Aldi... what do you recommend?

Gloomtastic!

harr wrote: »

Anyone get frozen turkey last year for Christmas ...if so what was Quality like ?
I really don't want to **** the Christmas dinner 😬

Because we are having our Chrimbo dinner this weekend, I had to buy a frozen turkey - a large one. Thawed it out in the fridge for 2 days and still the inside was a bit frozen. I've now crowned it and boned the legs. Roasted off the wings and leftover bits to make a stock and couldn't resist a little taste. Seems fine to me.

Why are you choosing frozen?

harr

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Because we are having our Chrimbo dinner this weekend, I had to buy a frozen turkey - a large one. Thawed it out in the fridge for 2 days and still the inside was a bit frozen. I've now crowned it and boned the legs. Roasted off the wings and leftover bits to make a stock and couldn't resist a little taste. Seems fine to me.

Why are you choosing frozen?

Thanks ...the only reason I was going for frozen is that I am hoping to pick it up this weekend to have it bought ...I kind of pick up most of my Christmas shopping in the couple of weeks before hand so I won't have a huge shop to get in the one week ...well the likes of cheese and stuff that will keep for the couple of weeks ...I could leave it and pick up a fresh one Christmas week..

Whispered

Does frozen vs fresh make a huge difference in taste?

rubadub

I remember now that last year there were a few people reporting dodgy fresh turkeys from Aldi.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057540414/2

In the bargain alerts forum people said staff or "people in the know" said there will be no €10 off a spend of €50 coupons this christmas. They can out around this time last year.

harr

rubadub wrote: »

I remember now that last year there were a few people reporting dodgy fresh turkeys from Aldi.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057540414/2

In the bargain alerts forum people said staff or "people in the know" said there will be no €10 off a spend of €50 coupons this christmas. They can out around this time last year.

That's another issue,I personally don't trust the dates on poultry in ALDI especially chicken..if I get a frozen one I can control defrosting myself and know for sure it's stored ok..I know it can happen with all supermarkets but I have got enough chicken supposedly in date go off on me in last number of weeks...

harr

Whispered wrote: »

Does frozen vs fresh make a huge difference in taste?

Shouldn't make much difference at all...

Billy86

Billy86 wrote: »

Just checked there, Crunchy biscuity one and 'popping cabdy' (which it the one I bought, also has jellies in it). EDIT: 200g bar.

They're €1.79 by the way, got confused by the Racer bars directly below them for 69c.

Thank you they must be new? I haven't seen them at all, they weren't in my local store today

Billy86

Deleted User wrote: »

Thank you they must be new? I haven't seen them at all, they weren't in my local store today

Might be best to check with them then, you couldn't miss them if you were looking - it's blatant ripoff packaging and all!

54and56

Whispered wrote: »

Does frozen vs fresh make a huge difference in taste?

In recent years I've experimented with different turkeys.

2013 - Fresh "Tesco Finest" (forget exactly what that meant) 7kg turkey costing €50 or so IIRC. Was grand.

2014 - Was having family guests for the Xmas so splashed out on a 7kg Terminfeckin Traditional Bronze Turkey costing €75. Was expecting something "wow" but to be honest I didn't really discern any big difference.

2015 - Aldi "specially selected" or whatever. Some sort of free range turkey. I think it was about 6kg and cost about €35. I decided to go all out and brined the turkey for 24 hours (in a bucket in an outdoor shed which last year was like a fridge at Xmas time) and it was nice but not sure it was worth the effort

A few weeks ago I bought a frozen 6kg turkey special offer for about €18 IIRC from Lidl and had it for a Sunday "roast" and TBH I really couldn't tell any difference between the fresh Tesco, €75 bronze and Aldi Free Range turkeys we had in previous years.

So much depends on how well you cook and baste it and what you are serving it with.

Not sure what I'm going to do this year. It definitely won't be a €75 bronze turkey. Most likely I'll get a free range if its available but more so to support free range Vs battery farming rather than for enhanced taste and if push came to shove I'd happily settle for the 6KG frozen turkey I already have in the freezer which I bought after enjoying the one I tried out a few weeks ago.

Loire

Aldi Sourdough sliced pans are yum. 99c too and the ingredients are pretty ok too for a sliced pan.

nc6000

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

In recent years I've experimented with different turkeys.

2013 - Fresh "Tesco Finest" (forget exactly what that meant) 7kg turkey costing €50 or so IIRC. Was grand.

2014 - Was having family guests for the Xmas so splashed out on a 7kg Terminfeckin Traditional Bronze Turkey costing €75. Was expecting something "wow" but to be honest I didn't really discern any big difference.

