Are you turkey hunting?
This was posted on Nov 22nd, 2008 by Ellwoods Kitchen and tagged in Ellwood's Kitchen, Local Farms
Well, Thanksgiving approaches and with it, the search for the perfect turkey.
Our most popular bird is the Bell & Evans Turkey, which at $1.99/lb is a great deal!
These turkeys are all raised on the same farm in Pennsylvania Dutch Country and are available only east of the Mississippi. Their farms are about 250 miles from our store.
Flocks are raised in modern open-sided pole barn, 300 ft. long by 60 ft wide — no overcrowding here! The birds are free to roam as they wish in the pastures and are given clean well water and a diet that consists of soy, vitamins and minerals.
These birds are bred more slowly to ensure a broad breast and a higher percentage of white meat than most turkeys. They are certified LITE by the USDA, which means that these turkeys have 55% less fat and 25% fewer calories than conventional turkeys. And it’s all done naturally!
All Bell & Evans Turkeys are in clear plastic bags so you can see exactly what you are getting. For those nervous turkey cookers, they all have those little pop-up timers that let you know when the bird is done.
If you are looking for a Heritage turkey, we have local, certified organic birds from Shenandoah Valley Family Farms at $6.99/lb. SVFF is a co-operative of small family farms located in and around Dayton, Virginia, about 100 miles from our store.
These birds roost in mobile houses that are move from pasture to pasture in their bucolic mountain setting. Although all animals are encouraged to graze any supplemental feed is mixed by the farmer often using grains from their own farm.
If an animal becomes ill they are treated with herbal tinctures if any other medicines are required the animal is removed from the heard and sold to conventional farms.
Unfortunately, this year, the SVFF flock was small this year so we got some birds from one of their neighbors, James Shelton, from Heartland Harvest. These local heritage turkeys are pasture-raised and supplemented with non-gmo feed. While the Shelton farm is not yet certified organic, Arlen Beery of SVFF, assured me that the farming practices on the two farms was the same. The Heartland Harvest turkeys are also $6.99/lb.
We had to go a little further away, to Lancaster County, PA, 237 miles from our store, to find certified Kosher, organic, pastured turkeys from Wise Poultry. Why buy Kosher? More then 10 million Americans keep kosher including Jews, Muslims, Seventh Day Adventists, vegetarians and people with food related allergies and others who perceive “kosher-certification” as a seal of purity, purchase kosher products for religious and health reasons. For a detailed explanation of the koshering process, see http://www.ou.org/kosher/primer.html.
Finally, from slightly farther away, 287 miles from our store, we get Koch’s All-Natural Turkey Breast. Like all the poultry we sell, these birds are: raised without the use of antibiotics, added growth hormones or stimulants; fed an all-natural diet; raised with plenty of fresh air and room to roam. This produces birds that grow slowly, as nature intended.
