2008 Hudson Valley Thanksgiving - Turkey Pickup Day
November 23, 2008
I felt like I was on my way to pick a friend up from the airport or something as I woke up on a typical fall day in the Hudson Valley. Today was
turkey pickup day. Two months ago I had placed my order for a 14 pound organic and locally raised turkey from McEnroe Farms in Millerton New
York. In the past I had always used a frozen bird from the grocery store. I was always pleased with the results but this year I wanted to do it right.
The drive was about 45 minutes over to McEnroe Farms on Rt. 22 in Millerton. Outside was the familiar truck trailer with life size lettering “Fresh
Turkey” across the side. Unlike like last year this time I knew my bird was waiting inside. The McEnroe Farm consists of the main market and a
green house to the left. Farm land surrounds the building on all sides. Today was my 3rd visit to McEnroe’s and each time the parking lot is fairly
crowded. This says something since it is not located in a densely populated area. People just know how to find good food.
The market offers a wide variety of local produce, dairy and meat. They stock everything you would need to make a top quality dinner. The front of
the store was stacked with boxes for turkeys and customers were advised to request their order prior to shopping so the turkey could be retrieved
from cold storage. Finally my day had come. When I ordered I was told that the weight could fluctuate plus or minus 4 pounds. I opted for a 14 pound
bird with the hopes of leftovers after Thanksgiving and they hit it right on the nose. Even in the plastic bag the turkey looked great. It was nice not
seeing it hard as a rock. The skin looked creamy white with plump legs. This was going to be a good Thanksgiving.
Buying an organic turkey is more expensive. I saw that the local Hannaford was selling frozen turkeys for 49 cents per pound. Grocery stores
typically slash the prices like that to get you in to the store hoping you’ll buy the turkey but also the rest of your Thanksgiving items. It’s called a
loss-leader and they intend to lose money by selling it at a low price but make up for it with the rest of the shopping cart. Right off the bat comparing
on price is not equal. I only buy a full turkey once a year and it feeds 6-8 people. For me it’s worth the price difference. My expectations are that the
taste will be much better. Isn’t taste what we all care about the most?
There are other advantages to buying local as well. Freshness is obvious since my turkey was only killed within the last week or so. Frozen birds
could have been slaughtered months or even a year ago. Local also means less transport of the turkeys. That’s good for the environment since it wasn’
t trucked halfway across the country. The only transport this bird went though was in my car from the market to my house. I mentioned this before
but it’s important to know where our food comes from and how it was raised. Avoiding chemicals and pesticides is not only better for us but it tastes
better as well. As serious cooks we need to be asking that question more often, where did this come from?
November 23, 2008
I felt like I was on my way to pick a friend up from the airport or something as I woke up on a typical fall day in the Hudson Valley. Today was
turkey pickup day. Two months ago I had placed my order for a 14 pound organic and locally raised turkey from McEnroe Farms in Millerton New
York. In the past I had always used a frozen bird from the grocery store. I was always pleased with the results but this year I wanted to do it right.
The drive was about 45 minutes over to McEnroe Farms on Rt. 22 in Millerton. Outside was the familiar truck trailer with life size lettering “Fresh
Turkey” across the side. Unlike like last year this time I knew my bird was waiting inside. The McEnroe Farm consists of the main market and a
green house to the left. Farm land surrounds the building on all sides. Today was my 3rd visit to McEnroe’s and each time the parking lot is fairly
crowded. This says something since it is not located in a densely populated area. People just know how to find good food.
The market offers a wide variety of local produce, dairy and meat. They stock everything you would need to make a top quality dinner. The front of
the store was stacked with boxes for turkeys and customers were advised to request their order prior to shopping so the turkey could be retrieved
from cold storage. Finally my day had come. When I ordered I was told that the weight could fluctuate plus or minus 4 pounds. I opted for a 14 pound
bird with the hopes of leftovers after Thanksgiving and they hit it right on the nose. Even in the plastic bag the turkey looked great. It was nice not
seeing it hard as a rock. The skin looked creamy white with plump legs. This was going to be a good Thanksgiving.
Buying an organic turkey is more expensive. I saw that the local Hannaford was selling frozen turkeys for 49 cents per pound. Grocery stores
typically slash the prices like that to get you in to the store hoping you’ll buy the turkey but also the rest of your Thanksgiving items. It’s called a
loss-leader and they intend to lose money by selling it at a low price but make up for it with the rest of the shopping cart. Right off the bat comparing
on price is not equal. I only buy a full turkey once a year and it feeds 6-8 people. For me it’s worth the price difference. My expectations are that the
taste will be much better. Isn’t taste what we all care about the most?
There are other advantages to buying local as well. Freshness is obvious since my turkey was only killed within the last week or so. Frozen birds
could have been slaughtered months or even a year ago. Local also means less transport of the turkeys. That’s good for the environment since it wasn’
t trucked halfway across the country. The only transport this bird went though was in my car from the market to my house. I mentioned this before
but it’s important to know where our food comes from and how it was raised. Avoiding chemicals and pesticides is not only better for us but it tastes
better as well. As serious cooks we need to be asking that question more often, where did this come from?
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| McEnroe's Organic Farm Route 22/44 Millerton, NY 12546 518-789-4191 |
Hudson Valley Food Blog