2015 - Aldi "specially selected" or whatever. Some sort of free range turkey. I think it was about 6kg and cost about €35. I decided to go all out and brined the turkey for 24 hours (in a bucket in an outdoor shed which last year was like a fridge at Xmas time) and it was nice but not sure it was worth the effort

A few weeks ago I bought a frozen 6kg turkey special offer for about €18 IIRC from Lidl and had it for a Sunday "roast" and TBH I really couldn't tell any difference between the fresh Tesco, €75 bronze and Aldi Free Range turkeys we had in previous years.

So much depends on how well you cook and baste it and what you are serving it with.

Not sure what I'm going to do this year. It definitely won't be a €75 bronze turkey. Most likely I'll get a free range if its available but more so to support free range Vs battery farming rather than for enhanced taste and if push came to shove I'd happily settle for the 6KG frozen turkey I already have in the freezer which I bought after enjoying the one I tried out a few weeks ago.

Good post, I could almost have written that myself as it sounds quite similar to my recent experiences cooking Christmas dinners and the various turkey options.

I tried the brined overnight turkey a couple of years back and was very underwhelmed with it. It looked great but I didn't think the extra work was worth it.

Last year I picked up a few foil packs of stuffed turkey breasts from Aldi and they were delicious. Easy to cook and they didn't take up a huge amount of space in the oven either. I just trimmed and tidied them up a bit before cooking but could probably have popped them straight into the oven.

There were six of us for dinner and we had more than enough turkey to go round. I'll definitely be buying them again this year if I see them.

Staplor

Chocolate Orange mince pies - tried them cold, yuck. Thought maybe they need to be warm - ultra yuck and binned.

The version of Cadburys Marvellous Creations, weren't great, strange after taste, much better sticking to the almond chocolate bar - delish.

Lady Haywire

Staplor wrote: »

The version of Cadburys Marvellous Creations, weren't great, strange after taste, much better sticking to the almond chocolate bar - delish.

Yea I thought the same, the chocolate just seemed way too sweet or something? I also love the almond bar though, plus their mint creme with the dark chocolate.

snubbleste

Observed that Aldi have Christmas spices reduced from €1.2x to 49c
cinnamon sticks, vanilla pods, ground cloves, ground nutmeg

Fuzzy Clam

snubbleste wrote:

Observed that Aldi have Christmas spices reduced from €1.2x to 49c cinnamon sticks, vanilla pods, ground cloves, ground nutmeg

That's a super price for cinnamon and vanilla.

meeeeh

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

That's a super price for cinnamon and vanilla.

That is actually brilliant because I am still sorting some decorations.

Reputable Rog

Aldi had scented candles apparently the same as Jo Malone except about 10% of the cost.
Picked up 2 for the war at home, she's ecstatic.

deadanonymau5

Highly recommend the crispy duck, pancakes and hoisin sauce on offer atm for 5E instead of 5.99E.



I'd buy it for the duck alone.....crispy skin and tender juicy meat

Bassfish

^^ +1 that duck is delicious.

the beer revolu

Bassfish wrote: »

^^ +1 that duck is delicious.

It's Silver Hill. Very good producer.

P. Breathnach

Reputable Rog wrote: »

Aldi had scented candles apparently the same as Jo Malone except about 10% of the cost.
Picked up 2 for the war at home, she's ecstatic.

She' be less ecstatic if she saw your typo.

youngblood

Reputable Rog wrote:

Aldi had scented candles apparently the same as Jo Malone except about 10% of the cost. Picked up 2 for the war at home, she's ecstatic.

How do they burn? Anyone else have feedback on these?

vicwatson

Cooked pork with orange and cinnamon 12.99 is gorgeous. Pricey but nice. Part of Christmas range. Stuck some in tin foil in the oven for 15 mins to warm it.

deadanonymau5

Reputable Rog wrote: »

Aldi had scented candles apparently the same as Jo Malone except about 10% of the cost.
Picked up 2 for the war at home, she's ecstatic.

Whats roughly 10% of the cost of a Jo Malone candle?

Muahahaha

12 mini chocolate eclairs for €1.29, scoffed in no time

Reputable Rog

deadanonymau5 wrote: »

Whats roughly 10% of the cost of a Jo Malone candle?

€5.

deadanonymau5

Reputable Rog wrote: »

€5.

Thanks.

Ill pick some up next time Im there.

Fuzzy Clam

Reputable Rog wrote:

€5.

People pay 50 Euros for a candle?
Talk about money to burn!!!

Reputable Rog

deadanonymau5 wrote: »

Thanks.

Ill pick some up next time Im there.

Gone!

deadanonymau5

Reputable Rog wrote: »

Gone!