I think I’ve identified the problem… you have no taste buds ;).
One thing that helps is to start with a fresh turkey rather than a frozen one. Frozen turkeys tend to lose a lot of their juices when they defrost.
Also, some people still cook poultry until it reaches 185 degrees F. If you cook a turkey to this temperature the white meat will be dry and the dark meat will be falling apart. I cook mine to 160 degrees F.
It’s true that turkey doesn’t have as much flavor as some other meats. I prefer to call it subtle, not bland.
My cat goes nuts for leftover turkey, by the way.
You can inject or brine a turkey to add a lot of flavor and keep the turkey moist at the same time. I also notice that a lot of people end up with turkey skin that is flat and kind of gross looking instead of crisp and lovely like it should be. For a food prepared and served in most housholds every November there are an awful lot of people who don’t know what they’re doing. Of course the turkey is the major dish because it’s friggin huge!! Though we serve deer, ham, and whatever else we can get our hands on. Why limit the feast to turkey?
Marc
Something that’s always put me off of turkey - from lunch meat to the most well-prepared and moist whole bird - is that it has a sort of “wet dog” smell. Does anyone else notice this, and does it bother you? It’s so universal to me, in all turkey prepared in all ways, that I assume it’s just a fundamental
The Dougs have had leg of lamb at Easter for years now.
Hey, at least we don’t have rabbit.
The only way to prepare a turkey is to deep fry it. I first tried it 5 years ago and haven’t gone back. Hell I even ditched my family last year since they were doing it traditional style.
This thread brings to mind the worst turkey I ever had, at my ex’s father’s house one Thanksgiving.
My ex-FiL and his wife were never great cooks, but they did OK most of the time. Of course, I’d avoided their house for holidays most of the time, but one Thanksgiving I had to be there. We had:
- A turkey so dry that it was literally hard to eat without chugging down water with every bite. The skin was pale and rubbery. Throughout the meal, ex-FiL bragged about how he paid 8 cents a pound for it.
- Sweet potatoes out of a can, with multicolored mini marshmallows on top
- Instant mashed potatoes
- Gravy out of a can
- Green beans, out of a can
- A bottle of red wine that had been opened a year or so before, corked, and stuck in their basement fridge.
One of the best parts about the divorce was that I never had to go to his father’s house for holidays again.
That said, my Turkeys are never dry, are very tasty, and have nice crispy skin. However, I do pay more than 8 cents a pound for them.
My father loathes turkey. It’s never been his very top favorite, but he used to be able to tolerate it. Then (about 40 years ago) he got a nasty case of food poisoning from a turkey croquet on the USS Tulare. Real food poisoning that landed him (and half the ship) in bed for several days and led to the dismissal of the Supply and Food Service Officers. Anyway, after that, Dad never eats turkey of any kind – he says he can even taste it in a turkey hot dog.
Me, it isn’t my top favorite either. I can take it or leave it, even if it is properly cooked. I don’t mind eating it once or twice a year but, in the main, I’d rather have a roast chicken.
I used to feel the exact same way until my mother figured out the perfect way to make Thanksgiving turkey delicious, moist and succulent. And that was – stop buying turkeys from that one company. You know, the one with the 800 number and the national distribution? This is only my opinion, of course, but I’ve never had one of their turkeys that was any good, while I’ve had many other turkeys that are delectable.
–Cliffy
We have lamb on Easter too. A lot of people I know think of Easter as the lamb holiday.
I think if Jesus had a problem with people eating foods that are seen as symbols of him, he would have said something by now. 
I’ve heard exact opposite.
Frozen turkeys are typically flash frozen.
By the time you eat a turkey on Thanksgiving, a “fresh” turkey is typically less fresh than a frozen turkey, and they do something to the outside to keep bacteria from forming.
I like turkey, anyway. One doesn’t eat it so often to get sick of it.
But still, I mainly think of the turkey as a decorative centerpiece of my plate. With cranberry sauce, gravy, turnips, corn, potatoes, peas, and stuffing, do you really need/want a rich, red piece of meat or something?
I have always disliked turkey.
