Why Buy Your Turkey From Larder & John Howe Turkeys?

Whether you purchase your Christmas Turkey from a farm or a butcher, it is important to ask the following questions:

• Is the turkey genuinely Free-Range?

Often turkeys are advertised as Free-Range, even though they have minimal access to outside space.

White turkeys are typically barn reared, but advertised alongside Free-Range bronze birds, which can be misleading.

• Has the turkey been plucked by hand (Dry Plucked)?

A significant proportion of birds on the market have been wet plucked. This means the entire bird has been dipped in hot water, which contains high bacteria levels.

• Has live transportation been used?

Many large farms rear their birds on more than one farm, which means that even though you are sold the image of a locally produced bird, that is not necessarily the case, as the birds have been transported large distances for processing.

• Has the turkey been game hung?

The turkey’s flavour, in part, comes from being game hung for at least two weeks.

• How long was the Turkey reared for?

The best turkeys are picked from a number of different slow growing breeds reared over at least 6 months. Modern techniques use fast growing turkeys fed on an intensive ration. The aim is to produce the finished turkeys to the desired weight in the least possible time.

A slow growing, fully matured bird will cook better and taste better

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