TALKING TURKEY: Free range, free run, local, heritage breeds — big bird basics

Here’s a primer to get you up to speed and in holiday turkey dinner mode, with tips to find the finest big birds for your family feast.

The pastured,  heritage breed Orlopp Bronze turkeys at Keating Farm in the Cowichan Valley are premium poultry.

By CINDA CHAVICH

The easiest way to ensure your turkey dinner is a success is by starting with the best raw materials — that is, a fresh local bird — but any turkey will be delicious if you treat it right.

With a range of choices, from basic frozen supermarket turkeys to free range, free run, organic and RWA (raised without antibiotics) birds in the market, it can be tough to pick the perfect turkey without a program. But here's what you need to know.

BIRD BASICS

Free-range turkeys are raised in barns with access to outdoors, while pastured birds are literally raised on pasture/grass and able to forage for plants and insects, creating a more flavourful, nutrient dense meat. Standard commercially raised turkeys are "free-run" birds confined to barns (though not cages). All Canadian turkeys (and chickens) are raised without added growth hormones, and antibiotics may be used “to prevent and treat infections” according to the British Columbia Turkey website.

So all Canadian meat birds (chickens and turkeys) are "free run" and "raised without growth hormones" though some retailers use this labeling to suggest their poultry is somehow superior to other conventionally-raised fowl.

It's good to know what you're buying or paying for, so it’s always best to deal directly with a trusted butcher.

With island-raised supplies limited and "local" a term that's used loosely, you need to ask exactly where the bird was grown if provenance is a priority.

Though some island farmers still raise turkeys, you will likely need to buy direct or order a bird in advance from a small butcher, whether The Village Butcher or Farm + Field in Victoria, Carnivore Meats in Brentwood Bay or Berryman Brothers to get a fresh island bird.

Local farmers including Nettlebrook Farm in Saanich and historic Keating Farm in the Cowichan Valley produce local birds, the latter featuring pastured Orlopp Bronze turkeys that wander in grassy pens and have organic fruit from their orchards in their daily diet, the highest "animal welfare" choice.

Or you might find a fresh turkey from Ireland Farms in Saanichton through Berryman Meats, a rural butcher shop and farm store in Central Saanich.

I asked a few of my favourites to weigh in on the topic of turkey.

“The whole turkey situation is changing,” says Cory Pelan of The Village Butcher. “We’ve done a lot of research and we can’t find anyone growing any quantity of free-range turkey on the island anymore.”

Often what is considered "local" in modern parlance means sourced in BC, from producers on the Lower Mainland for both free range and free run turkeys, all RWA (raised without antibiotics). Fresh turkeys are often sourced from Abbotsford's Rossdown Farms (free-range and never given antibiotics) or JD Farms Specialty Turkeys (free run). K&M Farms sells fresh and frozen pastured and free-range birds for pick up from their farm store in Abbotsford.

At Farm + Field Butchers, owner and butcher Rebecca Teskey describes a similar supply situation when it comes to island raised birds, adding those that are available from small farms can be too expensive for most buyers, leading many butchers to offer mainland=raised fresh turkey instead.

Berryman Brothers Meat in central Saanich is a source of local free-run turkey year round, processed, flash frozen and sold direct from their farm shop, or online for home delivery.

They sell frozen rolled turkey roasts and turkey pieces, including whole boneless, skin-on turkey breast and drumsticks at their farm store throughout the year and feature fresh local birds for holidays, both free-run and larger free-range turkeys.

Whole birds are sold individually or in their special holiday Turkey Box, complete with stuffing and gravy from Arbutus Foods in Duncan, and a jar of locally-made cranberry jelly. Berryman's large selection, online shopping portal and home delivery adds an extra level of convenience for consumers.

All of these local butchers offer whole or half birds, individual pieces and boneless turkey roasts, rolled white and dark meat that’s quick and easy to roast and carve.

At Fraser Orr's Butcher & Deli in Saanichton, they make stuffed rolled turkey roasts to order, with your choice or white and/or dark meat, with their own bread and sausage stuffing.

Convenience is key for many consumers.

“We now sell more turkey rolls than whole birds — it’s such a great product, dark and white meat together, hand rolled and tied, seasoned with our own herb salt.”,” says Rebecca Teskey of Farm + Field Butchers, where locally smoked hams are also available.

Beyond butchers, you can buy free-range local turkey direct from smaller island farms, both in the Comox and Cowichan valleys, and via farmers’ markets or online market sites like Cow-op.ca which carries the pastured turkeys from Keating Farm.

Country Bee Honey Farm also advertises fresh turkey to order in season from their farm store, also a source of honey and Christmas trees.

FRESH OR FROZEN

A fresh bird has two advantages — it’s usually juicier (having not lost moisture in the freezing and thawing process) and it’s ready to roast when you are. Cook a fresh bird within 1-2 days of purchase.

The frozen bird takes more planning as it takes many hours, if not days, to properly thaw in the refrigerator (don’t thaw turkey at room temperature). Calculate 4-5 hours per pound to defrost a frozen turkey — that’s at least two days for a 12-pound turkey, up to three days for a 16-pound bird.

