From Stonington To The White House: Turkeys

George Brown's family has been raising turkeys on Wychwood Farm since 1832. In the 1800s the birds ate American chestnuts and when Brown, 66, was a boy he says the turkeys could fly like rockets.  Today the turkeys are bigger, but still fresh, flavorful, and unfrozen. That's not just local bias: in 2007, The New York Times  described them as "juicy, gourmet turkeys." 

One hundred and one years before that The New York Times ran a story about how "all the White House turkeys from Ulysses S. Grant to Teddy Roosevelt" came by rail from Westerly. They were all sent by the same man, who went to local farms and chose "the best bird that can be had in this country, without flaw or blemish, and don't you forget it." That bird—like the first he sent, which earned him a thank you letter from Ulysses S. Grant—usually came from Stonington.

Today, Brown's turkeys are sold straight from his farm, fresh,  before Thanksgiving. After that, he freezes them (on Thanksgiving morning!): this year, there are 50 available for Christmas.

Fresh or frozen, Brown believes that what gives his birds their special flavor is the fact that they have a little, not a lot, of fat on them.

Brown produces his turkeys without chemicals, feeding them just enough corn and soybeans to give each turkey a little fat, not just under the skin but between the muscles.

The turkeys are not fed organic feed but instead eat four different formulas;  the specific formula each bird gets is based on its age.

"From what I can see from looking at organic turkeys, mine are better," Brown said.

Brown looks at the skin just above the thigh, or between the breast and the wing. According to Brown when you ruffle the feathers there on naturally well-fattened birds, like his, you can see that the skin there has a slight yellowish tinge.

His customers may not notice the yellowish tinge but they notice the taste.

"Delicious," Annabel Wyndham of Mystic, said. Wyndham was putting in her turkey order.

"I'm a holistic practitioner and I can feel the health and the love and the purity," Wyndham said. "He's [Brown] connected to his birds."

Brown does all the work himself, except during the weeks before Thanksgiving. When people call and ask if they can hunt on his land he doesn't charge them for permits—he asks them to come to the farm and help get the turkeys ready for Thanksgiving pick-up. His helpers get free turkeys, and so does the St. Peter and Paul Soup Kitchen.

"If you take care of your animals, they'll take care of you," Brown said.

Brown plans to keep the farm going as long he can which he says he hopes will be for as long as he lives.

To order turkeys from Wychwood Farm, call 860-536-9632. Pick up is at the farm: 709 North Stonington Rd., Stonington, CT, a few feet from the North Stonington line. The cost is $3.50 per pound. Even though feed prices have gone up by 20 percent Brown hasn't raised his prices because he says it's a tough economy for everyone.