To think that there can't be that much difference between a Waitrose turkey and a Lidl turkey..?

[spanishwardrobe]

I've put in my Christmas shopping order at Waitrose and picked a turkey, the cheapest one I could find on the site, which was £55!

I've since been to Lidl and seen a same sized turkey for about £17!

Can they really be that different? And if so how!?

Has anyone ever taste tested turkeys? Am I just paying for a brand?

But welfare affects the taste of a chicken and I assume also turkey. Muscle/fat composition will be different in a bird with space to walk around compared to being more intensively reared.

When an animal gets stressed, their adrenaline and cortisol start to rise. Their body (like ours) uses glycogen, a stored energy to create this adrenaline. With low-stress slaughter, this glycogen isn’t depleted. Instead, it’s retained in the muscle meat post slaughter then converted into lactic acid. This is what helps keep the meat low in pH, tender, and more flavorful.
However when under high stress, the glycogen is used up for hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, raising the pH of the meat and affecting the quality of the meat. When meat has high pH, oxygen cannot diffuse deep into the muscle. Making the meat coarse, retain more water that is lost when cooking, lessen shelf life, and still appear pink even when cooked thoroughly.

Why meat from stressed animals tastes worse (and it’s also inhumane). - Miller's Bio Farm

How do animal welfare standards impact the taste of meat?

The difference in cost will ultimately represent the degree of cruelty the bird has been subjected to throughout its life.

My dad worked at Bernard Matthews and said the turkeys there were being sent to different supermarkets. I don’t find it hard to believe it happens for at least some kinds of food.

We have this discussion every year. I tend to win and we get a freerange M&S turkey crown at enormous expense. It does taste good though.

same for free range chickens - I get the M&S ones for sunday lunch, dh buys the CooP ones - the M&S ones taste better.

Agree. I always stuff my turkey and have never had a dry bird. I don’t do sausage meat as we don’t like it but it does contain a half lb of butter. It’s all down to the cooking. I do mine in a roasting bag and it’s always delicious. I pick my turkey myself and try to get a hen as the belief is always it’s more tender

OP I’m in Ireland so don’t have a Waitrose but I buy a free range bronze turkey every year. I did used to order from a small butchers but tbh I think I was paying a premium price but not getting a premium product so now just pick up myself in a local supermarket

You know I think there probably is a difference, we always got what I thought was quite an expensive turkey from M&S. last year we got an organic turkey from the butcher and I could not believe the difference, noticeably so much better- we’ve ordered the same this year.

You don't know how long it lasts and how many people I'm feeding?

I buy Aldi chicken every week and don’t recognise your account. The chickens I buy in Aldi have no added water and cook like a normal chicken and taste delicious.

Congratulations!

You said for Christmas.

I said the festive season!

Well that’s what I meant by Christmas. Still a huge amount unless you’re feeding 200!

@BadPeopleFan fwiw you’re not alone, last year the turkey alone was £130 and that was for 4 plus left overs for Boxing Day, think we’re looking at nearer £150 this year, our deposit was £90. We’re not big meat eaters but if we were and there were more of us, I can see how it would easily get to the £300 mark!

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/food-reviews/g23867629/the-best-roast-turkey-for-your-christmas-dinner/

£37.50 per head....not unreasonable really.

Think about it though; this would be one of the biggest cons of the century and there’s no way they’d have Doris witnessing it all so she could go and spread it round. It’s 100% an urban myth I’m convinced; I’ve never heard anyone say this who has experienced it first hand - always someone’s friend or mum. Then you consider the actual taste - like someone mentioned upthread - the products don’t taste the same. I honestly think it’s a complete fallacy that people who shop in cheap shops like Aldi & Lidl tell themselves is true so they feel better: both the logic of it and the actual physical evidence point to it not being true

No

Wouldn't be worth their while if it got found out

Often the same line but different recipes for the product.

We stopped having turkey about 10 years ago. Nobody really loved it and it’s supposed to be a celebratory meal! We only ate it because it was traditional (we did have goose one year). I finally got brave enough to break with tradition and we’ve had a beautiful rib of beef ever since.

Personally I’m not fond of turkey, we only ever have it if dd is here on Xmas day

Our major local employer makes most of the meat pies sold around the UK, including a lot of the single serve pies and pasties for motorway service areas and for every supermarket. I haven't ever worked there, but friends who have know that there are grades of production. The economy/own brands will have more gravy; the more upmarket iterations will have more meat content, and the "best versions" will have both the higher meat content and better pastry. As it happens, I don't eat such products at any price point so I am not going to be the person with an opinion.

I am in agreement with you on that. Prefer to give our money to family business and local farmers.