Frozen birds are usually much cheaper than fresh, with many large supermarkets dropping prices to lure shoppers. If buying a frozen turkey, avoid those that are pre-stuffed or injected with water, spices and extra fats, and choose a Canadian bird.

Ultility grade turkeys are significantly cheaper, not because they are inferior in flavour, but because they are missing parts or have tears in the skin.

Even when you start with a basic supermarket bird — especially one that's fresh — you may not be able to discern a significant difference in flavour when compared to a more expensive free-range option.

Buy 1-2 pounds of turkey per guest, two if you want leftovers.

A stuffed and roasted bird is a thing of beauty — and easy to achieve.

BREAK DOWN AND BRINE

While hauling a perfectly golden brown bird to a table of admiring guests is the classic “ta-dah” moment, in practice, you’ll likely be carving the bird in the kitchen and passing a platter of turkey after its sliced.

So consider cooking a half turkey or turkey pieces to save time and reduce waste.

Most butchers will cut a larger turkey in half, which gives you all of the flavour of a larger, more mature bird, and all of the expected pieces, and cooks quickly with bread dressing on the side. If you're keen on serving a free-range turkey — which usually means a larger, 20+ pound bird, half a turkey is often the most practical option.

Or ask for a turkey that’s broken down into pieces and cook the white and dark meat separately. That’s a trick used by hotel chefs and caterers who regularly roast deconstructed birds. It saves both time and oven space, and makes brining the turkey far easier.

An easy brine is equal parts sugar and salt dissolved in water, including any other herbs or spices you like. If you don’t have space to brine a whole bird, Teskey suggests rubbing the bird inside and out with herbed sea salt the night before you plan to roast it.

When roasting turkey pieces (or a skin-on breast), bring the brined meat to room temperature, pat dry and sear, skin side down, to brown before placing in a roasting pan (skin side up) and roasting at 375-400°F, to an internal temperature of 155°F (breast) and 165°F (leg/thigh).

To guild the lily, stuff some compound butter (with chopped garlic and fresh herbs) under the skin of your turkey pieces before roasting.

TO STUFF OR NOT TO STUFF

Classic bread stuffing (a.k.a. dressing) is always a given in my house, and you can stuff it into the bird or bake it in a covered casserole dish alongside (or both).

If you stuff your turkey, don’t do it in advance (a food poisoning risk), but rather stuff just before putting the bird into the oven. You can make the stuffing itself early and refrigerate it, or cube up the bread the day before to save time.

The better the bread, the better the stuffing — think about a mixture of crusty white and grainy bread from a good local bakery.

Plan ahead by saving the dry bits and ends of your artisan loaves in the freezer, cubed and ready for making bread stuffing.

Start by sautéing up lots of chopped onion and celery in butter, pour it over the cubed bread and season with chopped sage, thyme and celery salt and pepper. First stuff the neck area and pull the skin over top, securing it with skewers or by twisting the wing tips back behind the body to hold the skin in place. Fill the body cavity with stuffing, too.

Any extra can be placed in a casserole dish, moistened with some chicken broth, and baked alongside during the last hour or so.

If you’re roasting a whole, skin-on turkey breast, you can fill with bread stuffing, roll and tie before roasting. Or you can butterfly the breast, rub with mustard and a compound butter with lots of fresh chopped herbs and garlic, then roll, wrapping the skin around the piece, tie and roast to an internal temperature of 155-160

ROASTING TRICKS AND TIMING

Place the whole stuffed bird breast side up in a heavy roasting pan.

I like to use the start high, go low, method of roasting a turkey — preheating the oven to 425°F to brown the bird for 30 minutes, then reducing the temperature to 325°F for the remaining roasting time. Lay a piece of foil loosely over the bird for the first hour or two, then remove to brown the skin, basting occasionally during the roasting time.

Plan to pull the bird when the temperature of meat and stuffing hit 165°F (about 15 minutes per pound for a stuffed turkey). An unstuffed bird or half turkey will roast quicker — about 12-13 minutes per pound.

When you remove the turkey from the oven, place it on a board or platter to rest for 30 minutes before carving, a step that ensures the juices settle in the meat. This also gives you plenty of time to remove the stuffing and make the gravy.

AVOID DULL LUMPY GRAVY

Speaking of gravy, save the turkey neck and giblets (found inside the raw bird) to make a rich broth using some onion, celery leaves and peppercorns (simmered with water while you roast the bird), then use it for making your super delicious gravy.

It's easy to avoid lumpy gravy with these simple steps.

Once the bird is out of the roasting pan, pour most of the pan juices into a measuring cup, leaving some of the fat behind. Place the roasting pan over medium heat, and sprinkle the remaining fat in the pan with a few tablespoons of flour, enough to absorb the fat.

With a big wooden spoon, stir to combine the flour and fat, scraping up any browned bits, then slowly add the pan juices and some of the broth, whisking to make a thick smooth gravy.

