Fresh organic Turkey

[Vinfidel]

is it possible to have fresh whole organic not GMO farm raised turkey here in montreal? like the one you find at whole foods in the usa, not a big monster like you see in the supermarket!

please let me know if you now where i can find one in time for dinner on monday

[carswell]

Kinda late in the game but try calling Boucherie Les Fermes Saint-Vincent, which sells only organically raised meat.

Atwater Market: 514 937-4269

Jean-Talon Market: 514 271-0209

I also saw a turkey at Exofruits, the upscale green grocer on CDN, last night. While I didn't look closely, I believe it was the same brand as the organically raised free-range chickens they sometimes stock. If St-Vincent doesn't pan out, you could give them a call:

Exofruits

5192 Côte-des-Neiges

(514) 738-1384

edit: Vincent not Vincet...

Edited October 6, 2005 by carswell (log)

[Vinfidel]

thanks you carswell i was going to the marche tonigth to see if any are left. i will call your contacts,

also i herd that they have at schwartz a whole smoked turkey! is this for cooking or for eating like deli?

[carswell]

I knew Schwarz's did ducks for the winter solstice holidays but wasn't aware they did turkeys for Thanksgiving. While I've never tried one, I believe they don't require further cooking (don't quote me on that tho'). The ducks, at least, have to be ordered in advance, or so I've been told.

[sf&m]

Need bird help too!!

Organic or not - three turkeys is more then I can handle.

I'll have to do US Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey sooo..... any suggestions for Canadian Thanksgiving? Not much inclined for Duck or Goose right now, for some reason.

A large very fresh, freerange, organic bla, bla chicken would work for the simple meal I have in mind.... or...? What's my alternatives?

Suggestions and where to get on Saturday?

/gth

[identifiler]

I suggest you call Saint Vincent right now... tonight might be too late. I can confirm to you that they indeed have the birds as he is one of my weekly stops.

Schwartz birds can be picked up right off the resto. If you go during the two different times they sell them. They have a guy in the doorway with a wireless headset. Basically you call them about 2 minutes before driving up Saint Laurent with your car description (hey, I support walking but...). Double park, hazards on, he will bring it to your car, pick up the cash and give you change. I saw a ton of birds go up and down the alley that way last year.

[carswell]

Need bird help too!!

Organic or not - three turkeys is more then I can handle.

I'll have to do US Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey sooo..... any suggestions for Canadian Thanksgiving?  Not much inclined for Duck or Goose right now, for some reason.

A large very fresh, freerange, organic bla, bla chicken would work for the simple meal I have in mind.... or...? What's my alternatives?

Suggestions and where to get on Saturday?

←

Can you provide more in the way of detail? E.g. how many servings; how much work are you willing to put into it; do you insist on roasting; how well equipped is the kitchen you'll be cooking in; are there time contraints; what else will you be serving; what will you be drinking; when should I show up? You know, that kind of stuff.

[sf&m]

That would be moi + 1

A few hours.... company is more important then the food in this instance.

It's not really a gourmet goal, rather a homey, traditional meal.... good of course

1.

Company desires low alcohol so I might stay with Minot Sparkling Ice Cider for aperitif and Minot Cremant de pomme through the meal. And apples provides a bit a fall feeling.

2. Yes, probaly just roasted.... booring maybe, but allows time for socalizing

3. I am thinking :

Appetizers & snacks

Gravlax cornets ..... gravlax w.dill salsa

Goat Cheese & Ciboulette Bruchetta

Main

Roasted bird(s) w. JTM Vegetable Melange & cranberry stuffing

Hasselback potatoes (with mixture of sweet and regular potatoes)

Chantarells

Lingon Berry Confit

Roast pan drippings & Minot reduction

Red Pepper & cabbage salad

Cheese plate

Quebec Cheese Selection

Desert

Havre aux Glace Bluberry&Rubarb Sorbet

Home made Blueberry Liqeour

4. Carswell - may I send you a rain check?

[Lesley C]

Bought a gorgeous turkey today at Boucherie AGA at 4927 Jarry E. in St-Leonard Tel: 327-7771

Talk to Carmello, he'll point you in the right direction. And while you're there, pick up some veal chops for the last barbecue of the season.

[carswell]

Roasted bird(s) w. JTM Vegetable Melange & cranberry stuffing

←

The cranberry stuffing would incline me toward a guinea hen, which will also give you plenty of meat for toi + 1. The hens take well to roasting, though you should probably consider having the butcher bard it (or buy some fat and bard it yourself). The guinea fowl at Les Vollailes et Gibiers du Marché are the best I've found in the city, though they often sell out by the weekend (in other words, get on the phone to them asap 271-4141). Le Boucher du Marché would be a convenient second source; ditto Capitol. Pheasant would be another possibility, though they don't take as well to stuffing and barding is mandatory if you oven roast them.

Lingon Berry Confit

Vad är det? Something of your own invention? Or just another name for good ole lingonberry preserves?

[oceanfish]

setting out to make a condiment with wild cranberries, i ended up using a puree of crabapples as a base, roasted with skins on to preserve the redness in the final product, with the small berries cooked into it. Then I added some freshly grated horseradish from the garden (this may sound harsh, 3x puckering ingredients), but i tied it all together with maple syrup and it turned out better than i could have hoped for, with a beautiful colour, texture and subtle bite.

[sf&m]

Carswell....Just trying to be fancy..... just regular Lingon Berry preserves.

Thanks for tips on bird(s) ...was starting to lean that way too....

How about quail?

The company is now requesting a succession on small dishes...

[carswell]

How about quail?

←

There are two schools of thought about roasting quail. The first is to roast them in a medium oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. This produces very well-done meat (with a tendancy to dryness, especially if you don't bard) and lends itself to stuffing. These days, most chefs prefer roasting the birds in a hot oven (400ºF+) for 8 to 15 minutes, depending on the oven temperature, the size of the bird and whether the birds have been browned in a skillet beforehand. This produces juicy, pink meat but precludes stuffing. Other cooking methods include spit-roasting, stovetop pot-roasting and, when spatchcocked, grilling and broiling. If you forwent stuffing, you could serve the birds with a cranberry jus (adulterated with a little demiglace?) or a cranberry relish along the lines of oceanfish's. Or you could fashion a glaze for marinating the birds in and basting them with as they cook.

[Vinfidel]

since i was too lazy to go to the marche i am stuck now with no turkey, poussin, hens, or anything bigger than quails.

so quails it is

i will be making them stuffed todayand glazed with porto glaze. stuffing is chestnuts + chicken livers + onions + some left over walnut-raising bread from o&g. i pan roast them with a bit of porto and some duck stock (technically braising), served with roasted shitakke and red potatos. have never made this with quails but hope it will be ok

for anyone else that is late there are no more winged things left except quails and chickens