[lindreth]

So we're hoping to have a thanksgiving get together in a couple of weeks. The cornerstone of all good T-day dinners is the turkey. Had a quick look in Countdown yesterday and found a 5kg turkey priced at $75 :exit
How much???!!!!!
We had a look in New World today and found the same. Why are turkeys so expensive? Is there any cheap purveyors of turkey out there? Haven't had a chance to go to the butchers yet but we will be looking there too.

TIA

Gareth

[benandclare]

No good for this year but we aim to rear our own for Christmas 2010 :nice1

[GreenMeansGo]

yikes! that price would definitely put a damper on my gratitude :laugh
good luck and post your findings so I know where to look next year! :nice1

[eassae]

I say just go eat one of those blue chickens on the side of the road near Kapiti.

I really don't condone eating the blue chickens, and I know they are not really blue chickens, but $75.

[victoria24]

what's a blue chicken?

[YouMeAndThree]

what's a blue chicken?

One that's just heard some bad news :laugh :laugh







(Possibly a Pukeko???)

[Ngeru]

So we're hoping to have a thanksgiving get together in a couple of weeks. The cornerstone of all good T-day dinners is the turkey. Had a quick look in Countdown yesterday and found a 5kg turkey priced at $75 :exit
How much???!!!!!
We had a look in New World today and found the same. Why are turkeys so expensive? Is there any cheap purveyors of turkey out there? Haven't had a chance to go to the butchers yet but we will be looking there too.

TIA

Gareth

The price of them is shocking, unfortunately that is the going rate, similar price in Pak n Save too. I truly would not mind if you got a fresh and tasty bird, but supermarkets only ever have the frozen Tegel ones.

Our butcher's price is similar $14 to $15 per kg

[Ana&Steve]

Ouch! So how would you feel about a nice Thanksgiving pork roast? :D

[Timbo]

Turkey is simply not a kiwi xmas tradition as is is in many other countrys.
A friend shot 13 semi wild ones last weekend and just left them in the bush for the wild pigs. They probably wouldnt be the best eating anyway, given what they are feeding on, but it seems a huge waste of a resource to me.
From what I can make out, Turkey hunting is HUGE in some parts of the US.
Perhaps there is a niche market in here somewhere.

[Sam B]

We've got about 40 wild turkeys with their babies roaming over our fields most days.

[eassae]

Takahe

http://www.richard-seaman.com/Birds/NewZealand/RareBirdsOnTiritiriMatangi/TakaheMotherAndChick.jpg

Also, I have heard that the pigeons are good eat'n.

[Kiwi Mac]

Wild turkeys are hunted here although not with such passion as in the US. They taste fine as long as they are not too old. A bit gamier than commercial birds, but nice enough.

If anyone finds a supplier of fresh commercial turkeys for Xmas in the Welly area I'd love to know - even our butcher only gets frozen ones so we usually have beef rib on the bone at Xmas instead.

If I could get a fresh gobbler that would make a change though.

[Kiwi Mac]

You might find DOC chasing you up if you eat Takahe! There are only around 225 left in the world and they are severely protected!!

I think Blue Chicken refers to the very common Pukeko.

[eassae]

You might find DOC chasing you up if you eat Takahe! There are only around 225 left in the world and they are severely protected!!

I think Blue Chicken refers to the very common Pukeko.

Pukeko. Thats what I was looking for. Thanks

Is it really referred to as a blue chicken. I thought it was just us calling it that.

The Pigeon's are protected to.

[GreenMeansGo]

I was just telling OH about this thread... maybe we should take up turkey farming when we get there! :laugh

[IanW99]

...
The Pigeon's are protected to.

The New Zealand Pigeon (Woodpigeon) is protected but the common Rock Pigeon is not.

Ian

[newarrival]

I hate to say that- but maybe it is time to change old habits:exit

We would usually have goose for Christmas, but you cannot (or only with great difficulties) get those here, so we have to find a substitute...., but since lamb for example tastes so good, why not go for that? I am not sure which special rituals or reasons are connected with turkey for Thanksgiving, but you might be able to just change the main course...., what about (a couple or more of) those huge chickens>

[Kiwi Mac]

You can eat pukeko or so I am told.

Like normal pigeons, the breast is the only bit worth bothering with - leave the rest in the field for the hawks.

I think grocery prices will need to rise even more before I resort to it though!!

[IanW99]

You can eat pukeko or so I am told.

Like normal pigeons, the breast is the only bit worth bothering with - leave the rest in the field for the hawks.

I think grocery prices will need to rise even more before I resort to it though!!

AFAIK, the Pukeko are partially protected but can be legally harvested during the duck shooting season.

Ian

[Ally Bally Bee]

Turkey is simply not a kiwi xmas tradition as is is in many other countrys.
A friend shot 13 semi wild ones last weekend and just left them in the bush for the wild pigs. They probably wouldnt be the best eating anyway, given what they are feeding on, but it seems a huge waste of a resource to me.
From what I can make out, Turkey hunting is HUGE in some parts of the US.
Perhaps there is a niche market in here somewhere.

