Flavor of the Month: Let's Talk Turkey

Skip the supermarket and source your Thanksgiving meal’s headline act from one of these Indiana farms.
Flavor of the Month, Indianapolis Monthly, November 2011

Schacht Farm

1470 E. Schacht Rd., Bloomington
812-824-6425

Matt and Mandy Corry give their 850 Bronze beauties (a few of them pictured here) the run of the pasture. The result? Meat that’s richly flavored and firm in texture. Schacht turkeys cost $3.95 a pound and must be preordered online or at the farm; a $25 deposit holds your fresh vacuum-packed bird for pick-up at the farm or at the Indy Winter Farmers Market.

Sunny Hollow Farm

13637 Pierce Rd., Hagerstown
765-489-5140

About 150 White and Bronze Broad Breasted turkeys, all hormone- and antibiotic-free, get plenty of fresh air and exercise at this 40-acre family-owned farm. Owner John Mark Stoltzfus takes reservations by phone for his $3.25-per-pound birds, available for pick-up at the farm or at a Lawrence drop-off point the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Homestead Heritage Farm

5254 N. 500 East, Kokomo
765-628-3561

Jonathan and Lucinda Gingerich keep their 250-strong flock of Broad Breasted Whites happy by moving them to new foraging territory every few days. Birds are $3.95 a pound and can be reserved ($20 deposit) for delivery to the Binford, Carmel, and Indy Winter farmers markets. When it comes time to roast, Lucinda keeps it simple. “If the turkey’s well-raised, you shouldn’t need to do much to it,” she says.

Photograph by Tony Valainis.

This article originally appeared in the November 2011 issue.