Getting A Farm-Fresh Thanksgiving Turkey
It’s October—that means Thanksgiving will be upon us in less than 2 months. Do you know where your turkey is coming from?
I’ve been buying mine farm-fresh for the last couple of years; but this year, I wanted to go the extra mile and buy a bird that was also free-range, so I made a few phone calls to find out that I couldn’t find one. The last farmer that I called explained to me why that is the case.
“They’re free-range inside of a coop,” explained Mr. Eichner of Eichner’s Family Farm in Wexford, PA. As far as raising turkeys in the open air goes, “There are just too many concerns with coyotes and other predators.” In order to get a turkey from Eichner’s, it helps to already be a customer. He raises the same number of turkeys each year and past customers get first dibs. Orders for new customers are not guaranteed, and can be placed in person at Eichner’s Farm Market.
With that knowledge under my belt, I placed my order witht he farm that I’ve gone through for the past couple of years, Ifft’s Poultry in Evans City, PA. They will accept orders over the phone; birds are available for pick-up on the Tuesday or Wednesday preceding the holiday; any earlier than that, and your bird is still breathing (talk about fresh!).
Another option for a fresh, local bird is Pound’s Turkey Farm in Leechburg, PA. Their birds are available directly from the farm, and orders are accepted over the phone. Another option for getting a turkey from Pound’s is to place your order through Schramm Farms, but Schramm will not be accepting orders until sometime around the beginning of November.
Contact Information for Local Turkey Resources:
Eichner’s Farm Market: 285 Richard Rd, Wexford, PA 15090; (724) 935-2131
Ifft’s Poultry: 136 Pioneer Rd, Evans City, PA 16033; (724) 538-4710
Pound’s Turkey Farm: 4200 Melwood Rd, Leechburg, PA 15656; (724) 845-7661
Scramm Farms: 1002 Blank Rd, Jeannette, PA 15644; (724) 744-7320
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Maggie Henry is offering conventional and limited heritage birds in Lawrence County on 100% certified organic local grain, free-ranged on organic pasture. A $10 deposit holds your bird for fresh delivery at Farmer @ Firehouse Market the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Email Maggie for details . . . maggie.henry@gmail.com
October 4th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Jesse,
For those of us who aren’t in Pittsburgh and are looking to get a farm-fresh turkey this year, can you enlighten us about what questions to ask of local farmers to determine which farm will have the best quality turkeys?
Julia
October 5th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Thanks, Troy! Great information…wish I knew about that a few days ago.
Julia–
I’d start by asking how they raise their birds. Just because it comes from a local farm doesn’t mean it wasn’t raised in a very small cage. Farmers tend to be very open about how they operate their businesses, and tend to have explanations for why they do things the way they do. If you’re not comfortable with what you hear, call someone else and ask some more questions.
Know in advance what you’ll settle for. If you want organic, pasture-raised and nothing less, it will likely take you quite a bit more research to find than it would for you to find organic, cage-free but raised in a coop. To find conventional, cage-free will be even easier.
From what I understand, it is illegal to treat poultry with hormones, so all turkeys should be steroid-free and hormone-free; antibiotic-free is another story… I’d advocate at minimum making certain that your bird isn’t treated with antibiotics, even if a free-range bird is something that you have a hard time tracking down.
Whatever you find is bound to be fresher than what you’ll get from the supermarket, and you’ll be supporting a local farmer, too.
October 8th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Sigh. We usually do Thanksgiving at my wife’s aunt’s house, and it’s generally a lot of superfattening casseroles and, the last two years, a turkey that was cooked and carved the night before. There are like 30 people there or something. I inquired too late last year about a local, fresh turkey, so thanks Jesse and Troy for the lead on the turkeys. I’m going to inquire now and, heck, even volunteer to cook the freakin’ thing at our place and transport it to our dining destination.
A number of years ago, doing a solo Thanksgiving dinner at our house in D.C. (because my wife was WAY pregnant) and could not travel, we did this maple glazed turkey that was roasted with bacon slices on top, and a sage stuffing. Best turkey I’ve ever had and I’ve dreamed of making it since. Perhaps I’ll try to fulfill that dream this year.
So, thanks again for the early reminder.
October 15th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
A word of caution about fresh poultry. I recently got food poisoning that I believe was from a fresh chicken. I got campylobacteriosis, which comes from a bacteria usually killed by freezing. It lasted 11 days — 3 in the hospital. I also blame myself for cavalierly tasting while cooking. But I was surprised, when I talked to the farmer who raised the bird, he’d never heard of this common bacteria, and was asking me for advice on whether he should freeze all his poultry. Anyway, be extra careful with fresh birds. Make sure your thermometer is accurate, and use it. I say a little more on my own blog at http://www.alleghenyfront.org/earthsbounty.
Jesse, thanks for such a visually appealing and interesting blog.
October 15th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
p.s. if you really want a free-range turkey, there’s always hunting.
December 24th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Maggie Henry is offering conventional and limited heritage birds in Lawrence County on 100% certified organic local grain, free-ranged on organic pasture. A $10 deposit holds your bird for fresh delivery at Farmer @ Firehouse Market the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Email Maggie for details . . .