Why would you shoot something you had no intention of using? Escapes me. The only reason I can see for hunting something is to use it. If we were to kill a turkey you would find it in our oven.

[newarrival]

I would guess that they are considered a pest in some areas?

[GrumpyGoat]

Last year, I bought a turkey in January, I think. It was marked down to $20, I think. May have been like $27.

I figure they pull out the frozen turkeys for the americans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. What they don't sell for $75, they eventually mark down to get rid of it.

We did not eat any $75 birds last year--skipping turkey for thanksgiving and christmas. We ate "thanksgiving" in January when I got the bird on sale.

[Flutterby]

its going to be to hot to want a roast turkey, surely, i'd much rather get one of those midwinter!

[James 1077]

My family normally do a leg of lamb on the BBQ at Christmas time.

Last year was a big family Christmas so I BBQ'd a whole salmon on Christmas Eve and then did a leg of lamb and some sausages on Christmas Day. We did also do a small turkey in the oven but mainly for OH's benefit. This year will be a smaller affair so we'll just do the BBQ lamb.

[Park City Partner]

Sorry, the suggestion of doing something other than Turkey at Thanksgiving just doesn't work. For xmas, yes but not Thanksgiving aka Turkey Day in the US. But with that said we won't be doing Thanksgiving here. My family was just asking about it and I said Turkey is too expensive and no one else around me, including my partner, thinks twice about it so it takes all the fun away. Thanksgiving was a BIG holiday for my family and I always really miss it.

[GrumpyGoat]

Sorry, the suggestion of doing something other than Turkey at Thanksgiving just doesn't work. For xmas, yes but not Thanksgiving aka Turkey Day in the US. But with that said we won't be doing Thanksgiving here. My family was just asking about it and I said Turkey is too expensive and no one else around me, including my partner, thinks twice about it so it takes all the fun away. Thanksgiving was a BIG holiday for my family and I always really miss it.

I agree.
It is weird for it to be almost summer and no family gathering (apart from my immediate family--OH and kids) so Thanksgiving was not really missed last year. I mean, it didn't feel like Thanksgiving so we didn't really miss it.

But I got that turkey on sale and we had a big "thanksgiving" dinner on a random date. It was delicious.

Thanksgiving has just become one of the things we left behind. :wah

(BTW, we have a big "Christmas" type winter holiday for the kids on July 4:D--trying to pass on to the kids some of the stuff we loved about our childhoods--We call it "Snow Week" and we have presents and go skiing. It was great. This year, I may buy some lights on sale after the holidays and use them for next "snow week") (and the americans will know why we chose July 4!!)

[lindreth]

Thanks for the input everyone. I'll let you all know if I find a turkey deal. I've got a few feelers out, so we'll see what happens.

[Ana&Steve]

I agree.

(BTW, we have a big "Christmas" type winter holiday for the kids on July 4:D--trying to pass on to the kids some of the stuff we loved about our childhoods--We call it "Snow Week" and we have presents and go skiing. It was great. This year, I may buy some lights on sale after the holidays and use them for next "snow week") (and the americans will know why we chose July 4!!)
nice! I think we will have to make some kind of Winter holiday for ourselves in NZ when the time comes...will the neighbors think I'm strange if I put up lights and a tree in July?:D

[newarrival]

No, Ana, I don't think so! There are others having a Midwinter Christmas..., we did it once with friends in Dunedin, even had a ham and exchanged little presents! It felt more like Christmas than the real one!:o

[GrumpyGoat]

A tree and lights in July is no more bizarre than doing it in the middle of summer!!
I don't understand why you would go to the trouble of putting any kind of lights up here. It doesn't get dark until 11 pm in the summer! When would you see the lights?

[Ngeru]

Same here, the first year we did Mid-Winter Christmas we felt a bit dumb, but now after 'suffering' the letdown that is the Kiwi Christmas in December, we have now fully embraced our Mid-Winter tradition and it's gotten better year after year. Now we really look forward to it and most of all we enjoy it far more than Christmas in the sun (if we get any).

The proper Christmas is a weird one, everyone hopes for a sunny day and its like hoping for a white christmas in the Northern hemisphere (some chance). :exit It's hardly ever the glorious sunshiny, boiling hot day that some would have you believe (that's Australia). So anything goes, it's just as likely to be piddling with rain, many people do still have the Christmas roast (usually ham), because you can't guarantee the weather will be nice enough for barbies.

[Ngeru]

Pak n Save have 5kg Turkeys on special today at $54,99 - if you have room in the freezer

Other sizes too, all marked down - still expensive enough, but way better than the normal $75 price tag.

[Kiwi Mac]

Every Xmas Day we have had here since 05 has been wet and/or windy I think!

I keep telling my OH that one year we are renting a chalet in Tignes and having snow and skiing on Xmas day!!

