I think my turkey was hacked

[Marthe48]

I got a Butterball. I have made several Butterballs over the last 20 years, always a treat and turned out good. This one, no. I prepared and roasted it the same way I always do, and as soon as I took a bite of the drumstick, I knew it was dry. Dry, dry, dry. You know a turkey is dry if you can't down the dark meat without mass quantities of liquid. Really disappointing.
I roasted it Wed. I ate at my daughter's Th. so I didn't have to deal with it till Fri, when I made soup with some of it. Even the soup turned out dry, more like stew. I made some curried turkey salad with some of it too. Good trick is pouring cream or milk over the chopped meat. It soaks in and makes a moist salad. Today, knowing I was on the outer limit of safe leftovers, I just took the rest of the turkey off the bones and making broth. I used my Ninja and ground the rest of the meat. You know it's bad when after 3 pulses there are still chunks of meat on the blades screaming "AGAIN!"

Anyway, it is all ground. I'll make more curried turkey salad. It's good in a wrap with some celery and radishes on the side. Also going to make some turkey croquets. I hate to say it, but this turkey IS a turkey.

[MOMFUDSKI]

1. I got a turkey from the best grocery store.

Not a Butterball. I’ve been making turkeys forever. This was the worst ever. Dry. We are having leftovers of the whole Thanksgiving dinner today and the rest of the turkey goes to the moorhens in our pond. I told my husband I will only get Butterball in the future but now I read this! Best turkey ever was a Honeysuckle years back. Thanks for sharing.

[Warpy]

2. Butterball turkeys are brined

I guess yours just missed that stage. Or something else untoward happened during processing. I guess it's lucky that it wasn't a total loss, that you were able to get something edible out of it. A curried turkey wrap sounds good.

[Marthe48]

4. I've gotten Butterballs over the years

I didn't do anything special to prep them, just thawed, put them in the pan, wrapped in foil and roasted. Never had one turn out this bad, not even close. Not even a (used to be) .59/lb with $10 purchase turkey ever turned out like this. This is the turkey that all the horror stories are about :/

Oh well, when life hands you a crummy turkey, make soup, or turkey salad

[Diamond_Dog]

3. How utterly disappointing

after all that work and expense! ☹️

[twodogsbarking]

5. We had a small Butterball (14lbs). A bit dry but it cooked faster than anticipated.

Not a big turkey fan but the stuffing (inside the bird) was great. Good gravy helps mask the dryness.
Prime Rib for Christmas. That is tradition. Having it round two tonight.

[Marthe48]

7. That's how big mine was

I didn't stuff it. I put a 1/2 onion and 3 broken stalks of celery inside for flavor. I didn't add any salt. There wasn't much broth. Usually, the bottom of the pan fills an inch or so at least.

Glad yours turned out nice.

[twodogsbarking]

10. Better second time. Heat and eat. Less work.

[irisblue]

6. Most recent bird flu out break? I AM NOT A FOOD SCIENTIST

People also ask
Is there a bird flu going around 2023?
As of 2023, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported H5N1 viruses (clade 2.3. 4.4b) had been in 15 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, the U.S., and Canada. Except for pockets of endemic clade activity in South and Southeast Asia, clade 2.3.
https://www.precisionvaccinations.com › ...


Bird Flu Outbreaks 2023 - Precision Vaccinationshttps://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/data-map-commercial.html

[Marthe48]

8. I read a headline last week that a farm in Ohio

killed a million chickens. because of bird flu. More than 8 million killed across the U.S. this year to control the spread of the disease. I don't know if that has anything to do with dry turkey. I'd rather blame inexperienced help in the processing plants.

[Old Crank]

9. Reminds me

Of the time here when I picked up a Suppenhun by mistake. Soup hen. That didn't roast well at all. Only the skin was good...