Happy Thanksgiving!

I have never done that, I have never even had turkeys! But I would imagine, as with most things, that turkey from the store would have less taste and probably less vitamins than from your backyard.

This isn't exactly about meat or turkeys, but here's an article that compares things from the store vs. farms and backyards: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/store-eggs-vs-farm-eggs.75405/
 
Home raised, depends if you are speaking of broad breasted or heritage breed. BB is what is commercially raised and sold in stores. They have larger breast than a heritage, which is more a 50/50 breast to leg/thigh. Taste of home raised can depend on how you finish them on BB. Lots of corn means lots of fat if fed for last 4-6 weeks. Heritage, taste wise I would have to describe as somewhere between a store bought bird and a wild bird. Mild game game flavor I would say.
 
Home raised, depends if you are speaking of broad breasted or heritage breed. BB is what is commercially raised and sold in stores. They have larger breast than a heritage, which is more a 50/50 breast to leg/thigh. Taste of home raised can depend on how you finish them on BB. Lots of corn means lots of fat if fed for last 4-6 weeks. Heritage, taste wise I would have to describe as somewhere between a store bought bird and a wild bird. Mild game game flavor I would say.

I believe it is the broad-breasted white turkeys that are raised commercially, correct?

If I raised a turkey I would want a heritage breed like a Bourbon Red or Narragansett Turkey.

It is interesting that Spanish explorers took turkeys from America back to Spain and then they started breeding them. It is also an interesting fact that foods like corn, potatoes, beans, squash, and others are from the Americas and added an average of 10 years to the lifespan of Europeans. Thank you, America.
 
Happy Thanksgiving! I wish everyone a happy holiday.

I was wondering, who has raised and butchered their own turkeys? Does a home-raised turkey taste better than the turkeys raised commercially? What is the difference?

Happy Thanksgiving! We butchered our own (royal palm). I always think store bought tastes like mush...Wild is probably my favorite though. We also smoke ours :)
 
broad-breasted white turkeys that are raised commercially, correct?
yes, a white bird makes a cleaner looking carcass. A dark feathered bird may have dark spots on skin from pin feathers. Once cooked and skin is browned it is not noticeable. Depending on variety the growth rate could be different. Royal palm is a smaller bird compared to narragansett or bronze variety. I have a mixed flock of crossed varieties, some grow quicker but I typically butcher mine at 2-3 years when I change breeders. At 4 months I still get a nice 12-18 lb bird. I grind a lot of my birds when butchered. I save the legs for smoking and grind the breast and thighs with some of the fat off the turkey. Some grind is plain and a lot is made into sausage.
 

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