Farm to Table: Choosing a Live Turkey

You might think Thanksgiving is not complicated enough. Between the family dynamics, the food prep and cleaning the house, you may also want to test your food morals and come face-to-face with your bird of choice before he or she is sacrificed for the sake of this great holiday. This is more complicated than you would think. And you probably already think it is pretty complicated.

First, this is not a mainstream service. Look online and you will be hard-pressed to find a lot of farms offering this option. If this, however, does not turn you away, you can still do it. You just need to prepare yourself for a multistep process.

You will first need to contact a local farm in your state that raises turkeys and ask them if you might be able to participate in the process of picking and slaughtering your own turkey. There is a decent chance this will cost more than buying the bird in a store.

Another option is to order a turkey from an organic farm and pick up this carefully chosen bird after its carcass has already been prepared. Many regions have lists of farms you can access. New England publishes a list of turkey farms and the Midwest has a decent online presence for farms in each state. Eatwild provides a map of farms and ranches in the United States by state, which is really helpful.  If you want a farm-to-table experience, go for it, but make it a little easier on yourself.