Thanksgiving Shopping Guide 2014: Where To Buy Turkeys, Pies, Booze And More | Tasting Table NYC
It's a mere nine days away, and you still have no idea where to pick up your Broad-Breasted White (that's farmer-speak for "all-American turkey").
Of course, we're talking about Thanksgiving, the most wonderful time of the supermarket year. Problem is, if you don't know where to shop for your holiday spread, you might be starting to feel a bit of mashed-potato-and-stuffing-induced stress.
Relax. We've got you covered. We asked our favorite butchers, bakers, even broth makers for their full Thanksgiving lineups—turkey, stuffing kits, pies, the works—and now we've compiled them into one foolproof shopping guide.
The Bird
Williamsburg's The Meat Hook sticks with the Broad-Breasted White ($7 per pound), that all-American turkey breed developed in the '50s for more, duh, breast meat, which gets its stock from Interlaken, New York, pastures. Butcher Brent Young is super excited about its brand-new smoker, so he's sticking smaller turkeys in the hickory, apple- and cherrywood-fired chimney for 12 hours. All they need is an hour-long warm up in the oven.
Swing by Midtown West's Esposito Meat Market after work to take your ticket for an old-school turkey: These guys have counted on Pennsylvania's Norvest Farms turkeys ($3.50 per pound) for the last 20 years. "It's always moist and plump," says third-generation butcher Robert Esposito.
Or how about halal? The Islam-abiding butchers at Honest Chops in the East Village get its birds ($98 to $129) from Pennsylvania, too, and these guys are fed a mix of grains, oat, minerals and soy. Bonus: Honest Chops delivers!
In Park Slope, Fleisher's relies on Hidden Camp Farm in upstate New York for its super-fresh (read: killed less than a week before the customer gets it), humanely raised turkeys ($8 per pound).
The Stuffing
You're covered on the carb front with several local bakers. Zachary Golper's got lardon-flavored breadcrumbs (!!!) at Bien Cuit in Brooklyn Heights. Made from his stellar sourdough and airy pain au lait ($10 per bag), half of the work is basically done for you.
Marlow & Daughters is stocking a one-stop shop for stuffing: Find She Wolf Bread sourdough cubes ($5 per bag), loose pork sausage ($13 per pound), turkey stock ($9 for a quart) and house-cultured butter ($12 per pound) on the shelves.
Loafing around? Let the gluten guys at Runner & Stone handle everything with their stuffing kit ($5.50)—three kinds of baguette tossed with onion, garlic, thyme and celery salt—which, is available for purchase online at Good Eggs. All you need is the meat—sweet Italian sausage from Esposito ($5 per pound) or Fleisher's sage-studded pork sausage ($11 per pound)—which you can grab while turkey shopping.
Assorted pies at Four & Twenty Blackbirds | Photo: Tasting Table
The Sides
You could hit up the Union Square greenmarket for baubles of brussels sprouts, taters and every root vegetable your heart desires. Or you could just leave it to the pros. Bklyn Larder has cauliflower gratin baked with Gruyère ($16 per pound), house-made charcuterie like country pork pâté ($19 per pound) and duck liver mousse ($9 for a 4-ounce jar) and fresh-baked dinner rolls ($10 for a dozen).
Just a few blocks over in Prospect Heights, R&D Foods is making sweet potato and coconut soup topped with lime-spiked crème fraîche ($16), roasted garlic and buttermilk-whipped mashed potatoes ($22), Parker House rolls ($10 for a dozen) and its popular three-onion buttermilk bread ($8).
As the for the gravy, pump up your pan drippings with cold quarts of chicken broth made from Pennsylvania Amish organic chicken ($12) and ginger-laced beef broth ($17) from Brodo, Marco Canora's new broth takeout window just outside Hearth in the East Village.
The Pies
We'll be spending less time in front of the oven, more time eating pie this year. Four & Twenty Blackbirds in Gowanus is sticking with the classics: Salted Caramel Apple, Brown Butter Pumpkin, Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan and Salty Honey ($38 to $40 each). "I think if we didn't offer our greatest hits, there would be outcry!" baker and co-owner Emily Elsen jokes.
Breads Bakery has turned its flaky, deeply chocolaty babka loaf into a full-on pie ($35) for the holiday—it's perfect for picking at during a day of non-stocking cooking.
At Lafayette, pastry whiz Jen Yee took inspiration from English pork pies, with their towering sides, for her Apple Pie Elevée ($52). Here, she stuffs the pâte brisée crust with Granny Smith and Gala apples sprinkled with apple cider vinegar and brown sugar. We love her more-crust-is-more mantra.
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The Booze
Alcohol is a holiday cure-all. Treat yo'self to excellent wines from Astor Wines in the East Village: acidic, unoaked Verdicchio ($25), some Alsatian Grand Cru ($92) or rich, iron-y Pommard Vieilles Vignes ($199).
Looking to shell out less dough on bird-friendly wines? Patrick Watson of Chelsea's Back Label Wine Merchants has a couple that will do the trick. "Riesling is a perfect Turkey Day pairing," he preaches. The 2009 Joh. Jos. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett ($35) is dry and gingery enough to cut through rich food. The 2009 Adelaida Nonconformist ($14) is another steal, according to Watson, with a ripe fruit aroma and warming, spicy finish to complement all components of your Thanksgiving spread.
If you're skewing more tall boy than Grand Cru, Murray's Cheese has some ideas. "Cider is amazing with anything rich," John David Ryan says. Ryan suggests Aaron Burr Ginger Apple Cider ($27 for 750 ml) to start and Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break Natale ($15 for 22-ounce bottle), a sweet porter aged with sour cherries, to go with dessert. Yes, they're all available at the West Village shop.
And Zach Mack of the Alphabet City Beer Co. recommends The Bruery's Autumnal Maple ($19 for 750 ml) for two reasons: Because "it goes with everything on the table," Mack says, and because it's brewed with yams—yams, people!