Tell-all on turkeys Are specialty birds worth the extra dough? Three experts weigh in
Tgrocery shopping in this country is a tale of two turkeys. For some, the holiday is a time to clip coupons or take advantage of other special offers that allow them to get a bird at steep discounts to normal prices, sometimes even free. Others turn to boutique poultry farms that can provide information on exactly how your holiday main course spent its life, met its demise and was prepared for its journey to the kitchen.
Artisanal turkeys, if you will, are big business. While supermarket shoppers snatch up birds from the major producers for a dollar or two a pound, mail-order specimens bearing labels such as “organic,” “heritage,” “free-range” or “pasture-raised” can command
$10 to $20 per pound. But can you taste the difference?
“I believe so, yes,” said Dustin Lewandowski, an executive chef with the Wolfgang Puck Fine
Dining Group.
“I do believe that turkeys that claim to be
TURKEY
(artisanal) are better in quality than your average grocery store commodity turkey.”
Paul Kelly, a British turkey farmer now raising his Kelly Bronze turkeys in Virginia for the American market, says there are many reasons his birds taste better than those that are mass-marketed. For one thing, their feathers are plucked by hand after slaughter so they can be hung dry in a climate-controlled room to tenderize.
More than that, however, Kelly said “maturity has the biggest single impact on flavor.”
Your average supermarket turkey, it turns out, is bred to be ready for slaughter when it’s 12 to 16 weeks old. Kelly Bronze turkeys mature to six months. Kelly said consumers can taste the difference in everything from the meat to stock that’s made from the bones.
Not everyone agrees that you’ll notice the difference on your palate.
“To be honest with you, not really,” said Sam Marvin, who runs Tivoli Village’s restaurant and butcher shop Echo & Rig. “(It tastes) a little different for sure, but you’re not paying for better meat.”
Benefits beyond the plate
Despite that, Marvin said he believes in shelling out for a high-end turkey if you can. Echo & Rig is selling two varieties.
“I think you’re paying because you’re supporting small farmers. I think you’re paying because you’re supporting humane treatment of animals. I think you’re paying for certifications like GAP, Global Animal Partnerships. I think that’s what you’re paying-up for.”
If those are your reasons, he said, there are a couple of things you should look for when choosing a turkey.
Heritage refers to a traditional breed of animal developed to be raised on traditional, rather than factory, farms. A heritage turkey will most likely have less breast meat than a factory-farmed bird, will be capable of breeding naturally and thrive when it forages outdoors for its own food. Heritage breed livestock is more expensive to raise, and is usually the province of smaller farms.
For consumers concerned with an animal’s living conditions, Marvin advised looking for birds that have been pasture-raised.
“Pasture-raised means that it has to spend its life on the pasture. It cannot be fed indoors. It’s 100 percent outdoors.”
Don’t confuse that with free-range birds.
“Free-range means 51 percent of the time, the chicken or turkey has to have the opportunity to go on the free range. There’s still 40,000 chickens in a coop. So it doesn’t (really) mean anything.”
Marvin, who sells free-range turkeys from California’s Diestel Family Ranch, recommended buying one only if you know the specific conditions on the farm on which it was raised.
The importance of other labels varies. Organic refers to the feed the turkeys consume. But since adding hormones to poultry is illegal in the U.S., a promise of a hormone-free bird is basically meaningless.
“It’s all a personal choice,” Lewandowski said of turkey options. “It depends on what type of diet you adhere to and what type of standards you apply to your day-today shopping and menu planning.”
Whatever you choose, Marvin said the splurge is worth it.
“I say yes, it is worth spending the extra money, for sure. It’s not that often you’re buying a whole turkey. So once a year it’s definitely, definitely worth paying-up for.” Contact Al Mancini at amancini @reviewjournal.com. Follow @Almancinivegas on Twitter.