Bring to a boil and thin with extra broth if needed, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

ON THE SIDE

Everyone has their own preferences for side dishes when it comes to turkey dinner.

Mashed potatoes are always in order (I like a 50/50 combo of steamed yellow-fleshed potatoes and cauliflower, with butter for a creamy mash).

And you should plan to include something colourful to break up the beige and brown palette of roasted fowl, gravy and bread stuffing. I'm partial to roasted Brussels sprouts, carrots or squash, with fresh herbs, but steamed green and yellow beans make a nice side dish, too. If you're serving vegetarians, consider making a roasted acorn or kabocha squash, with a wild rice and pecan stuffing.

BERRY GOOD

And don't forget the tart contrast of fresh cranberry sauce — a must with roast turkey.

I make it two ways:

Cooked Cranberry Sauce: Combine 1 bag (12 oz.) fresh cranberries with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes until berries begin to break open and sauce thickens naturally, then remove from heat and chill.

Cranberry Orange Relish: Whirl up this last minute, uncooked sauce in the food processor with a 12-oz bag fresh cranberries, one thin-skinned orange (seeded but with peel) sliced, and 3/4 -1 cup sugar — just process/pulse until chopped fine and combined, then chill.

Of course, most of the fresh cranberries we buy are grown right here in British Columbia. If you didn't know, all of the Ocean Spray brand cranberries in the supermarket are from this farmer cooperative, with more than 700 farmer members in Canada, the US and Chile (100+ in Canada, most in southern BC and Vancouver Island).

The berries are harvested in the fall (between October and December) with low-lying fields/bogs flooded and the floating berries corralled by booms, then shipped off to Ocean Spray facilities, to be sold fresh and in other products, from dried cranberries to juices and canned sauces.

You'll also find Yellow Point Cranberries in some Victoria markets (I found them at The Root Cellar and the Red Barn Market) — grown by Justine and Grant Keefer just north of Ladysmith. They are part of the cooperative and deliver their "wet harvest" cranberries to Ocean Spray, too, but they also have a "dry harvest", combing the berries from the plants to sell as fresh cranberries under their own Yellow Point Cranberries label.

They also make their own cranberry sauces and jams — Cranberry Cottage Preserves — sold in their farm store, along with juices and other cranberry-based products.

WELL EQUIPPED

Having the right kitchen equipment always makes things go smoother and when you’re talking turkey, there are a couple of necessities. First, get a decent roasting pan, large enough to hold the bird and heavy enough for browning and making gravy (not the disposable kind).

If you plan to truss your turkey, or roll a turkey breast, have some kitchen twine on hand.

Then place the bird, stuffed and trussed, in the pan on roasting rack or turkey lifter (mine is a metal chain link affair that makes removing the bird from pan to carving platter a breeze while allowing for browning).

And don’t forget an instant-read thermometer. This will ensure your turkey is properly cooked, and not undercooked or overcooked and dry.

BAIL OUT AND BUY DINNER

If all else fails, you can opt for the take-out turkey with all the trimmings or dining out for turkey dinner.

At Farm+Field Butcher shop, they will sell you the ready-to-roast bird or rolled, boneless roast, with mashed potatoes, stuffing and their special herbed seasoning salt, so you can roast and reheat in a snap.

Many hotels serve traditional turkey dinners over the holidays and offer take-out turkey dinners, too. The Fairmont Empress Hotel offers Christmas Day dinners in the Q dining room or the Grand Christmas Day Buffet.

And they have the full Festive Turkey Feast To-Go — turkey dinner with all of the traditional trimmings (think sourdough-sage stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes, maple-roasted root vegetables, and brussels sprouts with double-smoked bacon and confit onion), all precooked and ready to pick up,

to heat and serve at home ($599 to serve 8-10 people).

A turkey dinner with all of the wonderful trimmings is a beautiful thing — and easy to cook!

PLAY IT AGAIN

Of course, the beauty of a whole roast turkey is the leftovers — and the array of delicious dishes you can make after you’ve enjoyed your holiday dinner.

The easiest is a replay of roast turkey and gravy, with leftover trimmings, all plated and reheated in the microwave (or packaged in meal-size portions for the freezer and future turkey TV-dinners).

But there’s also the classic hot turkey sandwich (reheat the sliced meat in the gravy and tip over toast), turkey pot pies (leftover chopped turkey, vegetables and gravy in a casserole, baked with a leftover mash or biscuit topping), turkey curry or turkey tetrazzini.

Make sure to save all of the bones and the carcass after carving (you can even freeze them), then simmer with onions, carrots, parsnips and herbs for a rich turkey stock, to sip as a winter cure-all or use as a base for turkey noodle soup.

But don't stress about cooking a turkey dinner. Once you have sourced a big bird, made the stuffing and put it in the oven, roast turkey is pretty fool proof. Do it once and you'll never stress again.

Refer to my recipes here for everything you need to know, and enjoy a family feast.

A roast turkey dinner is a beautiful thing — the meal that keeps on giving!

©CindaChavich2025