You’ve heard of brined turkey, deep fried turkey, and even tofurkey. But beer-fed turkey?
According to the Associated Press, one New Hampshire man has been letting his turkeys drink lager since 1993, when one of them knocked over a can of beer and went to work. Joe Morette is currently raising 50 turkeys for this month’s Thanksgiving holiday, and he says that the beer makes the turkeys taste better.
“Oh yeah, it’s noticeable,” Morette commented. “It’s not a strong, gamey flavor, it’s a nice turkey flavor.”
One of his customers, Dan Bourque, agrees.
“We find the gravy is much darker, and much tastier,” elaborated Bourque. “The bird overall has a slightly different taste that is very appealing.”
Morette says it’s hard to tell if the turkeys actually become drunk from the alcohol.
“Turkeys don’t seem to be the brightest, so they could stumble and you wouldn’t know if they drank too much or not,” he detailed.
According to University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension poultry expert Carl Majewski, the beer is probably not adversely affecting the turkeys.
“I don’t know exactly how much beer each turkey is consuming, but it would have to be a lot in order for it to kind of have the same effect as too much beer on people,” said Majewski. “I imagine it’s not enough to really make ’em tipsy or anything like that. It’s just enjoying a beer with their meal. Why not?”
PETA disagrees. The animal rights group says turkeys shouldn’t be given beer. Moreover, PETA warns, “farmers across the country use questionable practices to keep costs down or to alter the taste of animals’ flesh because their priority is profit, not the animals’ welfare.”
However, national director of Humane Heartland Kathi Brock says that the American Humane Association does not block people from feeding animals beer and that the drink could actually be good for their intestines.
Though Majewski agrees the lager may help fatten and flavor the birds, the University of New Hampshire expert is skeptical as to whether it renders them juicier.
“I think it has as much to do with how you cook it rather than what it’s been eating,” he explained. “You can take a really well-fed bird and make it not very juicy.”
