Good food bargains around/after Thanksgiving?

[puglogic]

I never remember to do this, but this year I've promised myself to pay more attention.

It seems like there are certain things that are deeply discounted around THanksgiving, and worth stocking up on. Does anyone ever buy a turkey, for example, but then not eat it until the next year? Or buy several? Is it better to wait until after T'giving, or does that matter?

Baking supplies....are those generally good deals right around now? I buy my flour bulk, but other things...

What do you buy around this time of year, and hang on to?

[try2bfrugal]

I never remember to do this, but this year I've promised myself to pay more attention.

It seems like there are certain things that are deeply discounted around THanksgiving, and worth stocking up on. Does anyone ever buy a turkey, for example, but then not eat it until the next year? Or buy several? Is it better to wait until after T'giving, or does that matter?

Baking supplies....are those generally good deals right around now? I buy my flour bulk, but other things...

What do you buy around this time of year, and hang on to?

We stocked up on cheap frozen turkeys last year. We aren't going to do it again. They are kind of complex for us because we weren't good at figuring out how long they would take to thaw so we never knew in advance when we could actually cook the turkey. They also take up a lot of freezer space. We have mostly white meat eaters here so we get a better ROI on buying just the breasts.

I did buy 49 cents a pound yams yesterday I'm going to make in the crock pot today along with chicken breasts.

[treehugger]

I agree that buying extra turkeys only works if you have the freezer space. And then the fridge space for the week it takes to defrost one. :) In my experience, they don't really get cheaper after Thanksgiving. So buy one when you see it hit a sale price you like, but don't assume they will go into the bargain bin after next Thursday.

Since we are going out with the family for Thanksgiving, I will definitely be buying a turkey so I can do a Thanksgiving dinner at home in the next month or so. But, I only have room for 1 turkey at a time.

Now through Christmas, canned pumpkin is usually on sale, as well as flour, sugar, chocolate chips, and other baking supplies. Good idea to take advantage of that, if you use them, especially since they are easy to store. Butter will go on sale sometime between now and Christmas, and I always buy extra and freeze it.

I don't buy much produce at the grocery store, since I am a CSA member, but it's a good idea to check out what seasonal produce is on sale if you are in the store anyway. Stock up on the long-storing items like winter squash.

Kara

[SteveinMN]

Cranberries. They freeze really well, too.

Potatoes. String beans in cans or frozen. Doughs (like crescent rolls).

[artist]

I do turkey. I cook them right away and strip for the meat. Separate into two cup portions (perfect for soup, pot pie, rice dishes, soup etc... and then freeze.

[Blackdog Lin]

Same as artist: we buy a couple of turkeys and cook and freeze meal-size portions, along with broth.

Also Swanson chicken broth (I use a lot of it, and don't like the off-brands of this particular product) and cream o' soups (trying to wean us off of them, but so many of my traditional recipes use them). Both items are the cheapest they'll be all year in November and December. 'Specially at Wal-Mart.

[Aqua Blue]

I defrost my turkeys in the back entry way. It is usually about 40 degrees there. I am not too good about figuring when a turkey is defrosted either, so I just cook them when they are ready and reheat in stock. I usually buy several and heat up the stove once to cook them. I think the white meat turns out better that way. Unfortunately I haven't seen a good price this year.

[Gregg]

We do turkeys the same as artist and Lin. Usually save one whole bird in the freezer for a special dinner in the future, but do a couple more ahead of time and vacuum seal the meat so it freezes well. For us the vac sealer is the key. Whenever we tried this with just Zip-Lock bags we always ended up with a lot of freezer burned turkey.

Don't know about the rest of you, but turkey isn't a great deal here this year. On sale, yes, but none of the $1 turkeys if you spend $50 like in the past. I've heard the drought has a lot to do with that. Less birds raised because feed was so expensive so a reduced supply. We'll see the same thing with beef by spring...

[iris lily]

Yes we buy turkey and put it in the freezer for sometimes after January. DH--the baker in the family--loads up on baking supplies this time of year. I learned from him that thwere are sale during the holidyas on this stuff, I never paid attention.

[Blackdog Lin]

No great deals on turkeys in our area this year - but we were doing our Wal-Mart run this morning and they had them for $.88/lb., so we grabbed one. Will cook the one already in the freezer and have this one for later. With the food inflation nowadays, I figure a turkey dinner next year for $.88/lb. will seem a good buy to us.

Also bought a case of Swanson chicken broth @$.60/can. It used to be $.50/can on sale. Again, considering inflation, I'll save money next year by being stocked up.