Turkey?

[ThymeTruffle]

Anyone have suggestions for where to buy a turkey to cook for Thanksgiving? We got one at Everett's last year and were very happy with it, but wanted to see what else is out there.

Thanks!

[BigE]

I picked up a fresh Kadejan bird from Kowalskis and made it on Sunday. Salted it and left it on a racked sheet pan in the fridge for the night. Spatchcocked it and cooked it for ~85 minutes at 450 degrees (down to 400 for the last 20 or so). Very good. The breast was incredibly juicy.

Bird #2 (another Kadejan) this upcoming Sunday.

[SarahInMinneapolis]

Thanks for the Kadejan turkey rec. Great hot bird. Great cold left-overs.

[BigE]

Good to hear. Both of mine turned out great as well.

[Davydd]

We picked up our fresh non-frozen organic free range turkey today from Mackenthun's Meat & Deli in St. Bonifacius today. We pre-ordered it a few weeks ago. It came from Ferndale Farms in Cannon Falls. 20.51 lbs. They have a listing of all the retail stores they supply and there are many in the Twin Cities. We had one last year and it was one of the best tasting turkeys we ever had.

http://www.ferndalemarketonline.com/

[ThymeTruffle]

Thanks all- we decided to go with the Kadejan turkey this year. I'm sure it will be super tasty!

My husband evangelizes for the Mark Bittman braised turkey recipe every year. You have to be okay with the loss of the image of a full roast bird, but it's so worth it for well-cooked meat! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV09oZ...

[steamer]

Could see Bittman's braised turkey for an everyday meal, but I gotta have a big Norman Rockwell roasted bird for Thanksgiving.

[steamer]

I think I might go for a Trader Joe's bird. I'm also intrigued by this steamed and roasted recipe by Jacques Pepin. Kinda scary but Jacques does not screw up.
http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/12941/...

[gildeddawn]

I was thinking the same thing on both counts - Trader Joe's and Jacques Pepin. Steaming sounds terrifying, but Pepin is trustworthy.

Anyone had a turkey from TJ's before?

[AnneInMpls]

I love the turkeys from Callister Farm. Not cheap, but oh so worth it. Their chickens are worlds better than Kadejan, too. Word to the wise....

[mitch cumstein]

callister chickens are absolutely more expensive and not as high quality as kadejan.
I prefer the Kadejan bird over even the poulet rouge that callister raises. Kadejan air cools the birds post slaughter, it retains juiciness and fat better.

[mtullius]

As of a couple of days ago, the St. Paul Farmer's Market still has some vendors with turkeys available for purchase, including Farm On Wheels (where we usually get ours).

[mitch cumstein]

These guys are the best, imo. worth a call. I'll post back with some info if possible.

http://wildacresmn.com/index.cfm/page...

Update: turkeys are at Clancey's, Kramarchuk's and Birchwood.

[BigE]

Ha...I was just on my way to make this thread. I got a Kadejan bird from The Wedge last year. It was pretty good, but I'd like to go a different route too.

I'm thinking about trying a Ferndale bird this year. http://www.ferndalemarketonline.com/i...

Does anyone know if Heartland is selling any at their market?

[bkmnus]

Local d'Lish tweeted this last night:

Thanksgiving is so closed! But it's not too late to reserve a tasty Ferndale Market turkey. We still have several... http://fb.me/20GdPzoc5

[BigE]

I need to revise my original post. I ordered my bird from The Wedge last year.

Anyways, as far as Ferndale, they are widely available, including at Kowalski's, The Wedge, Seward, Mississippi Market, etc.

http://www.ferndalemarketonline.com/w...

[forgottendreamr]

On sale at Seward for $1.99/lb. That swung us this year!

[SarahInMinneapolis]

What did you think of the Kadejan bird? I love their chickens. I'm thinking either the Kadejan ($2.29 a pound) or what I usually do, a Lunds fresh free range ($1.69 a pound). Was the Kadejan worth the extra money?

[BigE]

Sarah, I come from the classic $0.99 per pound pop-up timer dry turkey MN upbringing. Last year was the first time I took complete control of the bird, and I've been asked to do so indefinitely :) Unfortunately, I can't really speak to the difference in quality compared to other birds. It did seem to have a more pronounced flavor than previous years. Not necessarily gamey, but still better, in my opinion.

It will be my fall back bird this year, if I can't find another one I like.

[SarahInMinneapolis]

Thanks, Big E. Me, too, on growing up with the pop-up freezer birds, which always struck me as just fine (although I've got to think those birds were better decades ago compared to the ones available, now). I'm off to the Wedge, today, to order a Kadejan.

Thanksgiving is the holiday I host and I spend a lot of time on the food. Homemade bread in the stuffing and plenty of the turkey stock for both the dressing and gravy using this recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[BigE]

You can order the bird on their site through Thursday and pick up will start on Friday:

http://www.wedge.coop/meat-seafood/tu...

[bob s]

In past years, the Wedge has been able to help procrastinators as well. They generally have some available for pickup without a reservation. I'd give them a call to confirm though.

We generally have gotten Kadejan turkeys from the Wedge and have been very happy with them.

[SarahInMinneapolis]

Kadejan turkey ordered, thanks. FYI, The Wedge also has a great price on turkey wings for stock: $1.79 a lb. [I've been buying frozen Kadejan chicken carcasses -- caraii?! -- there for years.]

[mull0263]

Yes, Heartland is taking orders on birds through the 17th. They have free range duck, goose and turkey priced at $6/lb, $8/lb and $4/lb, respectively.

[BigE]

Do you happen to know the source on any, the duck and turkey specifically?

[mull0263]

Sorry, didn't inquire, just happened to see the posting while I was in there earlier and it didn't list the source.

[The Dairy Queen]

I noticed the Wedge seems to have a lot of options on their website. Big Daddy's is doing Hickory Smoked Ham and Turkey. Surdyk's seems to have a couple of options, too.

~TDQ

[bkmnus]

Clancey's in Linden Hills would probably be good. Also Nelson's in Hopkins has several bird options, including goose if you wanted to go that route.