Choosing the Christmas bird Vanessa Kendell With Christmas edging its way closer, one common thread on 'to-do' lists will be food and, crucially, choosing the Christmas bird. Here's a quick buying guide.

In this article

Breeds of turkey and goose Free-range and organic

Freezing Where and when to buy

Many people in the UK are becoming increasingly discerning when it comes to food. Flavour and texture are important considerations, of course, but so are issues such as sustainability and animal welfare. If choosing from among conventionally reared, free-range and organic birds isn't difficult enough, there are also breeds to consider.

Turkey

Each breed of turkey and goose has its own characteristics

Each breed of turkey and goose has its own characteristics. The two most highly regarded breeds of turkey are the Norfolk Black and the Bronze. The Norfolk Black was once the favoured eating bird in Britain, but this superior bird was very quickly dropped in preference of the commercial White varieties which not only lack the 'unsightly' black feathers but are quick to mature. Norfolk Blacks are generally not as plump as the Bronzes but tend to be stronger in flavour, almost gamey, with a higher fat content. The Slate Blue, a rare breed, has the highest fat content but is very narrow in the breast. The Bourbon Red, another rarity, has a distinct nutty flavour.

David Court of Farms Direct, a collaboration of small producers whose members farm traditional breeds, is never surprised by people's reactions when they taste one for the first time. "All these breeds have some fat and are superior in taste and texture to the Whites you see in supermarkets. I'm a great believer in fat in an animal; it's what delivers flavour and succulence", says Court. This may come as a shock to people who consider turkey a dry, tasteless bird benefiting only those wanting ultra-lean, low-fat sustenance.

Goose

Goose is more of a speciality bird. The most popular strain of commercial goose is the Legarth, a white-feathered bird with a high meat-to-bone ratio. This breed is very well-suited to free-range grazing. The Embden is another white variety that shares similar characteristics.

Goose has a wonderfully rich, buttery flavour

Goose has a wonderfully rich, buttery flavour, bordering on the beefy, thanks to its grass diet. It's certainly a fatty bird, but don't let that put you off. The flavour is worth it.

Canada geese are wild and many landowners regard them as vermin, but they make very good eating. The meat is particularly dark and is prone to dryness. Very few are seen in markets so you'll have to ask around. Local gamekeepers and landowners with Canada geese problems are a good place to start.

Breed alone won't guarantee the best eating bird. Selecting free-range is a step in the right direction, but a really worthwhile bird for the table will come from a small producer who selects traditional, slower-growing breeds and puts every effort into the rearing and butchering.

You have to ensure the organic status isn't just there as a selling point

Organic may seem the obvious choice for those seeking utmost eating quality, with standards governing everything from the feed to the straw the birds are bedded on, but this isn't always the case. Garry Moen of Moen's free-range and organic butchers in London, who sells Bronze turkeys, says it's a struggle to find good organic turkeys. He says: "I don't currently sell any organic turkeys because the ones I've come across aren't as good as the free-range I sell. I think you have to ensure the organic status isn't just there as a selling point."

Type of feed, access to the outdoors and age at slaughter all play a part in eating quality, as well as the welfare of the birds. Hanging the meat for a period of time after slaughter is paramount as it tenderises the flesh and imparts a fuller flavour. An outdoor-reared bird fed a cereal-based diet comprising natural ingredients containing no routine antibiotics, slaughtered when mature and hung with the guts in for at least a week will prove an entirely different bird to one that has been subjected to cramped conditions in windowless broiler sheds, fed a high-protein diet to optimise weight gain and not hung at all.

Geese, by their very nature, refuse to be intensively reared and demand outdoor foraging, which means they're all free-range, but some will, of course, be better reared than others.

The important thing to remember is that a bird from a good free-range farmer will be a better choice than one from an organic farmer who pushes the limits to get maximum mark-up.

Fresh meat is always preferable to frozen

Fresh meat is always preferable to frozen, although if your bird has been properly hung, the difference in quality will be minimised. Meat that is hung contains less moisture, so there'll be less expansion during freezing and less tearing apart of the meat fibres. A well-hung and butchered turkey or goose that has been frozen will make for far better eating than its fresh counterpart that hasn't had the same care.

Supermarkets rarely sell geese but some have started to stock Black and Bronze turkeys. "The best place to buy any meat is one where you know its origins and treatment pre- and post-slaughter", says David Court. "Producers know these factors and, either independently or in conjunction with a good butcher, can optimise these considerations."

Four to six weeks before Christmas is the time to order your turkey or goose, to ensure you get exactly what you want, although timing depends on the butcher or farmer in question. You'd need to get in quickly with a reputable small producer, for example. Farmers' markets are a good place to find out who's selling what and you may even find out about a farmer in your local area. Otherwise, do a bit of research on the internet for mail-order sales. Most importantly, find out as much as you can about the bird; education is the key when buying these special birds.