Cooking a turkey just right has a lot to do with temperature, says a local, 11-year meat cutter.聽
Myles Gottschalk currently works at Nesters Market. Turkeys need to cook at 350 degrees and usually for 20 minutes a pound, he says, and using a meat thermometer really helps.聽
鈥淚t saves your butt because a lot of times, some cook a little hotter or cook a little less,鈥� he explains. 鈥淲hen you take the bird out of the oven, it will still cook for five to 10 minutes as you鈥檙e letting it cool.鈥�
His trick is to bring it just above temperature right before and then let it cool off. Gottschalk says choosing a bird all comes down to personal preference. Some just want a cheap bird. But he鈥檚 noticed most people these days want to know what farm the bird came from and if it was ethically or humanely killed.聽
Tracey Robertson is a Squamish livestock farmer and owner of Stony Mountain Farms. Her turkeys are slow grown and free to roam outside.聽
She says you can鈥檛 go by the 鈥渓ook of the bird,鈥� you have to go by temperature.
鈥淥ur turkey meat will remain pink. If you go by appearances you鈥檙e gonna overcook it,鈥� she adds and that鈥檚 where the traditional dryness of turkey comes in. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e buying a good quality bird, it鈥檚 completely different.鈥�
For starters, cooking times are less 鈥� 10 to 15 minutes a pound for free range birds. And Robertson says the meat is darker and more flavourful.
聽鈥淭he fat marbelizes through the meat and you鈥檙e not cooking off a bunch of water,鈥� Robertson explains, adding this is because she doesn鈥檛 overfeed her turkeys.聽
Her secret seasoning is simple 鈥� garlic powder, cumin, chilis, oregano, salt and pepper.聽
鈥淭he flavour of a bird will always come down to the quality,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd I know they aren鈥檛 cheap.鈥澛�
But they taste better, says Robertson. 鈥淲hen you support a smaller farm, it shows the ethics of how that animal has been raised and their welfare.鈥�
