Fresh Turkeys

Any suggestion on where to get a fresh turkey for Thanksgiving? Would like local. Thanks.

"with god as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly". sorry, couldn't resist.

I always buy an "Amish Brand Fresh Turkey" form Mike Best's, 1215 Herr Lane. I believe they are from Indiana. They are truly FRESH, ever frozen. They are remarkable. I ordered mine Thursday.http://www.mikebestsmeatmarket.com

I would suggest a Bourbon Red Heritage from the Wheelers at STAR Farm. $6.75 a # but well worth it.
I would also place an order ASAP as they may not be taking anymore orders for the holidays.
I do know that pick up day is the 19th of November at Rainbow Blossom in St. Matthews
http://www.bourbonredturkey.com
270-528-1758 ask for Kathy

http://mikebestsmeatmarket.com/

Gayle .. you left out an "m" in your link. This will work.

Thank you, Steve. I fixed it back in my original post.

I would suggest a Bourbon Red Heritage from the Wheelers at STAR Farm. $6.75 a # but well worth it.
I would also place an order ASAP as they may not be taking anymore orders for the holidays.
I do know that pick up day is the 19th of November at Rainbow Blossom in St. Matthews
http://www.bourbonredturkey.com
270-528-1758 ask for Kathy

I second Dan's suggestion- the turkey from Star Farm is really wonderful.
Deb

Rainbow Blossom is taking orders right now for several different types.

We've gotten our fresh turkeys from Preferred Meats in Sellersburg for the past few years, and have always ended up with excellent birds. http://www.preferredmeatsinc.com/ or you can call them at 812-246-5930

maybe time for my annual rant . . .

1. Frozen name-brand turkeys are a breed called "Broad Breasted White", developed for mainstream American tastes favoring blander less gamy white meat. Nothing against fresh heritage breeds, but realize going in that you will have more of a wild, strong flavor, and much less white meat. If you like that, great, but if you have kids or people used to the milder white meat coming you may have disappointed guests.

2. Under USDA rules, a turkey can be labeled "fresh" if it's been sitting in ice for less than 13-16 weeks (don't remember exact timing). Be absolutely sure that wherever you buy it, it's been slaughtered and cleaned within 24-36 hours. The reason many fresh turkeys "taste better" is that bacteria have been working on the birds. Unlike beef - in which the bacteria stay on the outside and help to tenderize and concentrate flavor - in poultry the bacteria run throughout the bird. In other words, you either have to cook the birds to the USDA recommended temperatures (at which point the white meat that there is will be WAY overcooked) or please keep kids and the elderly away from the meat, as these bacteria are not benign. Sure, it will taste great, but the risk of illness is very real.

3. To have any degree of juiciness whatsoever you must brine heritage birds. Nothing wrong with that, but it's extra work on a day when likely there is a great deal to do. The whole point of major brands injecting birds with a saline solution (with or without added fats) is so you get the benefits of brining without having to go through the work. If you want to, great!

4. Almost every brand of frozen turkeys is frozen solid within 2-3 hours of slaughter. The bacteria counts are negligible. There is a ton of white meat (which most people still want). There is no gamy taste or flavor. You don't have to brine it in the middle of everything. In fact, you will find that - of the major turkey growers in the country (the big farms) - not a single employee will be cooking a fresh turkey for Thanksgiving.

If you really want a "fresh" heritage, please go for it. Just please be careful! Know your grower, know when the bird was slaughtered. Be sure your company will appreciate the different flavor, texture, et al!

Oh my. Well. Hum. SOOOoo... How do I brine a bird?

Kimberly,
Alton Brown has a fantastic recipe for brining a turkey- it's my favorite and really amazing. Just Google it. Brining it is not much work at all- you just have to plan to start it in advance. We do ours in our big cooler. Only downside of brining is you don't want to use the drippings for gravy- too salty. I make broth for gravy ahead and use that.

Regarding the Bourbon Red turkeys, their meat is darker and deeper flavored but I would not consider it gamey at all. Ours was very juicy without brining.
Deb

*lol* I know this doesn't help at all but it takes me back.

Years and years ago, I lived in a trailer park wayyy out in the country. (in Indiana) Around this time of year, I noticed some wild turkeys wandering around. I believe there were around eight. I didn't think too much about it, but thought they were kind of cool.

As time went on, there were less and less of those turkeys until there were none. We weren't by any big roads or anything like that...you had to know where you were going to get there. So apparently one or more of my neighbors found an inexpensive source for thanksgiving dinner.

Well, I ordered a natural turkey breast for my husband and I from Rainbow Blossom, since the smallest size natural turkey they offered was 10 lbs and we don't need that much for two people. I'm not opposed to freezing leftovers, but I mostly use breast meat for that and I don't have a roasting pan, so I needed something that would fit in a Crock Pot. We thought about going the Tofurky route. We'll definitely be trying that at some point though, because we are intrigued.

Kim,

Some more background on cooking Heritage Birds in the below from Epicurious- (from the owners of Bon Appetit and Gourmet Magazine):

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/howtocook/primers/turkey_stuffingandroasting
There seems to be a difference of opinion on the safety of Heritage/fresh turkeys.

Deb

This will be the third year we will be deep frying our Turkey. I wonder if the leaner, heritage brand Turkeys, would benefit from such a cooking method?