So I've been raising turkeys for over a year for holidays and general eating and have found them far superior to anything from the stores. That and I know that they are treated much more humanly. My question is, is there any way to enhance the flavor of the meat naturally. I've heard of people feeding apples and acorns to their pigs to sweeten the meat and I wonder if the same can be done with birds.
Replies
Hi Kevin,
I think the best thing you can do to enhance the flavor of your turkeys is to grow them as slowly as possible. As you know, those BBW turkeys will eat anything you put in front of them. So, for the first four months of their lives, I feed them minimal very little feed...only enough to supplement what they don't get off pasture. In months 5 and 6, we feed them something high in protein, which helps them put on the weight. That protein source can be anything...grower crumble (standard or organic), animal proteins (turkeys are omnivores), etc. And, if you are able, let the bird grow for more than 6 months. With BBW birds, you determine how fast they grow by how much supplemental food you give them. The longer they can live, the more flavor the meat will have. Remember, slow growth is better than fast growth.
Hope that helps.
Jeffrey L Dyer
Chicken Scratch Ranch
http://www.chickenscratchranch.com
Good info, Jeffrey! That's about how we've raised ours, but not intentionally. We're about ready to pick up our Thanksgiving chicks, and I'm going to monitor it this time and be more intentional about it. 7-1/2 months to the feast!
I'm so impressed with how much better home-grown turkeys are than store-bought, that I'd never considered enhancing the flavor. It should be interesting to hear what others say about this!
Ours range over an irrigated pasture, so most of their diet is bugs and natural greens, supplemented with feed. I don't doubt that adds to the flavor, but I've never compared it to straight feed-fed birds.
I got the idea about a year and a half ago when I was at Date Creek Ranch north of Wickenburg for their apple picking. They raise some of their hogs in a fenced off section of the apple orchard. They basically eat apples all day and the meat is suppose to be sweeter. I also rember reading somewhere about feeding acorns to hogs to give the meat a nut/sweet flavor.
Mine eat feed plus weeds, bugs, grass and garden surplus. I'm sure that it changes the flavor. The ones you buy in the stores are feed straight feed.
I may try feeding apples to one of the bird for a couple of weeks to see it if changes anything.