# Strong tasting turkey



## gellebelle (Oct 16, 2010)

Hi, I am new here and need a question answered.  I just roasted a turkey that I purchased onsale and it has a very strong taste.  The dark meat does not just the white meat.  Can anyone tell me what causes some turkerys to taste so strong?  Thanks


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## PrincessFiona60 (Oct 16, 2010)

What type of turkey did you buy?


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## Claire (Oct 16, 2010)

Hmm, the only time I had a strong tasting turkey it was wild.  My guess would be one of two things; either it was too old (why it was on sale), or maybe it was something in the feed.  Dark meat always has a stronger flavor than white (more fat, hence, more flavor) .... I assume to mean a sort of gamy flavor, and if it wasn't old, it would probably what it was fed.  I also assume it didn't make you sick!


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## 4meandthem (Oct 16, 2010)

Strong in a good way? Not spoiled strong.

Age of the bird.What it was fed and injected along with the variety of bird all would factors in the flavor.

Strong as in a off flavor would be due to storage and/or thawing mistakes.


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## gellebelle (Oct 16, 2010)

*strong tasting turkey*

Thanks all for the answers...The turkey was frozen and I usually do not buy frozen turkeys.  It was a store brand, another no no for me.  But they were on sale at 2 for one price.  I imagine it was a mix of all your answers.
Thanks again.  I think I will like this forum,,,
Gellebelle


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## PrincessFiona60 (Oct 16, 2010)

Welcome to DC and we strive to be helpful.

I suspect a 2 for 1 sale of store brand turkey was to get rid of last year's turkeys before the next huge shipment comes in for this year.


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## 4meandthem (Oct 16, 2010)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Welcome to DC and we strive to be helpful.
> 
> I suspect a 2 for 1 sale of store brand turkey was to get rid of last year's turkeys before the next huge shipment comes in for this year.


 

Your answer got me thinking!

I just pulled out my last turkey and got on the phone to get some help eating it! Thanks!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Oct 16, 2010)

I quit buying frozen two years ago and get the local Hutterite turkeys.  I buy one huge one for the Holidays and a couple of small ones for me to freeze for the rest of the year.  A bit expensive, but the quality is great and I KNOW they've never been frozen before I freeze them.


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## 4meandthem (Oct 16, 2010)

I got 5 free turkeys last year from my supermarket.
Everytime I spent 100 bucks I got one.I broke most of them down and vacuum sealed them.

I know free range fresh birds are better but I couldn't resist the price.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Oct 16, 2010)

4meandthem said:


> I got 5 free turkeys last year from my supermarket.
> Everytime I spent 100 bucks I got one.I broke most of them down and vacuum sealed them.
> 
> I know free range fresh birds are better but I couldn't resist the price.


 
I "won" about 3 last year, I take them to the homeless shelter or the group homes in town.  Along with my kitchen skills, I love it, it's a lot of fun!


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## 4meandthem (Oct 16, 2010)

My wife usually buys a few to give.My daughters school always does a can drive too. Great way to clear the pantry and start over for the year.


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## Claire (Oct 17, 2010)

I've never bought a "fresh" turkey.  Only frozen.  Even the time I experimented with a wild turkey, it was frozen.  They are just so damned inexpensive.  Around holiday time, when I had a freezer (I mean a chest one, aside from the one on my fridge), I would buy two because they'd get so inexpensive.  Actually, I don't think I've ever eaten a fresh one.  Maybe last year (I usually do Thanksgiving at my house, but last year we made an exception and went to friends').  Maybe I'm taster-deficient, but with any other meat I cannot really tell the difference between "fresh" and frozen.  I put fresh in quotes, because in the case of most poultry, it really isn't something you'd call fresh ... take it home and find ice in the cavity.


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## sparrowgrass (Oct 17, 2010)

Most poultry leaves the plant frozen.  I think there is a limit to how cold they are supposed to get, but they are frozen hard, and then sold as fresh.

I can't tell the difference either, even with my own home butchered chickens.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Oct 17, 2010)

Our Hutterite turkeys, chickens, ducks and geese only come in once a year unfrozen. About 4 days before Thanksgiving.  Any that are not sold are frozen in-store.  They are very local, within 100 miles.


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## Andy M. (Oct 17, 2010)

sparrowgrass said:


> Most poultry leaves the plant frozen.  I think there is a limit to how cold they are supposed to get, but they are frozen hard, and then sold as fresh.
> 
> I can't tell the difference either, even with my own home butchered chickens.




Every year, around the holidays, tests demonstrate that people cannot tell the difference between frozen and fresh turkeys.  So much depends on how it's prepared and cooked that fresh or frozen becomes moot.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Oct 17, 2010)

I find the difference in the proportions of white to dark and the breast meat is not as dry in the fresh birds.  The breast is not "over developed" in the turkeys I get.  So, I guess my preference is for Natural raised instead of being raised for mass production.  I am also able to get the size of bird I want, from humongous to small.  Factory raised birds are all about the same size, within 5 pounds.


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## Andy M. (Oct 17, 2010)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I find the difference in the proportions of white to dark and the breast meat is not as dry in the fresh birds.  The breast is not "over developed" in the turkeys I get.  So, I guess my preference is for Natural raised instead of being raised for mass production.  I am also able to get the size of bird I want, from humongous to small.  Factory raised birds are all about the same size, within 5 pounds.



The testing to compare fresh to frozen was probably done between major manufacturers rather than including any small producers.  I agree they are not the same kind of bird.


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