Real Vs. Pressed -- It's Hunt 'N' Peck, But You Can Find Turkey That Looks, Chews, Tastes Like The Good Stuff

Real turkey.

Where the heck did it trot off to?

We're talking about turkey that actually tastes like turkey - slices cut from a whole, roasted bird. The kind that makes a first-class turkey sandwich, with the heft and flavor worthy of the name.

You can roast a whole turkey yourself, of course, and get real turkey taste. Or buy plain, packaged turkey breasts at the grocery store, to cook at home.

But order a turkey sandwich at a deli or a diner and what you'll often find are a few damp, paper-thin, salty slices of something that looks like pale ham and tastes only vaguely like turkey - if you stretch your imagination.

At The Family Affair Restaurant on Fairview Avenue North, co-owner Angela Turnauer vows she'll never again serve "pressed" turkey - created when small turkey pieces processed with water, salt, seasonings and sometimes preservatives are formed into a roast shape for cooking and slicing.

She tried it once in desperation on a day her supply of whole turkeys for roasting failed to arrive. Her customers - accustomed to "real" turkey - nearly rebelled.

"There were only two people in this whole restaurant at lunch who didn't complain," Turnauer remembers. "I felt so bad I wanted to hide. I thought they were going to kill me."

Processed turkey is everywhere, in a zillion forms, some better than others. But roasted whole turkey is harder to find if you didn't cook it yourself.

So we've found some for you. The accompanying article lists some eateries where you can order a turkey sandwich and get the real thing.

Turkey used to be something people ate at Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas. Period. It just didn't figure in the eating habits of most Americans the rest of the year, and was rarely seen in stores or restaurants.

Now, you can buy turkey meat every day of the year, especially in delis and supermarket packaged-meat departments. That came about after Americans got fat-conscious and started reaching for more poultry.

Seeing the light, the turkey industry discovered more and more ways to bring the big bird to market, often as highly processed slices or "roasts" formed from pressed-together small pieces.

Turkey slices in the supermarket deli may be labeled "roast turkey," but they're usually cut from those formed roasts.

The processing allows more of the turkey meat to be used and adds moisture and flavoring that some people like, plus longer shelf life. But the taste is usually far from that of whole, roasted turkey.

Some of the turkey slices you find in vacuum-sealed plastic bags at the supermarket result when tiny bits and pieces of turkey meat - pieces too small to be used otherwise - are mixed with a salty liquid, formed into a firm shape inside a heat-tolerant plastic bag, then cooked and sliced for packaging. They're technically turkey, but sometimes it's hard to tell.

There's sodium aplenty in many processed turkey slices. Two packaged products that we saw contained 600-plus milligrams of sodium in a two-slice serving, compared with negligible sodium amounts in a serving of whole roasted turkey.

There was little or no fat, however, in the packaged slices we checked.

Some turkey products are less processed. Deli-bound whole breasts are sometimes tossed with a brine in a vacuum tumbler, forcing the brine into the meat to add moisture and salt. Because they're whole breasts, they have more of a "real" turkey taste and texture than the formed roasts.

The taste test

In a world of processed turkey, can tasters tell when they're eating the unprocessed bird in a sandwich? And which do they prefer? We ran an informal, blind taste test to find out.

Tasters could tell the difference. For the most part, they liked the unprocessed or the little-processed turkey samples better, though some found them dry. But processed kinds got some votes, too.

We also found that the thicker-sliced processed samples got more points for real, turkey-like texture than the thin ones - something to remember when you buy deli slices.

We tested six products, presenting all in white-bread sandwiches with mayo.

A sample of breast meat cut from a whole roasted turkey was recognized, and liked, as the real thing. "Just like off the bird at Thanksgiving," a taster said. Another thought it tasted "real" but dry enough to need pickles.

A sample of whole-breast meat permeated with salt, water and seasonings drew mainly favorable comments, such as "the real thing. Solid, slightly smoky flavor. Firm bite. Good!," even though a taster in the minority thought it had a hot-dog-like flavor.

The four other samples, all from various supermarket delis, were processed-turkey slices from formed roasts. They were salted but differed in added flavors and thickness.

Tasters pegged these as less "real," but not always bad. Thicker cuts got points for better texture, even if they were drier. Some were called salty and ham-like, and a particularly moist sample was dubbed "slimy and fake."

Added seasonings, such as a spicy edge or a smoky flavor, won approval from most - something else to remember at the deli counter. Smoked slices also seemed favorably drier and more turkey-like in texture.

Of a honey-cured processed turkey sample, one taster said, "Fake, but OK in a pinch."

-------------- The good stuff --------------

If you crave a turkey sandwich made from whole, roasted turkey - or at least from a whole, roasted breast - there are restaurants that will serve you one. Here's a sampling from around the area:

-- Bakeman's Restaurant, 122 Cherry St., Seattle; 206-622-3375.

-- Brusseau's Sidewalk Cafe, 117 Fifth Ave. S., Edmonds; 425-774-4166.

-- Claire's Pantry, 12360 Lake City Way, Seattle; 206-365-4542. Locations also in Richmond Beach, Edmonds and Mill Creek.

-- The Family Affair Restaurant, 234 Fairview Ave. N.; 206-624-3382.

-- JR Sprints Cafe, 304 Union St., Seattle; 206-682-8294.

-- Mitzel's American Kitchen, 22244 Eighth Ave. S., Kent; 253-395-3635. Locations also in North Bend, Fife, Everett, Mount Vernon, Poulsbo, Bellingham, Oak Harbor, Puyallup and Tacoma.

-- Triple J Cafe, 101 Central Way, Kirkland; 425-822-7319.

-- Wedgwood Ale House & Cafe, 8515-A 35th Ave. N.E., Seattle; 206-527-2676.

- Judith Blake

---------------------- Send us your favorites ----------------------

Do you know of other local restaurants that serve turkey sandwiches made from a whole roasted bird? If so, send us their names and locations and we'll publish them soon. Be sure to include your own name, address and daytime phone. Send the restaurant names to: Turkey, Seattle Times Food Dept., P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111.