HAMILTON — Nancy Littlehale is having a turkey taste test this Thanksgiving.
"We got a generic, store-bought one," she said about the 12-pound bird she purchased at the grocery store.
She also stopped by Green Meadows Farm on Tuesday for a 16-pound natural Vermont-raised bird with intentions to brine, cover in spices and present on the dinner table in a manner worthy of a Norman Rockwell painting.
The decision to buy a naturally raised turkey wasn't difficult.
"I always try to buy organic," Littlehale said. She hasn't had the opportunity to do so for Thanksgiving until now.
"This is the first year we've hosted a holiday in our house," said Littlehale, who lives in Hamilton. With 18 people to feed, the supermarket bird will serve as backup. They had to get two, she said, because everyone loves dark meat.
Littlehale is just one of many who are turning to naturally raised turkeys.
"I definitely had a lot more phone calls, so I ordered a lot more turkeys," said Diana Rodgers, farm stand manager at Green Meadows Farm.
A 30 percent increase this year in turkey purchases at the farm didn't surprise her, since it mirrors a growing local-food movement.
"I think there's more awareness about where your food is coming from," she said. "Thanksgiving is such a New England holiday, and it's so not difficult to have an entirely local meal."
Customers had two options this year: An heirloom, Bourbon Red turkey raised right on Green Meadows Farm, or a classic white turkey raised on Stonewood Farm in Orwell, Vt.
The Bourbon Reds look wild. They're slightly smaller than a traditional white turkey, since they haven't been bred to plump up. Up until Monday, they could be seen strutting around "expressing their turkeyness" on the farm. As a result, they have more dark meat, "because they're able to walk around and have more muscle," Rodgers said. It also means they cook faster and have a stronger turkey flavor.
Unfortunately, for all their feral qualities, the Bourbon Reds didn't do so well this year.
"We had a predator," she said.
The likely culprit was a fisher, although they don't have any concrete proof. But whatever it was managed to reduce the gang of turkeys from 200 to about 30.
So they ordered a bunch of classic white turkeys from Stonewood, a three-generation family-run turkey farm that uses no antibiotics or growth hormones.
As one of the largest turkey farms in New England, it raises about 26,000 a year and sells about 14,000 for Thanksgiving, owner Paul Stone said.
"We think the local activity has increased pretty dramatically in the last two years," he said.
They used to be free-range, but because of the weather and wild animals, they are now kept under a roof in "spacious, uncrowded, open-sided barns," where they receive plenty of "natural sunlight, fresh Vermont air, cool nights, green pastures, good feed and tender loving care," according to the Stonewood Web site.
They also raise the broad-breasted traditional white birds, which are the most popular.
At Green Meadows, Rodgers said they prefer to go with an heirloom turkey like the Bourbon Red. About two years ago, they tried raising the classic birds, but no matter how great the living conditions, the breed itself led to problems.
"Because Americans like white meat, they're genetically selected to have large breast meat," Rodgers said. "And because their breasts are so heavy, they have trouble walking. It's really sad. They're so far removed from what a turkey is."
Even so, with no preservatives or artificial ingredients, they're healthier to eat, Rodgers said.
Eating local is important to Littlehale, and something her daughter Kate, 4, experienced last week. They were at Green Meadows, looking at the turkeys before the birds met their demise.
"She was like, turkey? Oh, turkey," Littlehale said, describing the moment her daughter made a connection between the live animals and the cold cuts she eats on sandwiches. She was OK with the concept.
"It's great," Littlehale said, "that she can see where our food is coming from."
Staff writer Cate Lecuyer can be reached at clecuyer@salem news.com.
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