Disappointing Turkey

[Oregon Blues]

Wow, am I bummed. I processed a Midget White turkey for Thanksgiving. A young bird who hadn't started to poof and who had just let out his first gobble, He dressed at 7 pounds and rested for 48 hours.. He was cooked on the barbecue with applewood smoke.

The meat is nearly inedible. The legs, thighs, and wings are like chewing on rubber bands. The breast meat is firm, but at least it can be chewed. The problem with the white meat is that there is very little of it. Nobody at dinner went back for a second slice of turkey because there is nothing wonderful about the flavor.

I put the uneaten turkey into the crock pot and it has been cooking all night. This morning, the meat can be chewed but the dark meat has an unpleasant flavor. It tastes a lot like dirt. The white meat is not yummy delicious, but at least it is edible.

I've only had this bird for a month, but the place I got him from appeared to have an excellent raising program. I don't think there is a problem with how he was raised. I sure hope this is an unusual bird because I've got 8 more midget white poults being raised right now. I sure hope they aren't all inedible.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Wow, am I bummed. I processed a Midget White turkey for Thanksgiving. A young bird who hadn't started to poof and who had just let out his first gobble, He dressed at 7 pounds and rested for 48 hours.. He was cooked on the barbecue with applewood smoke.

The meat is nearly inedible. The legs, thighs, and wings are like chewing on rubber bands. The breast meat is firm, but at least it can be chewed. The problem with the white meat is that there is very little of it. Nobody at dinner went back for a second slice of turkey because there is nothing wonderful about the flavor.

I put the uneaten turkey into the crock pot and it has been cooking all night. This morning, the meat can be chewed but the dark meat has an unpleasant flavor. It tastes a lot like dirt. The white meat is not yummy delicious, but at least it is edible.

I've only had this bird for a month, but the place I got him from appeared to have an excellent raising program. I don't think there is a problem with how he was raised. I sure hope this is an unusual bird because I've got 8 more midget white poults being raised right now. I sure hope they aren't all inedible.

Maybe he was just too young.

 

[CluckyCharms]

I'm so sorry. I'm sure that was very disappointing for you considering the time and effort you clearly put in to it. I hope your next turkey from his kin is a more pleasant experience for you and it happened to be just this one! ( I can't imagine the frustration of all that effort to have a disappointing result, I really feel for you.

The only thing I could find was that it could have been the applewood:
http://www.stripersonline.com/t/565031/so-you-wanna-smoke-with-apple-wood apparently it can sometimes give a very off flavor to fowl, but only with certain types of apple wood. Strange.

It is always a gamble when I try to add humor to something unpleasant, but I figured I would try anyway.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Ew, I wonder why? I posted fairly recently about a very, very disappointing turken. No flavor at all. Well, I just ate the second one I had purchased... same farm, same date of purchase, same cooking method...and it had tons more flavor! I hope your turkeys too will just have one disappointing member and that the rest will be delicious.

 

[Smoochie]

I'm sorry to hear about your turkey. I just watched that National Lampoons Video and My eyes are watering,. That was so funny!!!

 

[yinepu]

Wow, am I bummed. I processed a Midget White turkey for Thanksgiving. A young bird who hadn't started to poof and who had just let out his first gobble, He dressed at 7 pounds and rested for 48 hours.. He was cooked on the barbecue with applewood smoke.

The meat is nearly inedible. The legs, thighs, and wings are like chewing on rubber bands. The breast meat is firm, but at least it can be chewed. The problem with the white meat is that there is very little of it. Nobody at dinner went back for a second slice of turkey because there is nothing wonderful about the flavor.

Sounds like you were making turkey jerky... any idea what the temp was and how long he was on the grill?

I slow roasted our tom in the oven yesterday.. he came out juicy and tender (though the meat wasn't mushy like a store bought BBW).

 

[Life is Good!]

I've had similar problem with our Black Java's - some didn't seem rested enough after 4 days! Some were fabulous after 2 days. So it truly depends on the bird. Yes, these were sibling cockerals, all processed the same day, all rested the same amount of time in fridge, all frozen together. However, the first one we tried after 2 days in the fridge wasn't long enough. The next one I thawed 3 days early and left in fridge - that one was tasty and fabulous. The first one - well, was like eating bubble-gum. Not good.

Chalk it up to experience - and keep trying! I'm not sure how many "dry" flinty turkeys my mother (or grandmother) has prepared and served....but none-the-less by the time I got around to noticing, the whole experience was down to a "t"! Same with you! It'll be a good hearty laugh for next year. (BTW - my sons are laughing over the National Lampoon skit also! They especially enjoyed the 'poof' after it was cut!)

 

[Haunted55]

Wow, am I bummed. I processed a Midget White turkey for Thanksgiving. A young bird who hadn't started to poof and who had just let out his first gobble, He dressed at 7 pounds and rested for 48 hours.. He was cooked on the barbecue with applewood smoke.

The meat is nearly inedible. The legs, thighs, and wings are like chewing on rubber bands. The breast meat is firm, but at least it can be chewed. The problem with the white meat is that there is very little of it. Nobody at dinner went back for a second slice of turkey because there is nothing wonderful about the flavor.

I put the uneaten turkey into the crock pot and it has been cooking all night. This morning, the meat can be chewed but the dark meat has an unpleasant flavor. It tastes a lot like dirt. The white meat is not yummy delicious, but at least it is edible.

I've only had this bird for a month, but the place I got him from appeared to have an excellent raising program. I don't think there is a problem with how he was raised. I sure hope this is an unusual bird because I've got 8 more midget white poults being raised right now. I sure hope they aren't all inedible.

For giggles, try feeding the next one an apple everyday. More if you want, especialy the last 2 weeks. If you know anyone that brews or makes wine you could ask if they will save you their leavings. This makes for very happy birds, lol. I wonder if this turkey was constantly under stress from the other birds? I know that my chickens got into the left over grains from a batch of beer I brewed up and their eggs were amazing! Truely. Even just some beer each day. Not much, you don't want them drunk, lol, turkeys are silly enough as it is. If it were me, I'd give a 1/4 of a bottle a day for the last week or so. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Bossroo]

Why give the bird a 1/4 bottle of beer a day ? Much better to skip the 'tween and down it oneself !

 

[Haunted55]

Why give the bird a 1/4 bottle of beer a day ? Much better to skip the 'tween and down it oneself !

I brew myself so I always have beer to spare. A vet told me it's actually good for them in small amounts and it does impart a different taste to the meat. Works very, very well with pigs.