Are all Frozen birds the same

[WineMaster]

Just wondering if all the frozen birds that are out there like Butterball, Jennio ......... or any other plastic wrapped enhanced with solution turkeys are pretty much the same. Is a Butterball worth double the others or is it marketing.

[SmokinOkie]

Good question. For me, I go with whatever brand I can find that hasn't been enhanced. BB is one of those that usually is, sometimes too much so. That's why the became popular. They knew about brining before most of the public did.

I've gone with lots of "Store brands" and had good luck as long as it was little to no enhancement. I want to add my own brine, not pay for theirs.

[JONESY]

I'm of the opinion that they are all basically the same. I look for that has the least amount of added solution, brine it myself, and I've always liked the way they turned out.

A few years ago, I spent big money on a fresh organic, free range bird, treated it the same way I do a frozen bird, and the difference was negligible.

I think what it really comes down to is, how you handle, brine, season, and cook the bird.

[SirPorkaLot]

Just wondering if all the frozen birds that are out there like Butterball, Jennio ......... or any other plastic wrapped enhanced with solution turkeys are pretty much the same. Is a Butterball worth double the others or is it marketing.

They are NOT all the same. In my experience most have some enhancement, but that enhancement can vary widely.
In a report I did last year and reposted recently here: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120294

I found frozen turkey's that contained anywhere from 1% - 15% "solution"

To put that into perspective.

If you have a 15lb turkey, enhanced with 15% solution. You could potentially have 2.25lb of solution injected into your 15lb bird.

It pays to read the fine print.

[Phubar]

Can't say about those birds but many products are the same and one of the differences is in marketing and packaging.

I watch a very good tv show KvW (translated CIA - Consumer Investigation Agency) and learned that consumers get Phooled big time.
You will discover that many products come from the same Phield but are sold differently thus price difference while it's the same product.

Here's a translated vid that I Phound...the US narrating voice isn't doing this vid much justice but you guys can get the idea...


Consumer Investigation Agency - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHrtT2Bo4ys)

[Midnight Smoke]

I do not think they are the same. One thing that has always concerned me was, how long has this Turkey been frozen? I did notice on a Butterball Turkey I picked up at Target a week ago, It actually had a use by date, I had never noticed this date on a Turkey before. So take a look when you all are buying this year.

The date was stated as "Best by Sept 2013

I figured it was a pretty fresh one.

I have tried a few different brands, I think Honeysuckle White and Norbest were good. I prefer Butterball.

[WineMaster]

I'm of the opinion that they are all basically the same. I look for that has the least amount of added solution, brine it myself, and I've always liked the way they turned out.

A few years ago, I spent big money on a fresh organic, free range bird, treated it the same way I do a frozen bird, and the difference was negligible.

I think what it really comes down to is, how you handle, brine, season, and cook the bird.

Im thinking I will try this path this year. Better get out soon, A 15 lb bird in the garage fridge needs to start thawing tomorow probably. I plan on getting 3 birds.