Farm fresh Turkeys..

[hsmom]

Anyone get these instead of the regular frozen ones? Are they better? Worth the extra money?

 

I was watching a cooking show the other day and they mentioned these being the best to get. So, I decided to order one and try it out. Now I am curious if anyone else orders theirs every year and are they really better?

[LibraryLover]

How were they raised?

 

I once knew a guy who advertised 'local farm fresh turkey', so I stopped by for a visit, excited, hoping to order a couple. He had about 50 turkeys penned up in one tiny A frame, high off the ground. They got feed (not organic) only, and never got to leave their penned A frame. They ever got to scratch around outside or eat grass.

 

Big whoop. It was a tiny factory farm in his big yard.

 

Now, a local turkey allowed to eat grass and play outside, and given organic feed as a supplement to grass and bugs? OK. I'd buy one. That would be a product that isn't available at the local supermarket.

 

I raise chickens, btw. I have a free- range turkey as a pet who is nearly 3 years old. They like to play in the yard and scratch around as much as any bird.

Edited November 16, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Jean in Wisc]

Anyone get these instead of the regular frozen ones? Are they better? Worth the extra money?

 

I was watching a cooking show the other day and they mentioned these being the best to get. So, I decided to order one and try it out. Now I am curious if anyone else orders theirs every year and are they really better?

 

No, never ordered one.

 

But I've bought them day-old, fed them, moved their cage daily so that they had fresh grass, paid vet bills when a bunch of them died to find out what caused it, butchered them, soaked them in salt water, froze them, and thawed them and cooked them year after year. :lol::lol::lol:

 

And yes, they are worth it. But my turkey days may have come to an end...allergies. Not worth being on steroids so that I can have fresh turkey.

 

:eek::crying::sad:

[LibraryLover]

So yes, a bird raised on grass is going to taste better/different. :001_smile: But 'Farm Fresh' is one of those buzz phrases... in the same way "All Natural" is. A pastured bird is going to cost a lot of money, so make sure you get the product you want.

Edited November 16, 2010 by LibraryLover

[hsmom]

I was given choices while ordering the Turkey. The one I ordered comes from an all organic diet, no added yuck and such.

[Janna]

I ordered one two years ago. I don't know if it was the farm that it came from, or if it was the kind of turkey (a Heritage), but I didn't care for it at all. For one, the owners didn't get all the hair off, so my dad and I were literally singeing the remaining hairs with lighters the night before so I could get the turkey in the brine. But then the taste was very...game-y. More so than usual. I mean, I NEVER buy turkeys that have been shot with solution, so it's not like my palette is used to an abnormally juicy non-turkey tasting turkey. It's just that this one was...over the top in its game-y taste. But again, it may have been the farm or type of turkey. I do know that the Heritage turkey we got that year (and holy cow, was it expensive!) was killed and processed by the family the day before we picked it up, which was the day before Thanksgiving - so it was never frozen either.

 

This year I'm getting a local farm raised turkey, but it's from a different place and it's not a Heritage. It was killed and processed last week and will be delivered to me today frozen. So we'll see how this one goes, LOL.

 

Now that I'm thinking about it, if anyone knows whether that gamey-ness is the taste of a Heritage bird, or if something else was awry with the taste, I'd love to know.

[BeckyFL]

I'm really torn on this. I've been buying fresh turkeys from The Fresh Market and they are great... no antibiotics, vegetarian feed, 30% more room to move about. Is it worth $1.99/lb. Trying to figure that out. They could be in the A frame that was described. My other choices are Publix fresh $1.39 or Publix frozen $.59. I haven't had a frozen one in a while. I don't want a dry turkey!

[FaithManor]

I think it really depends on how the turkey was raised, what it was fed, and the breed. Something like a bourbon turkey fed organically and butchered while still young, would probably taste great and be very tender.

 

We gave up on locally raised turkey because the only people doing them in our area were the Amish and they kept them pretty well caged up and allowed them to grow so large that they were tough like rubber. They didn't grow any of the yummy heritage breeds.

 

Faith

[beaners]

I think it really depends on how the turkey was raised, what it was fed, and the breed. Something like a bourbon turkey fed organically and butchered while still young, would probably taste great and be very tender.

 

We gave up on locally raised turkey because the only people doing them in our area were the Amish and they kept them pretty well caged up and allowed them to grow so large that they were tough like rubber. They didn't grow any of the yummy heritage breeds.

 

Faith

 

We have bourbon reds. I wouldn't expect to feed too many people with one that had been butchered young. If they were easier to breed, we would have broad-breasted turkeys instead of a heritage breed. They free-range well, but they grow very slowly compared to the "factory" breeds.

