Mary's Free Range, Organic, and Heritage Turkeys (2024)

FAQs

Are Mary's turkeys good? ›

All of these traits result in a superior tasting turkey that takes less time to cook than a regular turkey! With the first juicy, satisfying bite of a Mary's Turkey, you'll know that this bird is something special–natural, plump, and tasty–that's a Mary's Free-Range Turkey!

Even a heritage bird's price of $3 to $7 a pound -- a factory farm-raised turkey costs $1.40 a pound -- doesn't faze the callers. Consumers with discerning palates say it's a small price to pay for a bird they find tastier and more flavorful than the modern, mass-produced turkeys found in supermarkets.

If you truly care about animal welfare, a heritage bird is a better option. Some heritage turkey producers will also have certifications, such as Animal Welfare Approved, one of FoodPrint's top picks, or Certified Humane.

So the welfare and quality of life for both types of turkeys is the same (on our farm, at least!), although some people believe they can taste the difference between organic and free range which may be affected by what the stock was fed.

Because we don't vaccinate or use antibiotics/medicated feed in any of our birds, the Narraganset is appealing for their health stature. Midget Whites Midget Whites are often the number one tasting bird in Heritage and commercial breed taste tests .

The best mail-order turkey is from Grassland Beef. It arrives frozen in fully recyclable packaging and is pre-trussed for easy cooking. This bird was also easy to carve and stayed together well. We also highly recommend the free-range turkey from D'Artagnan.

Mary's Free Range, Organic, and Heritage Turkeys. I thought my turkey was fresh. Why does it feel frozen? Fresh turkeys will sometimes feel hard on the outside because they are chilled to 28 degrees for safe shipping.

Mary's Free-Range Chickens are produced by a family owned business that has been raising poultry for three generations. Don Pitman began raising free-range turkeys and chickens in 1954. His son, Rick, continued to raise turkeys and named them after his wife, Mary.

If you're intimidated by the thought of brining your own turkey, Mary's has come to the rescue! Mary's Brined Turkey is perfectly seasoned with the savory flavors of poultry herbs and is ready for roasting. If you want to make Thanksgiving even more relaxed, try roasting the turkey in an Oster Oven.

Broad-breasted turkeys have been bred to grow so big that they have trouble reproducing on their own and therefore, they must be artificially inseminated. "Heritage birds, which are more athletic, can perch, fly and reproduce naturally, but are more expensive to raise," Patterson said.

What is special about a heritage turkey? ›

While conventional turkeys tend to have small legs and much larger breasts, heritage turkeys are overall smaller, have bigger, stronger legs, smaller breasts, and firmer meat as they live longer, more open lifestyles that allow their muscles to develop.

6) Cook at a high temperature (450-475 degrees F) for less time than a regular turkey. Most heritage turkeys will be cooked through in fewer than 3 hours. 7) Baste only once, about halfway through cooking (or when you take the turkey out to tent with foil or parchment paper) to avoid heat loss in your oven.

Most that do organic turkeys also process conventional turkeys but have to take lots of special measures to make sure the two operations are kept entirely separate — the types of products used in organic processing, like cleaning solvents, can be more expensive, and organic plants can only use certain approved pest ...

Head to the deli counter

Deli-sliced meat will be the healthiest option because of the low ingredient list – take this Boar's Head Premium Lower Sodium turkey, for example, which contains only “Turkey breast, water, less than 1.5% of salt, sugar, sodium phosphate.”

Since pasture-raised turkeys are leaner than factory-farmed ones, they cook faster.

He's emphatic in his belief that the conditions under which a turkey is raised and processed are as important as unquestionable pedigree. That's why heritage birds are pasture-raised, antibiotic-free, and natural (no additives).

Free-range birds tend to grow more slowly, meaning they have more flavour, more fat in their muscles and a better, firmer texture. For this reason, free-range turkeys are less likely to dry out when you cook them. In our opinion, the best turkey we've experienced come from producers like Kelly's Turkeys.