Everything you need to know about the potential Thanksgiving turkey shortage, plus where to buy a Thanksgiving turkey now

Thanksgiving is just weeks away. Do you have your Thanksgiving turkey yet? The USDA has predicted a turkey shortage for 2022. If you and your family plan to gobble up the Thanksgiving dinner essential, reserve one now while you still can.

Your friends at CBS Essentials have found a variety of retailers that will allow you to purchase a turkey online, before the holiday. We’ve even found a retailer that will give you a Thanksgiving turkey for free.

Top products in this article:

Harry & David gourmet turkey feast (with 10 pound turkey), $250

D’Artagnan heritage turkey (8 pound minimum), $166

Goldbelly Gourmet Butcher Block Turducken (17 pounds), $200

In its October report, The USDA warns that turkey production will be lower for the rest of 2022 and the first half of 2023 due to outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Turkey prices are up significantly over last year due to HPAI (PDF).

Thanksgiving is coming up fast. While you’re shopping for your Thanksgiving turkey, remember to give yourself enough time. According to food-shipping site Goldbelly, frozen turkeys take approximately three to four days to thaw in the fridge, depending on their size. That means you’ll need your turkey delivered at least five days before Thursday, Nov. 24.

We’ve scoured the internet for the best Thanksgiving turkeys you can buy online. We’ve found top-rated, drool-worthy birds from Amazon, D’Artagnan, Harry & David, Blue Apron and more that you can buy now and freeze, or reserve and have your turkey delivered just in time for the holiday.

How to get a free turkey before Thanksgiving 

Butcherbox will give you a free Thanksgiving turkey right now, when you sign up for your first box of meat. Plans start at $169 for 9 to 14 pounds of meat every four weeks.

New members who order their first box of 8 to 10 pounds of meat will receive one free-range, all-natural, 10 to 14-pound turkey. This deal is a great option for families who graze on bacon for breakfast, like their Thanksgiving sides heavy on the protein and want a free holiday bird.

Burgers’ Smokehouse hickory smoked whole turkey

You can order your Thanksgiving turkey on Amazon. Yes, really. The online giant sells pre-cooked, hickory-smoked birds from Burgers’ Smokehouse. Just heat and serve.

Turkeys start at 6 pounds and can be found as large as 28 pounds. 

You’d better hurry! Burgers’ Smokehouse is out of 6 to 8 pound turkeys.

Burgers’ Smokehouse hickory smoked whole turkey, $100 and up

Crowd Cow pasture-raised turkey

Enjoy a 10-pound, free-range, antibiotic- and hormone-free bird for 8 to 10 people from online meat delivery marketplace Crowd Cow — neck and giblets included.

If you preorder your Blackwing pasture-raised turkey from Crowd Cow, you’ll get a free oven mitt set ($30 value) while supplies last.

Pasture-raised whole turkey (10 pounds), $130 (regularly $150)

D’Artagnan heritage turkey

If only the best suffices on Thanksgiving, order up a D’Artagnan heritage turkey. These rare Narragansett and Bourbon Red breeds of the bird are raised on a grain-fed diet of non-GMO corn and soy. 

Can be ordered fresh or frozen.

D’Artagnan heritage turkey (8 pound minimum), $166

Harry & David turkey and stuffing Wellington

Gourmet food purveyor Harry & David offers a variety of Thanksgiving turkey options. 

Looking for an unconventional meal perfect for serving a small party? Try turkey and stuffing Wellington — an already assembled version of the puff pastry dish, which cooks in 80 minutes. 

Harry & David turkey and stuffing Wellington (2 pounds), $60

Uncle Ray’s Cajun deep-fried turkey 

Famed Dallas fried-turkey joint Uncle Ray’s serves up deep-fried turkey, southern style. Order up a 10 to 12-pound cajun style bird from Uncle Ray’s on Goldbelly for a southern-inspired holiday. 

Uncle Ray’s Fried Turkey cajun deep fried turkey (10-12 pounds), $130

Harry & David gourmet turkey feast

If you don’t have time to make your own Thanksgiving feast, Harry & David can make one for you. 

The meal includes a pre-cooked, ready-to-heat, 10-pound turkey. You also get apple sausage stuffing, creamy Brussels sprouts with bacon, brown sugar sweet potatoes, pumpkin New York cheesecake, classic turkey gravy and spiced cranberry chutney. Doesn’t that sound delicious?

Harry & David gourmet turkey feast (with 10 pound turkey), $250

Blue Apron’s Thanksgiving feast

Blue Apron offers a budget-friendly Thanksgiving feast that you make yourself. Recipe cards and just about everything you need for Thanksgiving dinner are included.

The traditional holiday meal serves six to eight people. It includes butter-roasted turkey breast, homemade garlic and herb gravy, fresh cranberry sauce with ginger and spicy maple syrup, roasted Brussels sprouts with fried rosemary and pumpkin seeds, brown butter and fontina mashed potatoes with Romano cheese and chives, and apple crumb pie with warming spices and almonds. 

Blue Apron also offers add-ons and additional options for vegetarians.

Blue Apron’s Thanksgiving feast (serves 6-8), $140

Omaha Steaks whole basted turkey

Omaha Steaks has turkeys. Order now and get 50% off a whole, basted and ready-to-cook bird, which includes a cooking bag and pop-up timer. 

Omaha Steaks whole basted turkey (10 pounds), $100 (reduced from $200)

Goldbelly Gourmet Butcher Block Turducken

Why not try Turducken? This Thanksgiving dish is a New Orleans classic — a turkey stuffed with duck and chicken, layered with sausage stuffing and cornbread dressing.

Order one on Goldbelly from Gourmet Butcher Block — the originator of the dish.

Goldbelly Gourmet Butcher Block Turducken (17 pounds), $200

Related content from CBS Essentials: