Santa Rosa - Shaved Smoked Turkey product reviews

Yeah, turkey meat is very quickly becoming one of my favourites. Ive always liked roast chicken but smoked turkey has something really different about it that makes it so tasty on sandwiches with cheese and tomato. Thats what I found at least. The meat is processed, because its a round sausage that has been sliced thinly, and the pack had a total of 16 slices in it meaning that each slice was worth about 18c. It made for a very tasty sandwich but not as cheap as I would normally go for..

Each packet is divided into two seperate pods, each one with about 50g of sliced meat in it. This way you can eat some and save the rest for later without cracking the seal on it. This is a great idea for people like me who regularly have to grab a fast meal on the go and can't use up an entire packets worth of meat. Each pod gave me enough meat for one decent sandwich but I know I eat way more meat than the average person, who would probably get two sandwiches out of each portion.

The meat was quite moist and the smokey flavour wasnt overpowering but was strong enough to give the meat a really nice boost. It was subtle, which made it very appealing to me because I don't like strong smokey notes. Not too sure if I would buy this one again though because it works out to almost $28 a kilo and thats pretty expensive meat. You are paying for the packaging and convenience so its up to you if thats worth more to you.

I am often reading in recipe books and in diets that we should swap to turkey as it is lower in fat than other meats. The problem is here in New Zealand it is hard to find turkey except at Christmas time and then it is usually a whole turkey which is a pain for those alone or with a small family and just want some turkey for their sandwich. It is pleasing to see that Santa Rosa have released a range of cooked turkey products.The shaved smoked ham comes in a 100g twin pack so there are two 50g packs. This is convenient as it prevents the other half drying out.

When I went to use the smoked turkey I noticed my husband had already opened it that morning for his sandwiches. He is usually a ham sandwich bloke so it was good to see he was trying something new especially when we also has ham in the fridge. The appearance of the turkey was just like that of shaved ham but it had a subtle smoked aroma both when opening the packet and when eating it.

I decided to use mine instead of pastry in mini quiches. I lined the muffin tin with a slice in each hole and found the slices were the perfect size. I added egg, vegetables and grated cheese. I then had the quiches in my lunch box for the next few days. The turkey gave the quiches a lovely flavour and I didn't feel the need to add any seasoning to them.

I will be keeping an eye out for the shaved smoked turkey in the supermarket as it makes a nice healthy change from ham or chicken.

Of the three Santa Rosa turkey products I took to try, this was my favourite. The secret is in the smoked effect: although the meat is thinly sliced, the aroma hits you and then the taste follows through. There is a considerable flavour burst when you bite into it. Two of us finished the first tub without any problem, packing the slices into sandwich thins with a scrape of chilli apple jelly and a sliver of avocado, which was just coming into season. A very special lunch

I lead a fairly hectic social life so it is always good to have some special but easy to prepare foods on hand for entertaining purposes. We were expecting an old friend for dinner, so I decided to trial some special entrees. There was a vacuum pack of garlic smoked mussels in the fridge just demanding to be used, and I thought they might go very nicely with the smoked meat. I was inspired by the old devils-on-horseback recipe which uses bacon wrapped around prunes but is best served hot so it does not come across as being too rich. That is fiddly because you have to serve them at just the right moment. I did not want this kind of fuss with my version; because the turkey is not fatty like bacon, it would be fine to serve it cold.

It was certainly an interesting combination. The flavours did not overwhelm each other, so there was an intriguing mix of degrees of smokiness tempered by the strong garlic effect of the mussels. They proved to be very popular - I had problems trying to take a photo because they were disappearing so quickly - but I will concede that you had to be a garlic aficionado. Otherwise they would be too strong for many palates, with the combined assault of smoke and garlic. Personally, I love garlic - and so, luckily, did the others.

Next time I purchase a pack I will be looking at trying it on a bagel in place of lox. I think this would be superb, a little different from the usual filling, but in its own way just as piquant. Pricewise it would work out about the same, and I think the turkey would go just as well with the cream cheese as the salmon. The smoked effect would replace the fishy taste of the salmon. I can think of several other ways I would like to try it too, but I can see that it will be important to plan before buying or I might get it home and eat the lot before I work out another creative use for it.

I was lucky enough to be selected to review 3 products from the Santa Rosa Turkey range, and I have to say that out of the 3 the shaved smoked turkey was my favourite of the 3 by far. Turkey isn't something I had previously eaten before and so I am very grateful for the opportunity to have tried such a delicious tasting product which is without a doubt going to be making it's way into my supermarket trolley during this weeks grocery shop.

The turkey comes in a plastic package which conveniently has 2 seperate 50gram tubs which are easy to split apart due to a perforated line that runs down the middle of the 2, a great idea for when you are only wanting to use a small amount at any one time. The bright blue background on the front of the packaging really stands out, and Miss 4 who is probably the biggest turkey fan that I now know was very quick to notice it at the supermarket the other day!

