how long do you "age" your thanksgiving turkey?

[Deb&Al]

we have 4 turkeys we've raised for thanksgiving. i know what i do for chickens when we butcher them. i let them age in the fridge for 2 days and then i freeze. but, the turkeys are not going to be frozen, they will be used for thanksgiving dinners.

what's everybody's practice regarding this? do you think the freezing further tenderizes the birds, and therefore we should let the turkeys age longer in the fridge, say 3 or 4 days?

mods, i'm putting this on the main forum, instead of the poultry header, because more folks will see it here. if you need to move it, i understand.

thanks everybody for your help.

btw, the turkeys are broadbreasted whites and are about 20 lbs live weight.

debbie

[Okie-Dokie]

Don't know if this is the best way or not. It is just what we do. Kill and prepair the birds 2 or 3 days in advance and let them just set in the ice box till time to cook them. I think that freezing them would just stop the aging process.

[GoldenMom]

My locker processes the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I've been plenty happy with the tenderness (my birds are a mix of Bourbon Reds about 6 months old and 3-4 month old BBWs). I don't think there would be any problem butchering on the weekend before Thanksgiving though.

[homebirtha]

I think 3 or 4 days is optimal. We usually do ours on Saturday or Sunday before.