Are you ready to opt for a fresh turkey this Thanksgiving? Find out how early you can pick the fresh turkey up from the store so that it's still good for Thanksgiving Day.
📋 What's New In This Post (11/11/25) - Updated to include info about fresh turkeys at Trader Joe's and Costco.
Have you ever found yourself in the grocery store, staring at the turkeys, and wondering if I should buy one now or wait.
Frozen turkeys really aren't the issue as most of us would just throw them into a freezer. But what about the fresh turkeys?
Is there such a thing as it being too early to buy a fresh turkey?
We got the answer for you today in our latest Thanksgiving Q&A post.
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How Far In Advance to Buy a Fresh Turkey?
So you have decided that you want to go with a fresh turkey this year. You may be wondering how long does a fresh turkey keep, especially if you are used to a frozen turkey that you just defrost and then cook immediately. It won't last indefinitely. You need to treat it as you would any other poultry.
A fresh turkey should have a sell by date on it. I have always found that those turkeys had a sell by date that was at least a couple days past Thanksgiving.
When Do Fresh Turkeys Arrive in Stores?
So that brings us to our next question, when do the turkey actually arrive in the stores.
Fresh turkeys usually arrive in stores about two weekends before Thanksgiving, just under two weeks from the holiday. In most cases, you can buy one as soon as it's available and safely store it in your fridge until Thanksgiving.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- I would say that it's okay to buy a fresh turkey the moment you see them in stores as long as the sell by date is after Thanksgiving and it should be.
- It might be better to wait until a week before if you can. It would at the very least save on fridge space.
- There are plenty of turkeys in the store the Thursday or Friday before Thanksgiving. Once the weekend hits, people start hitting up the stores and selection goes down. You don't want to be stuck cooking a 22 lb turkey when you wanted one a lot smaller.
Let's look at a couple examples of when fresh turkeys arrive at specific stores.
Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's only sells fresh turkeys, usually 3 different types. Each month they have their "fearless flyer" come out that highlights products in the store. In 2025, it listed Thursday, November 13th as the day turkeys would begin being sold. That is exactly 2 weeks before Thanksgiving Day.
Costco
Costco also only carries two fresh turkeys, a Butterball and an organic option. In 2023, I was at Costco 13 days before Thanksgiving and they had turkeys ready to be sold.
Don't want to buy your ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner at the last minute? Then you need to check out our Low Stress Thanksgiving Shopping Guide for all the answers. This guide will help you get ahead of the game and avoid the long check out lines. Know how early you can buy each ingredient with customizable printable shopping lists.
Shorter Shelf Life at the Store
The reason the grocery store turkey has a shorter shelf life, is that it takes time to get from farm to store. The turkey probably had to go through the store's distribution center before it even arrived at the store. Then it has to make it out to the sales floor.
When I asked a couple of my favorite turkey farms their thoughts on the manner, it was a bit more conservative. The general consensus was that a fresh turkey bought in the store should be cooked within 3 to 5 days. Now if you buy your turkey directly from the source you have a lot more time, up to 10 days.
I haven't yet myself but I would love one of these years to get my turkey directly from the farmer and skip the middle man.
Stores Can Reserve a Turkey
A lot of stores will reserve a turkey for you so that you can be guaranteed to get what you want and when you want it. If you want to get it the day before, I would recommend reserving it. Even if it's past their deadlines you can still call a store and ask them what they have in stock and see if they will set something aside for you. Any store with good customer service should be more than willing to help.
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Other Ingredients to Buy in Advance
Here are some other Thanksgiving ingredients you can get in advance
Want to get ahead on making side dishes as well? Then check out my list of Make Ahead Thanksgiving Sides. And if you need help planning out your meal, I laid out what I did for Thanksgiving in my post - Thanksgiving Prep & Timeline.
What Do You Need for Cooking a Turkey
Once you have decided when you are going to pick up your turkey there are a couple of other things to consider:
- How are you going to season the turkey?
- How are you going to tell when the turkey is done?
I always like to brine my turkey. You can either do a wet brine or a dry brine (learn how to spatchcock and dry brine a turkey). What seasonings are best for a brine? I wrote a blog post about the Best 11 Herbs and Spices to Use for a Turkey Brine. Pick your favorites from this list and you can't go wrong.
It's equally, if not more important to know how you are going to tell if the turkey is done. Don't trust the pop-up timers that come with turkeys, instead get a good thermometer that can measure the temperature while the turkey is cooking at all times. I have a guide that I created that will help you know How to Use Thermometers for Cooking a Turkey.
When do you normally buy your turkey for Thanksgiving? Do you always buy fresh or frozen or does it change? I would love to hear from you! Leave me a comment below.
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