Still, it is not as weird as Xmas 04 - I climbed temples in Angkor and had Xmas dinner at the FCC in Siem Reap, served by a Cambodian chap dressed as Santa. Now that was a strange day!

[Ngeru]

Every Xmas Day we have had here since 05 has been wet and/or windy I think!


My point earlier, seems you've been here nearly the same amount of time as me and I have yet to see this gloriously sunny, baking hot Christmas that everyone speaks of. In my experience summer doesn't really get going until the middle of January.

The first year we were here December 04 it rained almost constantly and we were walking around shivering with fleeces on for New Years Eve. The second year I think was when all the campsites got flooded with so much rain and it was a disaster, people tents blown away and flooded out.

So I'm not holding my breath that this year will be any different. ;)

[benandclare]

We've had one and one so far :nice1

First year here it was stinking hot and we BBQ'd at 8.30 pm after Clare finished her 12hr shift.

Last year was cool and grey but we still managed a dip in the sea so my DD could tell her friends she was in the sea on Christmas Day :D


Now Christmas in Tignes sounds good to me, were last ther in 2005 and well looked after by Kiwi chalet girl:nice1

[Ana&Steve]

No, Ana, I don't think so! There are others having a Midwinter Christmas..., we did it once with friends in Dunedin, even had a ham and exchanged little presents! It felt more like Christmas than the real one!:o
sweet! I love Winter parties:)

[b&k]

I'm sure your guests would be willing to contribute to the cost so they get the real Thanksgiving experience :)

Otherwise, tofurkey all round?

[lindreth]

So after much searching we came to the conclusion that turkeys are expensive all over. We ended up getting a 5.5kg one for $65 from Countdown. It is a Canter Valley farm one which seems to be popular in these parts. The farm is in Rangiora I believe.
Just crossing over to the grocery thread for a moment, the turkey took up about 40% of this weeks grocery bill. We usually spend $100 - $120 a week for 2 adults (one of which is eating for two right now!) I am amazed at how large some peoples bills get. Maybe when the little un appears it will all become clear!

[JasonS]

enjoy that turkey! we got one last year for xmas, $45 for the smallest turkey i had ever seen...a tad bigger then a size 20 chicken. unfortunately, there were not many left overs with a turkey that small.

laurel

[Kiwi Mac]

Aren't the chicken sizes funny?

Why on earth go as high as '20' when it is only sparrow-size?!

It's like poultry Lire (or Zimbabwe dollars!) - it needs devaluing! 20 needs to become 5 or something - cos I bet you can't buy a '1'!

[Arwen]

Why on earth go as high as '20' when it is only sparrow-size?!

:laugh:laugh I know what you mean Kiwi Mac!!!

Incidentally, is it just me or do others think NZ Turkeys taste nothing like UK and probably (don't know personally) USA ones?????

I thought my Xmas NZ turkey just tasted like a 'bigger' chicken.

[IanW99]

Aren't the chicken sizes funny?

Why on earth go as high as '20' when it is only sparrow-size?!

It's like poultry Lire (or Zimbabwe dollars!) - it needs devaluing! 20 needs to become 5 or something - cos I bet you can't buy a '1'!

Maybe its because the size is based on the weight of the chicken!

20 means an average weight of 2.0Kg (1.9-2.1Kg)

A 10 would be a 1.0Kg so I guess if they sold a 1 it would be 100g, so yes I bet you can't but a '1' :)

Ian

[jeffanar]

Maybe its because the size is based on the weight of the chicken!

20 means an average weight of 2.0Kg (1.9-2.1Kg)

A 10 would be a 1.0Kg so I guess if they sold a 1 it would be 100g, so yes I bet you can't but a '1' :)

Ian


Maybe a 1 would be an egg :exit

[Mrs Pony]

We're not even going to bother with a turkey since it's just the two of us. We're just going to get a little ham and I'm going to make some lumpy potatoes but that's about it. Going to be strange (hopefully not too hard) not being with my family during the holidays... this is actually the 1st time being away! I've ALWAYS had Thanksgiving and Christmas at my parents house!

[Kiwi Mac]

Maybe its because the size is based on the weight of the chicken!

20 means an average weight of 2.0Kg (1.9-2.1Kg)

A 10 would be a 1.0Kg so I guess if they sold a 1 it would be 100g, so yes I bet you can't but a '1' :)

Ian

Well, that would explain it I suppose. They ought not be sold until they get to 30 then!!
:laugh

[Ngeru]

Maybe a 1 would be an egg :exit


The egg sizes are funny too, I have only ever seen sizes 6, 7 and 8s. There are of course 'Ungraded' which are totally random, ranging from enormous to piddly all in the same box.

[IanW99]

If anyone is still looking to get a Turkey then our local Pak n Save are selling Tegel 4.5Kg (frozen) ones for $30 at the moment and considering that Woolworths are selling 4.5Kg ones at $55 that's not a bad difference in price.

Ian