How old is too old to eat turkey?

[Bantam Bodon]

Not that i would eat my two turkeys, but they are a year old now and my dad was curious. As i told him already, they aren't eating turkeys, they are pet turkeys. Point is, i know after a certain amount of time they arent good for eating, what age is that?

 

[CoopCrazy]

what tyoe of thurkeys are they.. Heritage take quite a while to get to butcher size so i would think after a year they would start getting a lil tougher.. You can eat a turkey whenver but the older they are the tougher the meat...

 

[Frosty]

How old is too old to eat turkey? I imagine when you don't have any teeth left...

 

[Ga.chickenman]

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

Ya beat me to it Frosty...

 

[Frosty]

Ok, I'll be serious for a minute... When hunters shoot turkeys, they are adult turkeys of unknown age. If you wanted to eat an older turkey and were concerned that it would be too tough you could always brine it.

 

[gobblecluck]

i hunt turkeys and i wont even kill a 1 year old wild turkey because it doesnt have nearly as much meat as a two to three year old . i have eaten three year old wild turkeys with no added toughness compared to a one year old jake, but on the other hand on wild turkeys all i eat is the breast. i just cut out the breast and throw the rest of the bird away. i know it sounds wasteful and cruel but the dark meat on a wild turkey once cooked is like eating wood. i have tried it once.

 

[Bantam Bodon]

One is a Royal Palm and the other is a Blue Slate. Both are the same age and are now a little over one year old. Like i said, i didnt plan to eat them but my dad was curious.

 

[ziggywiggy]

Quote:
A little over a year is not that old. They should be very good eating. A lot of people prefer their heritage turkeys a little over a year. Some suggest 18 months. There is a lot of good info. on BYC on how to butcher and prepare the carcass.

 

[Bantam Bodon]

I got these two last year along with another one that was a few weeks older. I did him for Thanksgiving and planned to raise these two and incubate the eggs this spring. Well the blue slate turned out to be a male, we were told that it was a female. Now i dont feel like eating either of them but i think i will get two hens and try for eggs next year.