Vincents Butchers

Christmas

Vincent has been supplying his customers with Appledore traditional free range bronze turkeys for over 20 years.

As Members of the Traditional Farm Fresh Turkey Association, which sets the standard for top quality in Christmas turkeys, the family oversee the extraordinary care and attention given to every bird on their farm. Using traditional animal husbandry, their aim is to give all the free range bronze a long and healthy life.

The turkeys are reared with the greatest care for welfare and the environment on the Wreathall family farm in Appledore, Kent.  The birds are housed in buildings giving both natural light and ventilation, with the free range turkeys and geese roaming grassy paddocks during the day. At night all the birds are bedded down on the farm’s home-grown wheat straw.

Allowed to grow slowly to full maturity, Appledore Turkeys and Geese have a distinctive taste and texture that is certain to deliver a truly special Christmas meal.

Choose either a Bronze free range turkey, a turkey crown on the bone or a boneless stuffed turkey breast. All the bronze turkeys come in an easy to carry box with cooking instructions, a pop up thermometer and a sprig of rosemary ready for your preparation.

Order your chipolatas and pigs in blanket to accompany your turkey. Goose fat for superb roasted potatoes and Port & Wine Redcurrant Jelly or traditional Cranberry Sauce for accompaniments.

When you purchase a Totally Traditional Turkey from Vincent's you can be sure of the tastiest possible Christmas meal with The Golden Turkey Quality Assurance Guarantee.

The Traditional Farm-fresh Turkey Association (TFTA) is a group of independent family run farms across the UK producing free range turkeys specifically for Christmas, all to their Golden Turkey Quality Assurance Growing Standard.  The ‘Golden Turkey’ Quality Assurance Guarantee sets the standard for the very finest quality free range Christmas turkeys.

Quality is paramount with all Appledore Turkeys, below is a Comparison chart from purchasing a supermarket turkey to an Appledore traditionally reared Turkey at Vincent's.

Appledore Turkeys		Supermarket Turkeys
Over 23 different varieties of slow-growing traditional breeds make up our flocks. 90% of the birds are hens.	BREEDS	Usually just 1 modern fast-growing (cost-effective) breed per flock. Predominantly stag birds
Reared in spacious open barns and wide open pastures. Free range turkeys are outside every day from 10 weeks old	WELFARE	Reared in crowded intensive conditions in controlled environment housing. Free Range birds may only have been outdoors for a matter of weeks towards the end of their lives.
Natural balanced cereal diet. No animal protein or growth promoting additives. Free range birds also eat natural vegetation.	DIET	Some use of growth promoters and artificial additives to accelerate growth.
Fully mature adult birds, 6 to 7 months old in all weight categories. This provides a dense meat and natural marbling to ensure a succulent texture when cooked. More meat!	AGE	Processed when immature upon reaching desired weight – often only 2 months old. Usually dry & tasteless when cooked. All carcass!
No transportation of live birds. Prepared on the farm premises which minimum stress of the birds. Dry plucked by hand. Game-hung for minimum 10 days. Simple refrigerated for Christmas Day – no heavy chilling. 100% pure turkey!	PRODUCTION	Usually transported long distances for production. Plucked under water by machines. Not hung. Factory processed & then instantly frozen, chilled &/or gas-treated. Water often added to increase the weight.
Each Appledore Turkey carried our quality guarantee, which includes a money-back commitment in the unlikely event of dissatisfaction.	GUARANTEES	No similar guarantees offered.

For an alternative to turkey, you can order Free Range Geese, Free Range Ducks, a succulent aged Rib of Beef, individual Beef Wellingtons or a whole one.

Don’t forget Boxing Day – order a delicious gammon ham either on or off the bone. Choose from either a traditional Oaked Smoked Ham or Unsmoked, cooked or ready for you to cook yourselves.

STORAGE & COOKING
Your Appledore Turkey is ready for you to unpack and cook – either to your own family recipe - or according to the easy-to-follow Cooking Tips and Recipes provided.

As soon as possible, remove all packaging and store in a cool place. Remove the giblets if they are inside and also keep in the cool. The bird is best cooked within 2-3 days of purchase.

COOKING ON CHRISTMAS DAY
Our method should help you to produce a truly tasty turkey with especially succulent breast meat. If your turkey is trussed, it is best to remove the string before cooking.

If you wish to stuff your turkey, prepare your favourite stuffing recipe and fill the neck cavity only. You may like to put a large Bramley apple or peeled onion into the body cavity.

Sprinkle the bird with salt and pepper then place it breast side down (covered with foil if you prefer) in a roasting tin.

The oven should be pre-heated to 230ºC/450ºF/Gas Mark 8 and the bird cooked at this temperature for 30 to 60 minutes depending on size, before reducing the heat to 190ºC/375ºF /Gas Mark 5.

About 30 minutes before the end of cooking (see table below for suggested total times), open the foil if used and turn the bird onto its back to brown the breast.

Do try to avoid over-cooking. Test with a fork on the inside of the thigh - the bird is ready when the juices run clear.

After cooking, allow the turkey to rest for about 15 to 20 minutes, and then carve.

CARVING
You will find the following sequence makes for easy carving

1. Hold the leg by the end knuckle. Cut close to the body and twist off. Carve this dark leg meat.
2. Similarly remove the wing and cut in half.
3. Slice the breast meat from one side.
4. Repeat for the other side

Easter

Traditionally Lamb is eaten at Easter, delicious different joints to choose from
LAMB shoulder, leg, butterflied or cutlets ... or have something different
BEEF rib, sirloin, fillet or topside
PORK Loin stuffed
Fresh Free Range CHICKEN for roasting.... and much much more.

 

Roast Rib of Beef oozing with flavour, served pink and carved at the table.

As an alternative why not try a Stuffed Loin of Pork with Spinach, Apricots & Sausagemeat – already prepared by your butcher and ready for you to pop into the oven.

Spring into Summer

Vincents prides itself in supplying a full range of meats to cook on the BBQ. During the spring and summer months, we have a selection of BBQ bites which include pork spare ribs, steak burgers, lamb koftas, mixed meat kebabs, steaks and a large selection of home-made  sausages.

Our famous traditional homemade Italian sausages with sea salt, pepper and fennel, and homemade 100% scotch beef steak burgers are perfect for the BBQ. Made fresh every day on the premises, we can advise and provide for any event or occasion.

All of the meats are available also with a selection of glazes and sauces to enhance their flavour – Thai is a particular favourite when added to Chicken it gives a fantastic alternative to plain chicken.