 

I think that some people may be raising them off the ground because of blackhead. It's prevalent in some areas. Chickens can carry it without symptoms, but turkeys will get sick and die if they contract it. We don't have chickens so I let our turkeys hang out in the yard.

[LibraryLover]

Organic feed is good because it's organic.

 

Turkeys can get blackhead if they are around chickens. (Although many people have raised both without issue).

 

Turkeys raised off the ground will be chickens raised on feed off the ground. The taste is in the grass.

 

The commercial turkey we know today has been bred to be a certain kind of bird. Huge, mostly. A hertiage turkey, or any other older breed bird is something quite different. It's not going to be as big, and it will taste somewhat of the earth... This will work for some and not for others. It may be something one would come to prefer or it might not.

 

At any rate, growing poultry slowly on grass and letting it move, is not the same as a Tyson bird, or other commercially bred bird.

Edited November 16, 2010 by LibraryLover

[K in MI]

We order a fresh turkey raised by the Amish in our area; for us, the price is worth it.

[MeaganS]

We got one last year, and it wasn't organic or anything, just fresh. We didn't notice a difference and decided it wasn't worth the extra cost. It might be worth it if it's free range or organic or something, but just fresh wasn't worth it for us. And my husband is a turkey snob.

[sleepymommy]

I ordered one two years ago. I don't know if it was the farm that it came from, or if it was the kind of turkey (a Heritage), but I didn't care for it at all. For one, the owners didn't get all the hair off, so my dad and I were literally singeing the remaining hairs with lighters the night before so I could get the turkey in the brine. But then the taste was very...game-y. More so than usual. I mean, I NEVER buy turkeys that have been shot with solution, so it's not like my palette is used to an abnormally juicy non-turkey tasting turkey. It's just that this one was...over the top in its game-y taste. But again, it may have been the farm or type of turkey. I do know that the Heritage turkey we got that year (and holy cow, was it expensive!) was killed and processed by the family the day before we picked it up, which was the day before Thanksgiving - so it was never frozen either.

 

This year I'm getting a local farm raised turkey, but it's from a different place and it's not a Heritage. It was killed and processed last week and will be delivered to me today frozen. So we'll see how this one goes, LOL.

 

Now that I'm thinking about it, if anyone knows whether that gamey-ness is the taste of a Heritage bird, or if something else was awry with the taste, I'd love to know.

 

Oh no! I've already placed my order with the farm we get our meats from for a Heritage turkey. It's the only kind they offer.

[MariannNOVA]

IME, yes, the farm purchased turkey was much better BUT I must qualify that with the information that we purchased ours from the farm where all of our meats and dairy products are purchased. The farm delivers to us once a week from a little town in Maryland (about an hour and a little from here) - and we have been purchasing from them for about 4 years now. We know that the birds are free range, hormone free, antibiotic free and the other thing (which escapes me) - is it grain fed? Cannot remember. The year we had a turkey from the farm, we brought it to a friend's house - I had prepared a totally additive-free, organic meal for my dd and her dh and my friend had prepared a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Everyone tasted both turkeys, and everyone agreed that there was no comparison as to how much better the turkey from the farm was.

 

I will give you their link - not that they can deliver to you or anything - but they do provide specifics about their turkeys (and other products) and it may give you some helpful info. As someone here said, free-range is not the same as crated in a cage with a stack of other birds.......and yes, I think it makes a difference.

 

www.southmountaincreamery.com

Edited November 16, 2010 by MariannNOVA

[K in MI]

Well, I guess one of the main reasons I think it's worth it is ... I don't have to defrost it! LOL

[MotherGoose]

I have gotten one for the past few years from a neighboring farm. It's raised humanely. I got a Bourbon Red (Heritage) last year, and it was mostly dark meat. No "Broad Breast" but it can actually reproduce on its own :) This year, and in past years, I am getting a Broad Breasted bronze, similar to the grocery store kind. The money is worth it to me. We eat every scrap, and I make stock from the bones. As for cost, I pay about $60 for a 14 pound bird. It is always frozen, because the slaughterhouse freezes them. I have had to finish the plucking process...I consider it part of the adventure ! :) Be aware too that the Broad-Breasted White version (grocery store) became popular in part because it has all white feathers which don't show up as well as on some of the other birds that have darker feathers.

[hsbaby]

My SIL bought an organically fed turkey from a local farm last year. It was pricey and, to be honest, didn't taste much different to me.