Thanksgiving turkey shopping - brand comparison

[tezliana]

For the past several years we have been getting a fresh, locally raised turkey for our Thanksgiving feast. Fresh really does make a difference in how the bird cooks up and in how it tastes. However, we do like to have a whole roasted turkey at other times of the year when farm fresh is not available. So I was interested in this article from Cook's Country describing a roast-off they did between eight supermarket brands of whole frozen turkey.

While I have never seen or heard of a few of those brands, including their first rated Mary's, I know I've seen Plainville Farms brand in the stores here. The other one that stood out to me was Bell & Evans. I've roasted their whole chickens in the oven many times and they are the best tasting supermarket brand chicken available around here. I'll have to look for Plainville Farms or Bell & Evans when the stores start slashing prices on whole turkeys.

For those who might have difficulty seeing the whole article, I'll the summarize Cook's Country list. Best to worst:

Mary's Free-Range Non GMO Verified Turkey
Plainville Farms Young Turkey
Diestel Turkey Ranch Non GMO Verified Turkey
Bell & Evans Turkey Raised Without Antibiotics
Jennie-O Frozen Whole Turkey
Honeysuckle White Frozen Whole Turkey
Empire Kosher Young Turkey
Butterball Premium Young Turkey