Bates House of Turkey

When my husband and I made our first beach trip together, we stopped at Bates House of Turkey - just south of Montgomery on I-65. I had never been there before, but turkey is one of his favorite foods, so it didn't surprise me that he had. In the years since we've stopped here many times.

It wasn't until this year that I realized what a treasure really is. Opened in 1923, Bates House of Turkey has been raising and serving free-range birds to hungry Alabamians for over 85 years. This year instead of just the ritualistic sliced turkey sandwich, I also picked up several pounds of ground turkey, two smoked turkey breasts and turkey sausage.

Being fairly new to this free-range, local meat idea, I am always aware that it's more expensive (although if you buy it from the farm and not from Whole Foods, it's not that bad). What never ceases to amaze me is how good it is.

A few weeks after returning home I de-thawed a turkey breast and we couldn't believe how moist and flavorful it was. There is no sliced Publix deli meat that can come close to this - even after being frozen for weeks. This week I de-thawed the turkey sausage. We started just warming it and serving it with eggs and biscuts for dinner. We used the rest to season pinto beans.

I always worry that turkey (be it ground, sausage or otherwise) will be bland. This was anything but bland. It was just spicy enough to get your attention, but not so much that those family members who don't like too much spice were turned off by it.

If you pass Bates, you should stop and stock up. If you don't, you can order from this online. If you like turkey, you should check it out -www.batesturkey.com.