UK: Boneless turkey sales soar

According to the leading supermarket chains in the UK, sales of boneless meat products have risen by 38% in the past year. Additionally, culinary experts believe that the skill of carving could disappear altogether within a generation.

Sainsbury’s predicts a big rise in the number of turkeys sold this Christmas as crowns with the legs removed. “This year we expect to sell 40,000 Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference turkey crowns, an increase of 40% compared with last Christmas,” said a spokesman.

Another supermarket giant, Tesco, expects a fifth of its festive sales of turkeys and geese, some 220,000 birds, to be boneless.

Supermarkets have reacted to the changing demands of their customers by supplying a range of boneless products.

Tesco has extended its Easy-carve poultry range this Christmas and the chain claims that orders are already up 24% on last year.

Chefs, however, argue that meat on the bone cooks and tastes better as bones conduct heat so that it travels to the centre of a joint more quickly. “If you cook meat on the bone, you’ll get much more flavour; it’s very satisfying.”