Turkey & Poultry For Your Festive Feasts

Have you decided what poultry you’ll be serving this festive season? Turkey is the most popular choice, but there’s always room on the table for chicken, duck & goose, too. Read on to learn about our local, sustainable suppliers and pick up some cooking tips & recipes.

Free-Range Turkey

It doesn’t get more traditional than a roast turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas! 

All Hagen’s turkey (and most of our chicken) comes from Bendele Farm near Gympie, Queensland, renowned for their ethical, sustainable and organic farming practices. Their free-range poultry enjoy 24/7 access to pasture, where they are left to frolic and scratch in the dust, grazing on natural vegetation and organically-accredited grain.

Bendele free-range turkeys are available from Hagen’s both stuffed and unstuffed, as whole trussed birds or as a boneless roast. So, once you have your turkey, how should you cook it?

For a classic roast, the tender, juicy texture pairs really well with ourhouse-made cranberry sauce andchicken gravy.

Cousin Pat's Dry-Brined Turkey is a simple recipe for a beautifully-browned, juicy turkey bursting with umami flavour. You also have to try Susie Hagen’sboneless turkey with lemon, cranberry & pistachio stuffing — she’s been making it for the family for over 12 years! 

Free-Range Goose

We source our free-range whole geese locally from UGoose farm in Gippsland, where heritage-bred Emden geese are raised chemical-free on luscious pastures.

UGoose are a small and passionate family business who know everything there is to know about raising happy, healthy geese with a high fat content perfect for longer cooking. When you’re roasting your goose, save the rendered fat and level up your side dish game with crispy goose fat potatoes!

Why not try a traditional roast flavoured withprunes, port & walnuts?

Free-Range Ducks

We’re proud to offer free-range ducks from Great Ocean Ducks near Port Campbell, Victoria. Farmers Gred & Jodi Clarke supply notable restaurants in Melbourne and beyond, including Anchovy, Grossi Florentino, Hazel, Nomad, MoVida, Kazuki, Oster & Agostino.

Known for their distinctive tenderness and flavour, their flock of Aylesbury ducks — a rare English table breed — are paddock-reared on a diet of fresh fruits and a healthy brew of soaked local grain.

Try anorange-roasted duck for summer evenings, or thisfoolproof soy sauce-glazed version. The Clarkes have another trick up their sleeve for festive feasting. “We will be having a whole smoked duck at Christmas — we call it a duck ham!”

How To Carve Poultry 

This skill comes in handy whether you’re serving a festive roast turkey or plating up chicken for Sunday lunch — here’s Oliver Hagen’s go-to way to carve roast poultry:

1. Start by cutting each wing off at the joint between the breast and the wing. 
2. Slice the string, and gently push open the legs.
3. Cut the joint between both thighs, and the bottom of the breast. 
4. Once you’ve done this, slide your knife through to the bottom of the spine and cut through.
5. Guide your knife next to the thigh bone and spine, then cut. 
6. Separate the drumstick from the thigh, then repeat on the other side.
7. Tip the breasts so the top is facing up, to make it easier to slice. 
8. Slice through the meat and repeat on the other side
9. Enjoy!

It’s never too early to start planning your holiday menu — we’re taking festive orders until 9pm on December 15, 2022. Our supply of quality, ethical poultry is limited, so pre-order yours  now to avoid an empty oven!