Joyce Farms Heritage Black Turkey

For the first time, Meat N’ Bone is offering the Joyce Farms Heritage Black Turkey, a true heritage-breed bird raised for flavor, texture, and quality rather than speed or maximum yield. This is a more premium alternative to our Amish Heritage Turkeys. 

Recognized by the American Poultry Association since 1874, the Heritage Black is one of America’s historic turkey breeds. Joyce Farms raises these slow-growing birds on small family farms in North Carolina using traditional husbandry practices, with free-range access to barn or pasture and outdoor pasture access beginning at approximately 10 weeks of age.

The result is a turkey with deeper flavor, a more substantial texture, and the character you expect from a true heritage bird.

This is our most premium Thanksgiving turkey.

Why Heritage Black Is Different

Most modern commercial turkeys have been bred primarily for rapid growth and high breast yield. Heritage Black Turkeys grow much more slowly.

Joyce Farms notes that after approximately 20 weeks, its Heritage Black birds are about half the size of commercial turkeys of the same age. That slower development contributes to the breed’s distinctive texture and richer, more developed turkey flavor.

These birds are:

• Free-range with access to barn or pasture
• Traceable to small family farms in North Carolina
• Raised without antibiotics
• Raised without animal by-products
• Raised without artificial ingredients
• Individually hand-processed
• Air-chilled

Air-Chilled for Better Flavor and Texture

After processing, each Heritage Black Turkey is air-chilled rather than submerged in chlorinated water.

Air chilling helps preserve the bird’s natural flavor and texture without introducing excess water during processing. It also helps produce the crisp, beautifully browned skin you want from the centerpiece of a Thanksgiving meal.

Raised Differently

Joyce Farms intentionally keeps its Heritage Black program small and tightly controlled.

Flock density is managed to give the birds room to move, farms supplying the program are located close to the processing facility to reduce transportation time, and each bird is individually hand-processed.

It is a fundamentally different approach from industrial turkey production.

Our Most Premium Thanksgiving Bird

Our Amish Raised Turkey remains our classic premium Thanksgiving turkey.

The Joyce Farms Heritage Black is the step above it.

It is for the customer looking for something rarer, more traditional, and more distinctive: an old American breed, raised more slowly, produced in limited quantities, and selected first and foremost for flavor.

If you want the best turkey we can source for Thanksgiving, this is it.

Product Details

• Breed: Heritage Black Turkey
• Origin: North Carolina, USA
• Raised: Free-range with access to barn or pasture
• Outdoor Access: Pasture access beginning at approximately 10 weeks
• Growth: Slow-growing heritage breed
• Processing: Individually hand-processed
• Chilling: Air-chilled
• Antibiotics: None
• Animal By-Products: None
• Artificial Ingredients: None
• Format: Whole Turkey
• Availability: Limited Thanksgiving allocation