ATLANTA — Thanksgiving is just days away, putting the spotlight on supermarkets as folks rush to get the last dishes and sides for their family meal.
It's also the time of the year where turkeys take center stage.
Ahead of Thursday, a person more familiar with the turkey economy than perhaps anyone - Joel Brandenberger, president of the National Turkey Federation - spoke to 11Alive's Cody Alcorn.
Brandenberger touched on everything from why turkey prices can actually go lower than you'd think - "supermarkets will discount them deeply to get customers in to buy all of their holiday groceries there in the supermarket," he said - to the cooking styles he's seen become popular over the years.
You can watch the interview with Brandenberger below.
Two important rules came up in the conversation - when the cutoff point might be for thawing your frozen turkey, and the temperature you absolutely want it to be cooked at before you consider it ready for the Thanksgiving dinner table.
On thawing, Brandenberger said it's "almost too late" to begin doing the thaw properly, but that if you at least get it out of the freezer and into a fridge by today, you should be good by Thursday. The National Turkey Federation president added that thawing in a fridge for 2-3 days is widely considered a better method than leaving it on a countertop or trying to thaw it in a sink full of water.
As for one other golden rule?
"Whatever method you choose (to cook the turkey), put a meat thermometer into the deepest part of the breast or thigh and make sure it is cooked internally to 165 degrees Fahrenheit," he said.