Pat Whelan Butcher

I have to say a big thank you to the very nice lady who recently sent me a book called The Nostalgic Cook Book.  Written by Bill Habets, it is a practical guide on why and how yesteryear’s recipes and methods can help solve many of today’s food linked problems.  This is not just a little book of old recipes as it gives simple information on why obesity is only a recent problem.  It also has a wonderful, easy to use, visual chart of fruits and vegetables that tells you when everything is in season; for that alone the book is worth having.  While this book is about cooking it got me thinking about the old ways of food production in general.  It struck me that while we have vastly improved the efficiency of how we make food these days, in some cases we have paid for the time saving in our acceptance of a poorer taste factor.  Is that really what we wanted to achieve?  The vintage way of things was a slower labour intensive process but one that usually resulted in a more nutritious and much tastier offering.

At this time of year we are all about Christmas food.  We all look forward to indulging in the fancy foodstuff that we stockpile for the festivities.  One of the main events is, of course, the Turkey.  Lengthy conversations will be had about the bird.  There will be newspaper articles and radio slots devoted to how to cook it, what size you might need and, of course, the annual debate about organic versus commercial.  These items appear each and every Christmas and, sometimes, I find myself rolling my eyes at the horse manure that is being pedalled as fact and information.

Here’s the thing.  When it comes to organic free range turkey most people will tell you that the turkeys were reared on farms where they had lots of open space to roam around by day and warm cosy sheds for shelter at night.  They will focus on the fact that their diet during the rearing process was carefully monitored and they were fed a specific organic grain that would create the best bird.  Listening to some organic Turkey farmers, their regimes appear just one step short of reading the little turkeys a bedtime story and providing a mug of cocoa before tucking them in for the night!  However, they conveniently forget to mention that the painstaking care is abandoned at the slaughterhouse door and, just like their commercially bred cousins, many free range organic turkeys are killed, plucked and packaged as quickly as all the others.  For the consumer this means that the turkey on your table had, perhaps, a better lifestyle when it was alive but won’t taste differently to a commercially bred bird.  In other words the increased price for the premium product you think you are buying, is really paying for the animal husbandry of it all and not the taste and quality of the meat.  That’s quite noble as long as you don’t think you are paying for a better taste factor. 

In the old days turkey breeders had distinct and necessary processes right up to the point of sale that were there to enhance the taste and quality of the meat; which, let’s face it, is really what it should be all about.  After giving the bird a stress free lifestyle with lots of space, warm shelter and good food the turkeys would be killed individually, then carefully and skilfully hand plucked and then left to ‘hang’ for several days.  This was a very important part of the taste development as it was during the hanging time that the natural enzymes would break down the muscle fibre and ultimately develop a sweet natural flavoursome tender meat when cooked. These days we tend to forget about the maturing process in our rush to get the product to market.  One of the things you will often hear is complaints that the turkey meat was too dry.  While the way you cook the bird is certainly a contributory factor in what appears on the table, some of the dryness might just be unavoidable due to the way the turkey was processed before you ever bought it.

While all these thoughts of how it ‘used to be done’ were rumbling around in my head, I heard of someone in Tipperary who was actually doing it the old fashioned way.  That’s why last Friday I went to see John Paul Crowe of Crowe’s Farm in Dundrum.    When we met he said, “Don’t get out of the car just follow me”.  Within minutes we were driving over hill and dale, down ever increasing small road after small road and up little boreens that eventually led to a spotless, picturesque farmyard complete with an idyllic farmhouse.  My young son has a plastic farm play set which could easily have been modelled on this very property.  Within a few seconds my wild turkey chase had come to an end and there in front of me, in an open seven acre field, were over one hundred bronze turkeys. It was a magnificent sight.  My sudden appearance obviously raised a certain curiosity and a loud musical chorus of ‘gobble, gobble’ filled the silence.  You couldn’t help but smile as one would start and the rest would join in.  I’m convinced they were talking about me.  I was careful not to mention the word ‘Christmas’ in their presence.

The field had several gates and I wondered if they every thought of making a break for it?  Apparently the field is so big that they don’t even go as far as the boundary.  Right beside their field was the yard where their straw filled sheds were.  We had a good look around.  John Paul told me that he got these as day old chicks back in July and ever since he has been letting them out every morning and tucking them up every evening.  (I did look for evidence of a story book but couldn’t see any.)  Fantastic Mr Fox is the main predator to be feared but fortunately he hadn’t come calling so far this year.I have convinced John Paul to try the slaughtering process and, sure enough, this year he is attempting to do it the old fashioned way.  They will be killed individually, hand plucked and hung for a number of days.  It is, without a doubt, a huge amount of work but I have no doubt that these traditional methods will enhance the taste and all that trouble will be worth it.  I am really excited about this and have secured some of these Free Range Organic Bronze Turkeys to sell in our shop, James Whelan Butchers in the Oakville Shopping Centre in Clonmel.  

Having seen it all up close and personal I am satisfied that these Bronze Turkeys have had a really good life and have been properly fed and cared for.  I am even more excited that the old methods have been adopted for the finish because ultimately that’s what creates the taste and isn’t that what it’s really all about?

Brandy Butter

Brandy Butter Recipe.

Into the medium bowl put the butter and sugar and lightly mix together.

Gradually combine in the brandy until it forms a creamy, smooth paste.

Your brandy butter is now ready to serve!