shoprite this year instead of a turkey breast.
@gcaggiano I wonder if you could achieve the crispy skin by finishing the turkey in the oven? It sounds like it could be a messy endeavor.
I’m sure you can finish it in the oven, but you’re right, it would be messy. You would have to transfer the turkey from the crock pot to a rack/pan. So more stuff to clean. Then you would have to worry about not drying the turkey out too much in the oven.
Well I know a lot of people swear by Butterball so clearly they’re doing something right. I just picked up an 18lb bird today…it’s going to take forever to get through that whole thing!
#turkeyfordays
I predict some turkey soup is in your future!
I bet you could slice the main skin off and broil it. Obviously not as impressive looking of a bird if you’re having family over, but I think you could crisp it up. I do this when I smoke pork shoulders. I cut the skin off to broil and scrape off the fat to make chicarron.
The only reason I bought a Butterball is because it was the biggest bird there. The nameless brand(which I usually buy) were 15 lbs or less.
Turkeys just don’t taste as good as they did when I was growing up. So I’ve given up on making it the star of the show. And I’m not about to shell out big bucks for one that might. imho turkey is supposed to be cheap😊
I fry an extra turkey for the sole purpose of making gumbo
That is awesome! My friend in college had his neighbor burn the entire house down with a turkey fryer accident. I don’t screw around with turkey frying but it tastes delicious. I had a really bad situation too with ribeyes. Make sure to keep several fire extinguishers handy and know where they are. Seriously. Things go from fun to dangerous in a spilt second with oil/grease.
3 pounds of bacon done, first turkey out, second going down in 10 minutes, then another batch of bacon and then brussel sprouts
I do believe I’m a Butterball convert. Moist and flavorful. Plenty of breast meat and not too salty drippings for my dressing. It even tastes good cold. Two thumbs up😊