At first it had alot to do with the fact that my November 27th birthday is always celebrated on Turkey Day (and my brothers all got whatever was their favorite foods cooked for them for their birthdays…not that I’m bitter still.)
Now it has to do with the fact that Turkey is just dull.
Give me goose any day.
My Thanksgiving dinner this year has evolved into a feast including (but not limited to) Peking duck, turkey breast, lamb meat & rice stuffing, cornbread stuffing, sweet potatos, green bean casserole, green bean stew, corn, rolls, gravy and cranberry sauce. All prepared by yours truly. Desserts will be picked up in a day or two fresh from the bakery and will include a pumpkin pie and some sort of cheesecake. I usually bake the desserts a day or two before, but I don’t have the time this year.
gooses GorillaMan, runs away
(Shirley, I’ll be back for you later.)
Despite my screenname (which means “turkey breast” in Hungarian), I only enjoy turkey twice a year, and only as a whole, roasted beast. It’s just so engrained in the culture, and Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. So much so, that I actually return to Budapest every year (as I will tomorrow), so I can prepare the feast for my expat buddies and locals alike.
I don’t know how I do it, but the last few years I’ve manage to roast a turkey without drying out the breast. The only trick that I use is to put some aluminum foil over the breast about halfway through cooking. I wish I could be of more help, but I don’t use thermometers, and the ovens I use in Hungary only have two settings: “I” and “II”, so I couldn’t even tell you what temperature I’m at.
This year, I’m thinking of brining a turkey for some insurance, because I think it’s just been dumb luck that my turkey’s turned out the last few years, and I’ve got a reputation to maintain, ya know. Although it’s also possible that Hungarian turkeys are just better than their Butterball counterparts. Come to think of it, I don’t remember ever roasting a turkey in the U.S.
But for me, turkey is not just about the taste, of course. There’s so many warm and fond memories associated with it. I mean, I can’t wait to go out shopping in the market, pick out a fresh turkey, buy all the raw ingredients for the pies and the sauces, the stuffing, the sides, and everything, as well as several bottles of wine. I mean, we start at about 10 a.m. with day-of shopping (although if I’m brining, we’ll do it the night before, and we stale some bread for a couple of days, too, for the stuffing), and then just cook, drink, and talk all day. I mean, there’s no more perfect a holiday than Thanksgiving for me, and no more perfect a food than turkey to go with it.
Personally, I like turkey. I like the flavor and I like the way it goes with everything else served for Thanksgiving. I also like the turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce sandwiches after Thanksgiving. Everywhere I may end up for Thanksgiving has the jellied cranberry sauce… and the only thing that’s good for in my book is putting on a sandwich. I don’t eat it during the regular meal.
I love sliced deli meat turkey, but real turkey? Not so much. We’ve done baked, stuffed, fried…it’s okay, but just kind of boring, IMO.
I usually eat the main Thanksgiving & Christmas meal and that’s it for me. No leftover sandwiches or anything, which my family tells me is half the fun of holiday meals.
My husband and I are very close friends with a family that has a turkey farm just outside of Burton’s Bridge (they’re just down the street from Keif’s Reef for those in that area 
) so we always get ours fresh - but they do flash freeze them right after they’ve - er - passed on. Actually, we’ve usually “met” the poor thing. I do have to say there’s nothing quite so funny as watching Mr2U and his buddy running around at “round up time” after those turkeys…I giggle just thinking about it. 
Okey Doke. I’ve managed to completely miss answering the question. DUH!
I prefer turkey cooked in the oven if only for the leftovers. I love turkey sandwiches and some casseroles that you make with the leftovers, but they never taste “right” if the bird has been cooked on the grill or deep fried.
If I’m not the one being stuck with the leftovers, I like deep fried the best, and on the grill is “ok” too.
Twice a year.
Period.
Ditto with ham (except that’s always cooked in the oven - hell, you know what I mean.)
Most people I’ve ever talked about this with think I’m weird because I’m not a big fan of turkey. I’ll eat it, I don’t dislike it, but it’s not my favorite.
Deep-fried, however, is yummmmmmy.