Five reasons we're sticking to bronze turkeys

I think we can all agree that, when it comes to thinking about turkey, thoughts of Christmas aren’t far behind. Like ham and cheese, peas and carrots, Christmas and turkeys tend to go together. Of the kinds of turkeys available in the UK, we think the bronze can’t be beaten in terms of flavour. I’d like to share 5 reasons why a bronze turkey from us should be top choice at your Christmas dinner table this year.

1. Traceability

We have a close relationship with our farmers, and at Christmas that’s no exception. This means we can trace the provenance of the turkeys right down to the genetic strain that will give the kinds of birds we need. We’re sourcing bronze turkeys from two farmers to meet demand this year. Rod Adlington will be providing our mouth-watering bacon wrapped turkey breast joints. John Malseed from Frenchbeer Farm returns to help us this year with his hearty whole turkeys, turkey crowns, and turkey legs.

2. Happy turkeys mean flavour

In line with our belief in free-range farming practices, Rod and John practice slow and steady farming methods. The turkeys are reared in mobs of no more than 1000. This is essential to ensure that the proper care and attention can be given to the birds so that they grow fully, naturally, and happy. The slow approach means that the bronze turkeys are allowed to reach full maturity, allowing them to gain more fat and flavour.

3. Wet plucked compared to dry plucked

Supermarket turkeys are usually wet plucked when they’ve reached the desired weight instead of maturity. This is a process that involves dipping them into a hot water bath after slaughter to loosen the feathers, then put into a rotating machine with attachments to remove them. They’re sprayed further with more water to speed up the process. This is risky because it allows the pores from the feathers to remain open. This means any fat within the meat is allowed to cook out of those pores, and results in the meat being drier.

Our bronze turkeys are dry plucked completely by hand, which is a more artisanal approach and means there’s no risk of opened pores. Closed pores means that all the fat from the dry plucked turkey cooks inside. It’s as though the meat is basted from within. And, because the skin isn’t broken from the plucking process, it allows the skin to crackle when cooked, which will look incredible on your table with minimal effort on your part.

4. Game hanging

Supermarket turkeys are generally plucked and packaged for their destination stores within days. Our bronze turkeys are plucked and then game hung on hooks for 2 weeks. The proteins in the meat break down, tenderising and deepening the flavours even more. Game hanging also allows for water weight to be lost, so you’re left with more fat to enrich the bird as it roasts. Because the skin is sealed from the dry plucking process, you don’t lose out on all this effort to ensure the turkeys are delicious with every bite!

5. Care at every step

Financially we’ve all experienced strains this year. You might decide to save some pennies by going for cheaper alternatives this Christmas. It’s worth remembering, however, all the thought and care that has gone into our bronze turkeys. I recently learned from our supply chain manager, Sam, that John Malseed goes the extra mile in preparing our whole bronze turkeys -using a machine to ensure the turkey’s legs contain as few sinews as possible. These can be hard and unpleasant when cooked, but John has thought about this so you won’t have to!

You can place your order from us with confidence that your hard-earned money will go towards a product we’re proud to share with you and will yield delicious results. You’re investing not just in us, but also in our famers and keeping the free-range farming system and principles in business, so that we can keep providing excellent quality year after year. We look forward to being a part of your Christmas dinner this year with a bronze turkey and all the other festive trimmings you can buy from us.