Turkey Round-Up, 2008

By Jacy Wojcik in Food on Nov 21, 2008 10:00PM

One week from now we will be sitting at home, reflecting on the holiday while enjoying our favorite part of the holiday feast: the Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich. (Or at Best Buy purchasing ten plasma TVs, a washer and dryer, and thirty cameras for the Black Friday low, low price of $70.) But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Until then, expect grocery stores to be annoyingly crowded for the Thanksgiving preparation home stretch with anxious hosts fighting over the last cranberries, turkeys, and autumnal gourd centerpieces. Lucky for you, we composed our annual list of places-other-than-Jewel to purchase fresh turkeys - it’s not too late to place an order, so give ‘em a call.

• Paulina Meat Market (3501 N. Lincoln, 773-248-7762) has a plethora of fresh, hormone-free turkeys and specialize in the most hilarious of poultry, turduckens.
• Live Zahiba Poultry (2741 E. Lawrence, 773-784-9921) is another option. Their birds are killed on site, crazy loud on the phone, and are $1.99 per pound.
• Chicago Live Poultry (2601 S. Ridgeway, 773-542-9451) is Chuck Sudo approved and you can't go wrong with one of their fresh turkeys at $1.89 per pound. And it wouldn't hurt to pick up a squab or two since you're already there. Grandpa will love it.
• John’s Live Poultry and Egg Market (5955 W. Fullerton, 773-622-2813) offers one of the cheaper turkey options at $1.85 per pound.
• Hoka Turkeys at Kauffman Turkey Farms in Waterman, IL (815-264-3470) are some of the most loved tom turkeys in the area. (Don't believe me? Look at the website.) There's a store right at the farm but Hoka turkeys are also sold at Fox & Obel (312-410-7301), Gepperth's Market (773-549-3883) and other various locations.

(Ed. Note: Some farms we called for info had not responded at post time. If they do get back to Jacy, we'll be updating this post with more options. -CJS)

photo by ~Sage~