Thanksgiving is already less than a month away, which means it’s time to start strategizing. And beyond choosing how you’re going to cook your cook your turkey and what type of stuffing you’re going to make, there’s one critical logistic that you need to consider: making enough room in your kitchen.
Even delegating different dishes to your guests isn’t enough to ease the burden on our ovens and refrigerators. Once you factor in all of the appetizers, sides, cocktails and desserts, you’ll be left with a lot of ingredients and not a lot of remaining storage space. And no item is as guilty of taking up space as the star of the meal: the turkey. The strain on your kitchen storage is even greater if you’re hosting a large gathering that calls for cooking several birds.
We love stocking up on Thanksgiving supplies to avoid the massive rush in the days leading up to the holiday. But do we love the idea of a giant turkey holding our fridge hostage for upwards of a week? Certainly not. So it’s a smart idea to hold off on buying your turkey until the last minute.
But, just how late can we hold off on picking up our poultry? You definitely don’t want to buy your bird on Thanksgiving morning, but your turkey-buying timeline can vary based on a few factors. The most important consideration is whether you’re going with fresh or frozen. We’re breaking down everything you need to know about buying your Thanksgiving turkey so you have one less thing to stress about this holiday season.
Fresh Turkey
Buying a fresh turkey is fairly straightforward. Since you don’t need to fuss with defrosting, you can start working with the turkey the second you bring it home from the store. The only factor you need to consider is the prep time for your preferred turkey recipe.
Most recipes for Thanksgiving turkey call for brine. Unlike simply sprinkling salt over the surface before it goes in the oven, this technique allows the salt to permeate the entire turkey over a prolonged period of time. That means you should buy your turkey at least a day or two before the holiday to allow for ample prep time. If you’re submerging your bird in a traditional wet brine, you should allocate at least 24 hours for the salt to season the meat. But our dry brine recipe requires two whole days of seasoning before you pop the turkey in the oven.
Frozen Turkey
The perks of a frozen turkey include its longevity. Butterball says you can store an unopened package of turkey in the freezer for up to two years! This makes it a great choice for cooks who like to plan their Thanksgiving far in advance. It’s also generally more cost-effective to buy a frozen turkey over a fresh one. But there’s a catch: it takes much longer for a frozen turkey to be ready for cooking. Thawing a whole bird takes time.
Butterball’s recommended thawing method is to keep it in the fridge and allow it to gently defrost. It’s the most foolproof and food safe method, but it’s also the most time-intensive. The general rule of thumb: allow 24 hours for every four pounds of frozen turkey. So if you’re making a behemoth 20 pound bird, expect to set aside five days just for thawing alone. Then, once you factor in the extra brining time, that means you should be buying a turkey at least a week in advance.
If you’re planning to buy a frozen turkey, grab your wallet and head to the grocery store ASAP. But for those willing to spend a little extra for a fresh turkey, you can wait until the Tuesday or Wednesday before Thanksgiving to buy your bird.
Expertise: TikTok Trends, Drinks, Pop Culture
Education: B.A. in Journalism and B.S. in Communications from NYU, Culinary Arts degree from The Institute of Culinary Education
About Me: As an associate editor at Delish, Gabby works on everything from features to recipes to content on our social media channels. Before joining the team, she wrote for StarChefs Rising Stars Magazine, Mashed, and Food52. When she’s not developing cocktail recipes, she’s making cocktail-inspired dishes like and . Her features cover online trends like the , rank everything from to , and answer some of your most pressing food safety questions. You can also find her posting content on Delish’s TikTok, including her about cooking like influencer Nara Smith that garnered over 3M combined views. She loves eating spicy food, collecting cookbooks, and adding a mountain of Parmesan to any dish she can.
