No need to wait for Christmas
ASTAR turn at Christmas, yes, but for the rest of the year turkey is snubbed by a surprisingly large number of caterers: research carried out by the British Turkey Federation last year indicated that it featured on only 34% of restaurant menus.
Asked to explain why turkey lags some way behind chicken in popularity, restaurateur Antony Worrall Thompson says: "It's a matter of perception: turkey is considered a down-market product associated with office Christmas parties or with Easter.
"We tried a paillard (thin slice) of turkey char-grilled with salsa, but it did not go down too well. It is also more expensive than other white meats, chicken and pork."
But away from London's West End, a growing number of caterers recognise turkey's ample virtues: it is a lean meat containing just 103 calories per 100g, compared with skinless chicken's 121 calories per 100g and the 272 calories in 100g of beef sirloin; and although it can be more expensive than chicken it is a lot cheaper than red meat.
Iain Donald, operations manager of Scandinavian Service Partner's restaurants at Manchester Airport Terminals, thinks turkey is under-rated and unfairly maligned as a dry product: "If you use quality birds that are reared well and cooked with some skill then there is no reason why turkey should be a dry meat."
Travellers at Manchester Airport are offered smoked turkey breast sandwiches daily and fresh turkey is a regular feature on the terminals' restaurant menus. Donald says strips of turkey, pan-fried and coated with bread crumbs, are popular and, as an alternative to veal cordon bleu, he offers an escalope of turkey stuffed with Northumberland Gouda and ham. Other popular dishes are turkey stroganoff and strips of fried turkey layered with creamed spinach and served with a mustard sauce.
Donald works to a straight formula. At a raw, dressed weight, a 25lb bird will yield 25 x 8oz portions - a yield of 50%, compared with 75% from chicken. Breasts are used more often than legs: according to Donald, there is not a lot of difference in price between chicken and turkey breasts. At Manchester Airport, turkey sells well except in January and February when most people are suffering from a seasonal surfeit.
At Dickens restaurantin Wethersfield, Essex, chef-proprietor John Dickens uses locally produced turkeys from Grove-Smith Turkeys and considers them inexpensive.
"I can buy a 20lb bird for £17 and get 30 portions, working out at around 50p per portion. Add some garnish and you are selling a dish that costs less than a £1." Dickens pays between 70p and 75p per lb for turkey and about 84p per lb for chicken.
In general, frozen and fresh turkey is about 15p per lb more expensive than chicken, largely because of operational costs. According to Brake Bros spokeswoman Sue Sleet: "An average turkey shed holds only 1,000-1,500 turkeys, but the same space will hold 20,000 chickens; chickens are killed at 42 days, turkeys when they are older, so their upkeep costs more. There is also less demand for turkeys."
When business is slow, Dickens puts on a £6.75 lunch featuring turkey. "At that price, people don't expect the world and are very happy with simple, well-prepared dishes. A favourite is grilled escalope of turkey on a bed of petit pois: it is a simple dish, the peas are marinated in herbes de Provence, olive oil and lemon juice and the escalope doesn't need tenderising if it is cut thin and very quickly grilled. The dish costs little to produce and the margin is very good."
For Dickens, the local, corn-fed turkeys taste better than a lot of chicken which can retain a fishy taste if fed on fish pellets. He says hen birds are much plumper and better tasting than cocks.
Dickens is about to put turkey on his à la carte menu: "It is all a matter of trial and error. People will accept turkey on atwo-course menu for £6.75, but will they try turkey at £9.25 with vegetableswhen they can have brill or an entrecôte steak at that price?
"The trick is to serve it with things like Parma ham and mozzarella cheese with a black olive tapenade and salsa. Tempt them with the ham and cheese; after all, no one really wants to eat turkey escalope with cauliflower."
While working in France, Dickens found the French using turkey all year round and in a variety of ways; sometimes serving it with foie gras and truffles and occasionally stuffed with a light fish mousse and morels. Compare that with the UK's traditional accompaniment - the chippolata.
The problem with introducing turkey as a healthy substitute at King Charles Secondary School in Kidderminster, Hereford & Worcester, is, says Val Bishop, partner at two woman operation V&J Catering, that pupils hate waiting for hot meals and are hooked on chips and fast food. Bishop's solution is to serve turkey salad rolls and turkey burgers supplied by Brake Bros.
Only a few members of staff will choose turkey when served as a roast with vegetables, but curried turkey is always popular.
Potbellies Diner, a 72-seat restaurant run by the Flexible Catering company on a operational farm within Thorpe Park, Chertsey, Surry, has recently changed its menu to incorporate Bernard Matthews' Turkey Dinosaurs.
Potbellies tried serving the dinosaurs with jacket or new potatoes but the kids insisted on chips. Two Turkey Dinosaurs with a large portion of chips and baked beans costs £2.75.
You won't find turkey burgers on Russell & Brand's Healthy Options menus promoting the merits of healthy eating and white meat across its 240 units. But you will find turkey in many other guises.
According to Georgina Ayin, company nutritionist: "We recommend removing the turkey skin and grilling the product but our Healthy Options also include dishes such as curried turkey and tandoori drumsticks.
"We have just devised a turkey with bean sprouts dish, which we think will be as popular as the other ethnic turkey dishes." o
