Even though it remains among the least expensive holiday meal, the retail cost of menu items for a classic Thanksgiving dinner including turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the basic trimmings increased about 13 percent this year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The Bureau’s annual Thanksgiving dinner price survey shows the average cost of 2011′s feast for 10 is $49.20, a $5.73 price increase from 2010’s average of $43.47. The survey shopping list includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10.

YUM! Roasted turkey

The big ticket item – a 16-pound turkey – came in at $21.57 this year. That was roughly $1.35 per pound, an increase of about 25 cents per pound, or a total of $3.91 per whole turkey, compared to 2010.  The whole bird was the biggest contributor to the final total, showing the largest price increase compared to last year.

“Turkey prices are higher this year primarily due to strong consumer demand both here in the U.S. and globally,” said John Anderson, an AFBF senior economist.

If you’re not in the mood to cook and want to enjoy the holiday without the work, a number of restaurants have feasts.

The Carson Nugget, continues their  57 year Thanksgiving tradition and promise made to the community -  a FREE Carson City Thanksgiving feast with all the fixings.

Carson Nugget Executive Chef Nick De Magistris at the 2010 Carson Nugget Thanksgiving dinner

Each year families by the scores go to the Carson Nugget convention center for the traditional event, which begins three days in advance with food preparation. More than 1,000 guests are anticipated to show for the annual community gathering with dozens of volunteers on hand to do everything from filling water glasses to meet-and-greet, to dishing up heaps of mashed potatoes, stuffing and, of course, the turkey. The dinner runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Rum Jungle Buffet at Casino Fandango will serve a traditional Thanksgiving dinner from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The cost is $22.95 for the buffet and includes, peppercorn prime rib, roasted turkey breast, maple glazed ham with cloves and mesquite smoked salmon. Click  here for the full menu.

Gold Dust West in Carson City, offers turkey with all the trimmings and pumpkin pie will be served beginning at 11 a.m. through dinner time for only $9.99.

At the Carson Station, Thanksgiving dinner will be served from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and includes a menu of prime rib, turkey, or ham dinner, plus a slice of pumpkin or apple pie for $11.99.

What are you Thanksgiving plans? Do you have any traditions?

Tags: American Farm Bureau Federation, Carson Nugget, Carson Station, Casino Fandango, Gold Dust West, Thankgiving Dinner, Thanksgiving

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011 at 11:30 am and is filed under Carson City Dining, Fall Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.