I first decided to open up one of the tubs of smoked turkey for my family to each sample, and as I opened this up I was hit by strong aroma of a rich smoked smell it was divine! The turkey comes in perfectly shaped circles which are wafer thin and so I rolled 3 up so that my partner, Miss 4 and myself could try it, it was clearly very good and had Miss 4's full approval as when I turned around I noticed that the remaining 5 pieces of the turkey had vanished from the tub, Miss 4 hesitantly told me that she had "gobbled it up" as it was "so tasty" and my partner and I couldn't help but agree it was delicious full of such a beautiful smoked flavour, for a tiny slice of meat it had a whole lot of taste!

With the remaining tub of turkey I decided to use it in place of bacon on top of wedges along with some melted cheese and sour cream. The turkey was easy to cut with a knife into small diced pieces. After cooking my wedges in the air fryer I sprinkled the diced turkey and cheese over the top and popped them into the oven to cook until the cheese was golden and bubbly, served with a dollop of sour cream, the wedges went down as a welcomed snack with my family and a group of friends who were visiting. The turkey made the dish spectacular these was plenty of it over the wedges and the strong smokey flavour was amazing, and SOOOOO much better than that of bacon. A few of my friends had not tried turkey before but were impressed by the flavour of it.

A product that is full of plenty of flavour, which I can see having endless possibilities for use, and at $2.79 a pack it's great value for money, 10/10 for me.

Turkey is an odd poultry to eat. Whiter and denser than chicken, it's got a lot of myths surrounding it - the highlight one being "eating turkey makes you sleepy" which has solidly been proven false. (You can thank Americans for gorging themselves on food at Thanksgiving, forcing their bodies to burn energy to power digestion, and blaming the turkey for that one.) One thing that everyone agrees on, as do I, is that it is a very tasty meat and full of flavour - more so than chicken. Having once had the pleasure of trying freshly-roasted turkey as a child on a visit to the USA, I can tell you that a roast chicken is a pale comparison indeed. Thus, I was delighted to see this range appearing on NZ shelves and have a chance to review them.

Processed into a consistently-textured chubb then sliced thinly, this meat is packed into two 50g pots, giving you enough for two servings per tub. I found that equated to roughly 9-10 slices per tub, which was more than enough for 4 generous servings in total. What makes this offering brilliant is that the tubs can be easily separated, so you cane leave one in the fridge for another day without worrying that it will spoil. For the first test, I cracked open a tub and tried a slice on its own. Bad move. About a minute later, I was running my fingers around the bottom of an empty tub collecting the last few crumbs of meat. #MyBad

For the second tub, I used half of the slices folded up on freshly toasted crumpets with cheese and a dollop of sweet chilli sauce inside the folds. 15 seconds in the microwave to melt the cheese and they were a delight to eat! This is the slightly darker meat on the crumpet on the left of the linked photo. The remaining slices were used to fill a Garlic Butter wrap along with some cheese, beetroot, grated carrot, sliced tomato and some fresh, home-grown spring onions.Unfortunately, it was delicious, and I had eaten it all before my mind even had a chance to think "that would have been a better photo, buddy."

Overall, while this effectively weighs in at $27.90 per kilogram, which is very expensive when compared to chicken, it's also a better meat, has a lot more flavour - being smoked first - and will make a convert out of all but the most die-hard chicken fans. It's not a meat that will appear on my regular shopping list, but it's going to be top-billing on my 'special treat meats' for when my budget has a bit for freedom.

When I think of Turkey I automatically think of Christmas, Thanks Giving and Cranberry Sauce, so I have to admit it is rather weird eating it, considering it is not a special occasion. Its a 'food' that I would not ordinarily have and I am now sitting here scratching my head as to why not, considering how versatile it is.

Yesterday I enjoyed a Turkey sandwich with coleslaw and it was so full of flavour. I was expecting chunks for some reason so when I opened it and found the slice was thin I will admit I was a tad worried, that it was not going to give me enough gusto but I was pleasantly surprised at how wrong I was. It sure has a punch for such a little thing. Tonight my husband made two pizzas one a Meat Lovers pizza and the other with the Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, Spinach, Red Onions and Camembert Cheese and it was divine, no pizza chain could compete with the home made kind along with pizza bread. Even with all of the other flavours, the Turkey easily stood out on its own.

My daughters usually only eat Hawaiian pizza and so they were rather reluctant to try the pizzas but after some stalling they both finally did indulge and once they did there was no stopping them and we found the pizzas were all gone in no time at all. Out of the two options the Turkey and Cranberry pizza was clearly the winner out of the girls where as my husband preferred the Meat Lovers pizza with the Salami. But honestly both where so rich in flavours and tasted amazing.

I have definitely been won over by this packet. It is full of flavour and its a welcome change from the sliced Ham or Chicken that we usually have for sandwiches. It would be perfect in a pasta or a toastie on a lazy weekend when we finally get the change to do nothing. The price is spot on and I would not have any hesitation in purchasing again.