Are you working with a fresh or frozen turkey this year? Are you brining or basting? And what about those sides? Trying anything new and wondering how will it pair with the family favorites?
On Cincinnati Edition, our panel of chefs answer all your Thanksgiving cooking questions. Plus, we take a trip to Tewes Farm to see how many fresh turkeys the family is selling for the big day.
Guests:
Meagan Aylward, manager, Cincinnati Museum Center’s Cr(eat)e Culinary StudioMona Bronson-Fuqua, CEO, Je Nais Se FuquaMichael Inferrera, chef, Jungle Jim’s Oscar Event CenterStephanie Tewes, farmer’s daughter, Tewes Farm
Have you ever wondered, as you’re slicing into your Thanksgiving turkey, what kind of life the bird had before it got to your table?
The Cincinnati Edition team went to Tewes Farm in Erlanger, Kentucky, to find out.
“These turkeys would have been hatched in late June,” said Stephanie Tewes as she stood in a field that’s part mud, part grass and filled with about 1,500 turkeys.
“They come here a day old. So, that way we control everything that goes into them. No hormones, no preservatives, no additives, nothing like that. Just out here in the field, eating … whatever they find, and then the cornmeal mash that Dad adds to their diet as well.”
Her father, Dan Tewes, runs the farm that’s been in the Tewes family for 81 years.
“My dad is one of 17 children that my grandparents raised in the house right on the property, and a lot of them come back to help Dad this time of year,” Stephanie Tewes said. “And then he has five children. I’m the oldest, so I do a lot of the marketing and technology aspects and the sales. And then my other sisters all work here part time. My brother helps out as well. It’s really a family operation.”
The farm operates year-round, selling chickens and eggs. But she calls Thanksgiving the Tewes family Super Bowl, and the turkeys are the star players.
Turkeys at Tewes Farm in Erlanger, Kentucky in November 2025.
“Dad basically makes all of his money at Thanksgiving time,” Tewes said. “So that’s why they’re so important, to keep them healthy, to take care of them, to make sure that they have what they need. And like I mentioned, it’s kind of all hands-on deck.”
While the farm has avoided Avian flu — and hasn’t been hit too badly by tariffs — other bird bills have gone up.
“The price of even buying them as babies, the price of food has gone up,” she said. “The price of straw for the field, the price of gas for the tractors, all of that stuff does go up, which is how we sit down and factor what the price per pound will be each year.”
Tewes turkeys cost $5 per pound this year, an increase of 50 cents per pound over last year. The increase is an effort to be fair to customers, and also “be fair to my dad,” she said, “who works so hard.”
Tewes has customers who have been visiting the farm for decades. Thousands stop by each year before Thanksgiving, customers like Leigh Hamilton McGarr.
“We do it every year because it’s a special occasion. You’re feeding people that you might not see for the next entire year, the turkey truly tastes different,” Hamilton McGarr said. “And when you talk about like, duck or some kind of other bird or something like that, you can get a little bit gamey, but you stick with turkey, and it tastes like the freshest meat you’ve ever had. It’s tender, it’s juicy.”
Tewes Farm expects to sell 3,000 turkeys for Thanksgiving.
“The turkey is the star of the show. And if you’re going to impress your guests, you want to have the best turkey,” Stephanie Tewes said. “I don’t think anyone’s ever going to ask where you got the green beans from. But they’re going to ask where you got your turkey from.”
Ways to listen to this show:
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Dining and Cooking