Frank Reese knows his standard-bred chickens and turkeys are more expensive than what’s sold at the grocery store, and that the discrepancy can be confusing for customers. “A lot of people think our chickens and turkeys are very expensive and that we’re making a lot of money,” Reese says. “The reason our chickens and turkeys are so expensive isn’t the animal’s fault; that’s not the problem. We pay much more for processing and packaging.” It costs Reese about 38 cents a pound to humanely slaughter, process and package a turkey, compared to industrial turkey operations, which spend about 18 cents a pound to process birds, according to Reese. Chickens have an even wider gap, costing Reese $1 compared to 13 cents at industrial operations. “During a live radio interview with a station in New York City, the interviewer asked me if I realized that people in New York were paying $140 for one of my turkeys,” Reese says. “I said, ‘Ma’am, that might be, and if it is, I really thank them for supporting what we’re doing. I really appreciate it. But of that $140, me, the farmer, I get about $22. And out of that $22, I’ve got to feed the parents, gather the eggs, hatch the eggs, raise the turkeys, truck them to the processor and pay for processing. So when I get done, I make about $5 for a year’s worth of work.’ And she changed the subject.” In addition to whole turkeys and chickens, Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch produces ground turkey and chicken, which can be purchased online through Heritage Foods USA. In the Kansas City area, Reese’s products can be found at Paradise Locker Meats, Hen House Market and Hy-Vee. Reese recommends seeking out cookbooks published prior to 1950 for recipes for his chickens and turkeys. We suggest vintage copies of classics such as The Joy of Cooking, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. We also love paging through older cookbooks for historic preparations of classic dishes, including the following: Recipes from Good Things to Eat As Suggested By Rufus (1911) by Rufus Estes: FRIED CHICKEN: Cut up two chickens. Put a ¼-pound of butter,
mixed with a spoonful of flour, into a saucepan with pepper, salt, a little vinegar, parsley, green onions, carrots and turnips and heat. Steep chicken in marinade for three hours, having dried the pieces and floured them. Fry until a good brown. Garnish with fried parsley. ROAST CHICKEN: Having drawn and trussed the chicken, put it between a few slices of bacon, taking care to fasten the feet to the spit to keep it together. Baste it with its gravy and when well done, serve with cress around the dish and season with salt and vinegar. Cover chicken and bacon with buttered paper, until five minutes of the bird being done, then take off the paper and finish the roasting by a very bright fire. TURKEY TRUFFLES: Take 3 or 4 pounds of truffles, chopping up a handful with some bacon fat and put into a saucepan with whole truffles, salt, pepper, spices and a bay leaf. Let cook over a slow fire for three-quarters of an hour, take off, stir and let cool. When quite cold, place in body of turkey, sew up the opening and let turkey imbibe the flavor of the truffles by remaining in a day or two if the season permits. Cover the bird with slices of bacon and roast. CHICKEN GRAVY: Put into a stockpot the bones and trimmings of a chicken with a small quantity of stock and boil them. Add flour and butter to thicken it, place the pot on the side of the stove and let simmer. Stir well and after the gravy has simmered for some minutes, skim and strain it, and it will be ready to serve. Recipe from Directions for Cookery, in Its Various Branches (1839) by Eliza Leslie: TO ROAST A TURKEY: Make a forcemeat of grated breadcrumbs, minced suet, sweet marjoram, grated lemon peel, nutmeg, pepper, salt and beaten yolk of egg. You may add some grated cold ham. Reserve the turkey’s neck, liver and gizzard for gravy. Stuff the craw of the turkey with the forcemeat, of which there should be enough made to form into balls for frying, laying them around the turkey when it is dished. Dredge it with flour and roast it before a clear, brisk fire, basting it with cold lard. Toward the end, set the turkey nearer to the fire, dredge it again very lightly with flour and baste it with butter. It will require from two to three hours roasting according to size. Make the gravy of the giblets cut in pieces, seasoned and stewed for two hours in very little water; thicken it with a spoonful of browned flour and stir into it the gravy from the dripping pan, having first skimmed off the fat.
Inspired Local Food Culture
NOVEMBER 2015
79
