Article Text
Thanksgiving turkey orders are opening in Mount Vernon, with two local sellers offering pasture-raised birds for holiday tables.
The Cut Butchery will hold a turkey carving and tasting from noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 18 at its shop in the Hollin Hall Shopping Center, 7968 Fort Hunt Road. Owner and manager Alex Kilroy will also share cooking advice and wine-pairing suggestions.
The shop is taking orders for Kelly Bronze turkeys raised by Judd and Cari Culver on their farm in Crozet, in Virginia’s Albemarle County.
British farmer Derek Kelly began raising and selling the breed in Essex, England, in 1984. “Bronze” describes the birds’ glossy brown coloring.
The Culvers allow their turkeys to roam across 17 acres of pasture and woods, where they eat mosquitoes, ticks, flies, grasshoppers and other natural forage. The birds also receive corn and soy feed, fresh well water and shade. According to the farm, they are raised without antibiotics, feed additives or growth hormones.
Judd Culver, who studied animal science at Virginia Tech, said the birds are raised until sexual maturity at 21 to 24 weeks, allowing them to develop fat marbling. Commercial turkeys are typically processed at 12 to 14 weeks, the Culvers said.
After harvest, the Kelly Bronze birds are hand-plucked, hung and dry-aged for 14 to 21 days to tenderize the meat and intensify its flavor.
Kilroy described the turkeys as moist and flavorful. Because the birds are sold fresh, he said, customers do not need to thaw or brine them before cooking. Preparation time varies by size, but a bird weighing less than 12 pounds can cook in under two hours.
Kelly Bronze turkeys cost substantially more than standard supermarket birds. The Culvers list prices ranging from $133.38 for a nine-pound turkey to $474.24 for a 32-pound bird. Prices at The Cut are available directly from the shop.
Orders can be placed at The Cut in person, through its website or by calling 571-347-7775. Pickup is scheduled for Nov. 22 through Nov. 26.
Another option is available through longtime Mount Vernon Farmers Market vendor Valentine Miller, owner of Valentine’s Bakery and Meats. His family raises about 50 free-range turkeys on pastures in Orange County, Virginia.
Miller said in an Oct. 8 interview that the birds eat mostly grass and insects and receive no genetically modified feed or soy.
He is taking orders for turkeys weighing 14 to 20 pounds at $8.99 per pound while supplies last. Customers can order at the Mount Vernon market outside Sherwood Regional Library, 2501 Sherwood Hall Lane, from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesdays.
Pickup will be available Nov. 22 at the Falls Church market at City Hall, 223 Little Falls Street, or Nov. 26 at the Mount Vernon market.