Has anyone seen a turkey in the shops?  After last year's turkey coup by probably the big Thai poultry producers I haven't seen one anywhere and asking at any of the superstores merely gets a "Mai mee!"  Thanksgiving and Christmas are on the horizon and it looks like they're going to be turkey-less again.

        Imports of turkeys were banned some time ago because of an outbreak of bird flu somewhere outside Thailand. That was over a year ago and I'm surprised that the restrictions haven't been lifted by now. There are many poultry farms that produce turkeys here in Thailand just do a goggle search to find one near to you.

      Alternatively, if you have the room, why don't you breed your own like I do.

     

Still banned.

But will also be available at a premium.... like last year.

No problem for me, i rear my own

I saw them in Makro last year but were around 3000 baht, They may have them again, best to go look.

Thanks all!  1.  Last year the turkey flu in the US did not affect the export from the Staes of frozen turkeys as those that had already been frozen had not been not subject to the disease.  2. There were/are plenty of other suppliers - Europe, Australia and others, so there was no need for a blanklet ban in Thalland.  3.  My comment about the big poultry producers in Thailand was not in jest.

So who the heck can give an answer to this one?

Would like to look into rearing a few any one know of a breeder in or around khon kaen cheers

On 02/08/2016 at 7:40 PM, Hornell said:

Thanks all!  1.  Last year the turkey flu in the US did not affect the export from the Staes of frozen turkeys as those that had already been frozen had not been not subject to the disease.  2. There were/are plenty of other suppliers - Europe, Australia and others, so there was no need for a blanklet ban in Thalland.  3.  My comment about the big poultry producers in Thailand was not in jest.

So who the heck can give an answer to this one?

 

You are correct that it is a ban on US sourced turkey on the bone only. Fillets and turkey 'crowns' from the US were available in limited quantities since the ban kicked in around 2 years ago. The problem is that no Thai importer has sought to source turkey products from any other markets like Australia or UK. I guess beyond TG and Xmas, there's just not enough, steady demand for an importer to seek an alternative source. For what it's worth, I think that Japan and/or maybe Korea has also banned US turkey so it's not unique to LOS.

On 8/2/2016 at 4:21 PM, NanLaew said:

Still banned.

But will also be available at a premium.... like last year.

 

Yet, available everywhere outside of Thailand.

 

Did the turkey supplier forget a payment?

As I said would like to try rearing a few I've asked around local farmers ect no one seems to know anywhere I could get some turkey chicks. Going into agricultural bank tomorrow will ask there. 

On the supply in thailand again having asked around. I belive it would not be worth the expense for suppliers to bring them back over in bulk there is not the demand here for huge operation and importing on a small scale would not be  cost effective. For instance whilst asking around about chocks a good 90% did not even know what I was talking about.

There is another thing about Turkeys.

Water fowl like Ducks or Geese have a layer of fat underneath their skin, from their genetic heritage as an adaption to living in water.

That means when you cook them, their fat helps to keep their meat moist anf juicy.

Turkeys, are not water fowl, so they do not have that layer of fat.

That means when oven roasting a Turkey you must baste the meat ocassionally to keep it moist.

Many cooks that are used to roasting a Duck or Goose just don't undersatnd about basting a Turkey, and why it is necessary.

So they say Turkey meat is "to dry".

 

 

2 minutes ago, IMA_FARANG said:

There is another thing about Turkeys.

Water fowl like Ducks or Geese have a layer of fat underneath their skin, from their genetic heritage as an adaption to living in water.

That means when you cook them, their fat helps to keep their meat moist anf juicy.

Turkeys, are not water fowl, so they do not have that layer of fat.

That means when oven roasting a Turkey you must baste the meat ocassionally to keep it moist.

Many cooks that are used to roasting a Duck or Goose just don't undersatnd about basting a Turkey, and why it is necessary.

So they say Turkey meat is "to dry".

 

 

great post. my sister-in-law had a turkey 'blown in' from one of her neighbours, of course she bbq'd it like chicken and disliked it, big time.

they are great food if you do them the us or eu or oz way, but...

3 hours ago, Deepinthailand said:

As I said would like to try rearing a few I've asked around local farmers ect no one seems to know anywhere I could get some turkey chicks. Going into agricultural bank tomorrow will ask there. 

On the supply in thailand again having asked around. I belive it would not be worth the expense for suppliers to bring them back over in bulk there is not the demand here for huge operation and importing on a small scale would not be  cost effective. For instance whilst asking around about chocks a good 90% did not even know what I was talking about.

 

Quite a few years back, a foreigner started a turkey farm and was initially quite successful. Then he started having all sorts of problems with 'permits', his immigration status and all sorts of other harassment. He quit in fear of his well being. If you become successful at rearing turkeys, keep quiet about it and don't even think about supplying the hospitality and catering businesses.

     That was 'Farmer Joe' who had a successful turkey farm near Hua Hin. He was so successful that he came to the attention of certain 'powers that be' in the poultry business who screwed him up through the Thai so called 'justice' system and put him out of business.

    You can read all about it at Andrew Drummond's blog...http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2011/08/farmer-joe-loses-water-tight-30-year.html

    

No intention of selling them only looking at 3 or 4 each year no breeding just from chick to plate for family feasts.

There is another thing about Turkeys.

Water fowl like Ducks or Geese have a layer of fat underneath their skin, from their genetic heritage as an adaption to living in water.

That means when you cook them, their fat helps to keep their meat moist anf juicy.

More like disgustingly greasy.

That means when oven roasting a Turkey you must baste the meat ocassionally to keep it moist.

So they say Turkey meat is "to dry". [sic]

Or you could brine your turkey like almost all restaurants and experienced cooks do. It's easy and you end up with meat that's actually juicy rather than greasy like waterfowl is.

http://allrecipes.com/video/25/how-to-brine-a-turkey/

You can also;

 

1. Cover the turkey with bacon.

 

2. Using a roasting bag.

 

3. Deep fry the whole thing. I think this is a good option for Thailand, but please be careful.