At work the other day our supervisor and some co-workers…all Afro-Americans…
were talking about this-n-that, until they came to the subject of Turkey Chops.
When I and another caucasian co-worker about the chops, we were…like " "
They seemed rather amazed we never heard of Turkey Chops.
So, for the past few nights, we had an informal survey done with our customers.
And so far, most blacks are quite familiar with this food item, while ALL whites have never heard of turkey chops.
Hou about my fellow dopers?
You heard of turkey chops before?
White American, British Isles and Sicilian descent. Now that I’ve googled it, I am familiar with this cut as “turkey filet” or “turkey steak”. To me, a chop of meat has a bone in it. I’m happy to eat turkey, though, as long as it’s prepared as turkey, and not as a substitute for beef or pork. That is, I like smoked turkey, but I’m apt to turn my nose up at “turkey ham”.
Is it possible this is of Caribbean origin? The food writer Calvin Trillin wrote that his wife ordered a chicken cut up at a butcher shop in the Virgin Islands. They delivered her a frozen chicken cut into slices on a bandsaw. Trillin described it as “looking like some grotesque new form of lunchmeat.”
I’ve seen them before, but I can’t recall the context. I’m pretty sure it was in a grocery store meat section. I imagine if you cook it properly, you can keep it juicy and tender, while low in fat. But I’d take pork over turkey any day.
Ya, another white guy chiming in to say that I have only heard of this cut of meat as a cutlet or filet.
A chop has a bone…Right? (insert your dirty joke of choice here)
