A Turkey Safari with KellyBronze
When it comes to turkey, the KellyBronze name is possibly the most decorated in the U.K. and is one I have enjoyed on a number of occasions in the past for its excellent flavour and texture.
The KellyBronze strapline is ‘Bred to Be Wild’ and so I jumped at the chance to visit their farm near Danbury in Essex for their Turkey Safari experience.
KellyBronze is one of the leading premium turkey brands in the U.K. and the U.S. The Kelly family have been rearing turkeys since the early 1970s, when Derek Kelly MBE (already an industry authority) founded the business. His son Paul became involved and initiated breeding the original Bronze turkey, which came from Mexico. These birds proved popular, but the ‘Delia effect’ really boosted the business when she featured them in her Christmas book and series in 1989. Paul is the Guinness world record holder for time taken to pluck and carve a turkey, and you can find videos of him showing off his impressive talents online. His children, Toby and Ella are now working in the business, with the third generation bringing their unique skills to the family enterprise.
There are a number of factors that set their birds apart from the rest. First, is that birds are matured to six months of age (unlike the average for a standard fresh turkey, which is 9-13 weeks). This time allows the skeleton, muscle and fat to really develop in a way it simply cannot with standard turkeys. This delivers much more flavour, texture and succulence from every bit of the bird.
Our visit to the farm started with a visit to the egg incubators and hatchery, where thousands of birds start their lives each year. Once they are mature enough, the turkeys will spend the rest of their lives outdoors in the woodland and fields that form part of the farm. These woods are populated with mature trees and plenty of varied plants and cover. They are also surrounded by grassy fields to roam. You won’t see these turkeys described as ‘free range’ as that means that birds have a certain indoor space allocated to each bird – these really do live outside.
The birds are beautiful, with attractively-coloured feathers and a gentle, sociable nature. They like to repeat sounds made by humans and will come and say hello in their typical inquisitive manner.
Once they reach maturity, they are dry plucked and dry aged before making their way to our tables all year round, but especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas. A particular characteristic of the composition of these birds is that they cook really quickly – just an hour and a half or so will be typical – so forget putting the turkey on at breakfast time on Christmas morning. They also can be cooked to a far lower temperature and rested for the best results – 60C works well, and then rested for two hours (don’t cover the bird in foil, there is no need) and then carved. Those of you who use a Meater will notice that there is a specific setting for a KellyBronze turkey, so make sure you keep an eye out for that.
The price for a KellyBronze turkey will be £100+, but the birds will yield plenty of meat, should produce exceptional results and produce such luscious stock, one need not make a gravy.
The business has also recently launched a Krafted by Kelly range, which includes a Pearl Turkey (raised to the same values, but not a Bronze breed), which costs around £75. They also now sell the most delicious confit turkey legs which can be reheated in the oven in around 30 minutes. They are absolutely wonderful and are sold through Abel & Cole and are coming to Ocado imminently – they may even be there when you read this. These are brilliant for a quick and easy meal as they cook from frozen in 30 minutes. I always recommend buying a whole bird, but these confit legs do make the most of the meat that is removed for crown production.
Orders can be placed online for nationwide delivery up to 23rd December.
Thank you to The Kelly family for inviting me to visit the farm as a guest. My words and opinions are entirely my own.