Turkey will be in short supply at barbecue joints this fall
The first shot across the bow happened last week when Mimsy’s Craft Barbecue in Crockett posted an ominous message on its Facebook page:
“Ok folks. I’ve been preparing for this moment for weeks, but the time is here. This week is the last time we will have our smoked turkey available on the menu for the rest of
2022.”
Wait, what? No turkey on a barbecue menu? What’s going on here?
A clue can be found in coowner Wade Elkins’ hint about preparations. Indeed, most barbecue joints, restaurants and supermarkets have been warned since last spring about limited supplies of turkeys this fall due to an outbreak of avian influenza (bird flu).
Now, you may be asking, “Is this just another made-up shortage by big industry to artificially inflate prices before a holiday?” I ask myself the same thing every Cinco de Mayo when it seems like there is a conveniently timed shortage of avocados or tequila to take advantage of higher demand for guacamole and margaritas.
But in the case of bird flu, the current outbreak is verifiable. Both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been warning of avian influenza in domestic poultry flocks since February. To prevent further spread of the virus, poultry flocks have been culled (or “depopulated”), with as many as 6 million turkeys killed among other poultry, such as chicken and ducks.
That means there is a lot less turkey available for consumption at your local barbecue joint.
To be specific, there is currently a notable shortage and price increase for processed turkey breasts, rather than whole turkeys you cook at Thanksgiving. Indeed, the current shortage of turkey breasts that make up the turkey you get at a barbecue joint is affected by the fact that turkey processors are trying to hold back enough whole turkeys to sell during the holidays.
How is all this playing out on the front lines of a typical Texas barbecue joint?
like it’s going to be a pork loin and ham Christmas,” says Russell Roegels of Roegels Barbecue Co., perhaps only half-jokingly. Fortunately, processors hope to have plenty, if smaller-sized, whole turkeys available for the holidays.
For now, though, turkey breasts are in short supply and costly when Roegels can get them. Wholesale prices have increased from about $3 per pound last year to $7 per pound this year.
“Turkey is now more expensive (wholesale) than brisket, and we’re told we might not always be able to get it,” says co-owner Scott Moore of Tejas Chocolate & BBQ in Tomball.
In addition to offering tur“Looks key breast by the pound, Tejas features two signature sandwiches with this protein: the everyday “Bird & Bacon” sandwich and the Wednesdays-only Smoked Turkey Melt.
You might think removing turkey from a typical barbecue joint menu temporarily isn’t a big deal, but other factors come into play, like catering.
For an office or events manager, leaner turkey is often a big part of a typical lunchtime catering order so as to accommodate those employees who want to avoid the fattiness of beef brisket.
Back at Mimsy’s, Elkins recently posted that they are taking preorders for whole and half-smoked turkeys for Thanksgiving, even though it’s still almost six weeks away. By getting an early idea of how much demand there will be this holiday season, barbecue joints can get ahead of the shortage and let their distributors know how much turkey they will need as soon as they possibly can.