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Ted Kamikaze

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Florida Is One Of The Least Expensive States For A Thanksgiving Turkey

By Ted Kamikaze and Jen Glorioso November 18th, 2022

Planning, prepping and cooking Thanksgiving dinner takes a lot of work and a lot of money. With supply chain issues and inflation rising across the nation, grocery shopping for a big meal is going to rack up at checkout. FinanceBuzz recently did a study on the states with the least expensive Thanksgiving turkey. Surprisingly, Florida ranked in the top 10 for cheap turkeys!

For this study, FinanceBuzz collected turkey prices from U.S. grocery stores to find the average cost of a 15-lb Thanksgiving turkey in each state. In general, prices were obtained from regional, chain grocery stores with multiple locations in a state (rather than smaller individual companies), or prominent national chains. What did they find?

  • On average, Americans can expect to pay $34.15 for their turkey this year — That’s an average of $2.28 per pound.
  • At more than $50 per bird, Alaska and Hawaii have the highest average turkey prices of all the states. In the contiguous U.S., South Carolina has the highest average price at $38.85.
  • Mississippians can expect to pay just $26.35 on average for their Thanksgiving turkey, which is the lowest rate in the nation.

Here are the top 10 states where turkey is the least expensive.

  1. Mississippi – $26.35
  2. Texas – $28.30
  3. Utah – $28.30
  4. Iowa – $29.10
  5. Florida – $29.80
  6. Arizona – $29.85
  7. Louisiana – $29.85
  8. Nebraska – $30.85
  9. Oklahoma – $31.20
  10. New Mexico – $31.35

Finance Buzz pointed out some great tips on how to save some money when shopping for Thanksgiving dinner. You can use a rewards card at checkout and receive cashback on your groceries (with the right card.) Here’s FinanceBuzz’s recommendations for best credit cards with grocery cashback rewards. Another simple hack that FinanceBuzz recommends to do when grocery shopping for Thanksgiving is to shop with a list and use coupons! Most big chain stores have apps that make it easy to shop deals and discounts.

[Souce: FinanceBuzz]

5 Things Not To Do When Deep Frying A Turkey

Fried turkey is delicious, the crispy skin and juicy meat is totally worth the tricky process. We made a list of 5 tips of what not to do when deep frying a turkey with the help of PBS. Every year, we hear about someone who burned down their house or injured themselves from deep frying Thanksgiving dinner. There’s even a demonstration video on YouTube of all that could go wrong. These injuries and damages could be avoided if you properly prep and research how to deep fry a turkey. I watch my dad do it every year and it is a delicate process. It almost plays out like an action movie watching him lower the 16lb bird into the hot oil.

Before you set up your turkey fryer, check out our tips on what not to do when deep frying a turkey and what you SHOULD do instead.

[Source: PBS.org]

  • Frying Inside Or Under Cover

    One of the biggest mistakes people make when deep frying turkeys is doing it in their garage, home, or lanai. The result normally ends in disaster.

    Do this instead: make sure you’re at least 10 feet away from your house, cars, or shed. It’s also important to put your fryer on a flat surface, preferable pavement or asphalt. Never leave the fryer unattended. 

  • Using A Frozen Turkey

    Not properly thawing or drying your turkey can really ruin your Thanksgiving. Once a frozen turkey is dropped in hot oil the bird creates a ton of steam from the oil and begins to bubble over the sides of the pot and into the fire. Once that happens, it’s hard to stop the fire from spreading.

    Do this instead: Thaw your turkey completely in the refrigerator. Depending on the size of your turkey, it could take a day or two. Before you throw it in the fryer, pat the bird try with paper towels.

  • Too Much Oil In The Pot

    This is probably where we see the most mistakes. People often use too much oil when deep frying their turkey. Too much oil can cause spillover once you put in the bird, and then the next thing you know, there’s a fire. If you don’t use enough oil, you can add more once the turkey is in the pot, but it will lower the temperature and take longer to cook.

    Do this instead: Before you start cooking on turkey day, do a test run! Put the turkey in the pot (still wrapped) and fill the pot with water. Once you’ve added enough water to cover the turkey with about an inch of water, note how many quarts of water you used. When it comes time to cook for the family, you’ll swap the water for oil. During your test run, you can also remove the turkey and mark the water line on the pot with a sharpie. Now you’re ready to go!

  • Turn Up The Heat

    It’s super important to monitor the temperature of oil when deep frying your turkey. Many fryers do not have their own thermostats, so make sure you have a frying thermometer to measure.

    Do this instead: It’s recommended to keep the flame low until the oil goes in the burner, then heat the oil to 350 degrees.

  • Drop The Turkey

    … We’re not talking about on the ground. Many people quickly drop their turkey in the hot oil which is the fastest way to start a grease fire.

    Do this instead: Place the turkey on the fryer’s lifter, hook, or basket. Turn off the flame and remove the oil thermometer before slowly (and we mean, SLOOOOOOWLY) lowering the turkey into the pot. Restart the flame and replace the thermometer after the turkey is submerged.

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