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December 22nd, 2005

Turkey advice

It has been a little quiet here on the blog recently hasn’t it. I’ve been undertaking extensive quantities of preparational Christmas activities as plans have changed and Maddie_C and I are staying in Essex for Christmas rather than touring the motorways of southern England which had previously been our plan. Unfortunately the cat is not well so we are staying here to tend to her merest whim. Sleeping and raw mince are her particular vices.

So this has meant that I’m spending my first Christmas in Essex and we have been out getting lots of the paraphernalia required for undertaking a Christmas day without being at a parent’s house. We now have a tree and some baubles (The catering-size box of baubles I got at a knockdown price at a church sale have been vetoed for their gaudiness).

Which brings me onto the pressing subject of the day. Turkeys. We looked today in the supermarche and they all seemed to have ‘best before’ dates of December the 26th. Is this normal? It’s just that one really wants to be eating turkey leftovers on not only the 26th but also the 27th and perhaps at a stretch the 28th. Does the ‘best before’ date apply to when you need to cook it by or when you need to eat it by? And if we go to the shops tomorrow will the turkeys all have best before dates of the 27th? Or is the 26th some sort of an industry standard? In fact will there be any turkeys left tomorrow or Saturday? I am worried that the pensioners go in at 8am and clear the shelves (no disrespect to pensioners here).

Your help and in-depth advice would be appreciated.

I would like to take a moment to explain to all the people for whom I should have done many things that I have not been able to do all of their many things yet. This is because of delays. Thank you.

5 Comments »



This is a single Cartoon Blog entry, posted by Dave on Thursday, December 22nd, 2005 at 11:06 pm.

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5 Responses to “Turkey advice”


  1. annie says:

    i suspect that if you cook the turkey on xmas day, as one would expect one to do, then it will be fine to eat it a day or 2 afterwards, even if the best before date is the 26th.
    if you re-heat it, make sure you get it v v hot, or you’ll die instantly of food poisoning.
    final tip: avoid the supermarkets, and get a free-range turkey from a farm shop or similar… sorry, couldn’t resist that!
    have a good xmas!

    December 23rd, 2005 at 8:58 am
  2. Simo says:

    I would agree with Annie’s advice really a use by date on meat is a cook by date, you should have a good two or three days to eat it after that. one slight correction though if you reheat and don’t get it VV Hot you will not die instantly, it will be a slow and painful death that you will not realise is happening for at least 24 hours by which time it is too late to do anything about it and save yourselves. Enjoy!

    December 23rd, 2005 at 10:16 am
  3. barrie says:

    Don’t leave it too late, or you’ll be left with the HUGEST turkey as that’ll be all the supermarkets(not super, not a market) have left. Or a goose, or a chicken, or a cheese sandwich.

    December 23rd, 2005 at 10:41 am
  4. Nefertiki says:

    As in-depth advice is my cup of tea, read carefully as I will only write this once. I never worry about eating leftover turkey unless it has been in the refrigerator at least 5 days and/or smells. I never get food poisoning or sick at all (unless I take prescriptions from docs who insist they and pharmacists have to make a living. They they prescribe more medicine to counteract side effects.) So I know what I’m talking about.

    To ensure starting with a fresh turkey and needlessly worrying about expiration dates shop at a turkey farm where you can select your own turkey. You don’t have to watch it take the first step in becoming christmas dinner.

    Further, you can even freeze cooked turkey, and defrost it after a month or two. Chicken too.

    Best uses for leftover cooked turkey:

    …cold turkey sandwiches on artisanal bread.
    …turkey soup, leave plenty of turkey on the carcass, along with some stuffing, gravy, and fresh vegetables. Marvellous.
    …turkey hash, preferably made with yams or sweet potatoes, leftover stuffing and gravy. Superb.

    If you really cannot find a suitable turkey for Christmas dinner, I suggest you consider a capon instead (rather than say, a goose.) They are quite large and delicious; my dear late father preferred them to turkey because he found them less dry.)

    Taking this advice will ensure a safe happy Christmas for you and Maddie. Bless you for putting the cat’s welfare first.

    Thanks for the opportunity to give advice. For some reason I am seldom asked for it.

    A very merry Christmas to you both.

    December 23rd, 2005 at 6:38 pm
  5. Sean O'Brien says:

    Have a look at this turkey.

    Happy Christmas and keep up the good work.

    Sean

    December 23rd, 2005 at 10:12 pm