Jo, I love the pastured poultry, although it's not as fatty and has a firmer texture than commercial birds, which I find mushy and spongy.

That said, I urge you to brine that bird and be very careful not to overcook it. The leaner meat will dry out quickly.

Unless they are raising Broad Breasted White or Broad Breasted Bronze (the varieties used by commercial producers) there won't be as much breast meat and the white meat may seem darker than with commercial birds. And if they are raising Bronze or heritage turkeys, you may find that you have to pull a few pin feathers!

Annie

Jo - doesn't the website provide cooking instructions? I would think they would have instructions specific to their birds.

Jo, you don't really need any special instructions for roasting a turkey.

Just roast it the way you normally would. I agree with Annie. Either brine or presalt. I prefer the presalt method.

Like Annie mentioned, they do tend to be less fatty.

Enjoy!!

Ann

Jo, last year we got our turkey from a similar local farm. It was a Kentucky Bourbon heritage turkey and we enjoyed it. I did make one mistake though, I got fancy with the brine and used apple cider, I forget where I got the recipe, but while the flavor was great, the sugars in the apple cider caused the skin to brown too much.
There was more dark meat but that was OK as we really like dark meat the best.

This year I've ordered the turkey from the same farm but I ordered a regular white bird. We are going back to the original brine that we have used for years. I like getting a happy turkey that got to roam and eat wholesome food.

Nancy

I just roasted a heritage turkey that one of my friends raised and butchered (lucky me!) The last heritage turkey I cooked I brined and roasted as normal. The flavor was good, but it was a little tough and on the dryish side. This time, I brined and cooked in a bake-in-bag - breast side down. It was amazing. I'll never cook one any other way. Tonight I cooked a 7 lb locally raised organic chicken - didn't brine but just seasoned, stuffed with parsley and roasted in the bake - in - bag. I swear it was the best chicken I've ever cooked. I'm a believer and convert to the bags.

I roasted my pre-turkey last night. I purchased a free range fresh bird from Sprouts. They had a bargain price of 1.49/pound for free range turkeys. I popped it into the Nesco as soon as I got home. I gave it a rub of sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, celery seed, sea salt, pepper, and butter and olive oil. I put onions and celery in the cavities. Of course the skin is meh but I use this bird for broth for gravy and stuffing for the main event. It will also become the Thanksgiving turkey for my disabled ex and a friend who works on Thanksgiving.

I ate a bit of it today before freezing the meat and putting the carcass back in the roaster for stock. Really tasty. I don't brine. Ex can't have the sodium.

I put it in on high for about a half hour and then turned it down to 325 until it was done.

Eileen

I did a 12lb organic free range turkey one year. The family really loved it. After much consideration, (that was what initiated my joining CF, being vegetarian and having to cook the family turkey for the first time), I did not brine or do anything different. I rubbed it inside and out with herb butter, put an apple, onion and some celery inside, and basted it about every 15 min. towards the end of the cooking time. What I loved about it was it was flavorful and not spongy/salty like the typical injected turkey you get at the store. However, I am not a briner, so you might want to follow the brining advice for a bigger bird. Also why not ask at the farm. Surely they've heard that question before. The biggest issue is that it won't be as fatty as a store bought bird. For me, that's a plus!

I brine pasture-raised chickens but find the size of a turkey makes that cumbersome. I have been dry-brining the last couple years and have been pleased. See the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dry-brined Turkey Recipe

I still think you should check with the grower. I believe if you cook a heritage bird to 165 degrees like you would say a Butterball - you will find the meat very dry.

Bar 5 is one vendor at the Mpls. Farmer's Market that sells free range poultry. Their advice is to cook a heritage bird at 425F-450F and cook until an internal thigh temperature of 140F-150F is reached. And while the USDA recommends turkeys be cooked to 160F-180F, that temperature will dry out a heritage turkey. Heritage birds are much more free of disease and bacteria, unlike commercially raised birds, and do not need extreme temperatures to make them safe for consumption.

Once you remove the bird from the oven the temp will rise even further. I would still ask the grower what they suggest. I'm sure you paid a premium for your bird and want it to turn out perfect!