(credit: Gelson’s)

It’s turkey time. Whether you are an at-home chef and go for prepping a legit turkey each year or you prefer to have someone else do your cooking, there are several great resources for buying prepared, frozen or raw turkeys for your Thanksgiving meal this year. While organic turkeys are available most anywhere, local meat pros swear store-bought organic lacks in taste and say purchasing all-natural, hormone free, veggie-fed turkeys are the way to go if you want the best flavor. These are the best places to buy a turkey in Los Angeles.

(credit: Dan Levine/AFP/Getty Images)

The Farms
2030 Montana Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90402
(310) 828-4244 ‎
The Farms on Facebook

The Farms in Santa Monica is everyone’s favorite neighborhood grocery store, and it’s got your back this year if you are hosting Thanksgiving. It will prepare a rotisserie cooked turkey up to 16 pounds featuring the meat department’s special secret rub of garlic, white pepper, paprika and salt. Prepared turkeys are available first come, first served. Meat Department Manager Juan Lopez and his kitchen crew start cooking at 4 a.m. Thanksgiving morning. Customers may select a Frenso-based Zacky Farms all-natural, 100-percent turkey (estimated $3.39 per pound) or a free-range Diestel Turkey Ranch bird (estimated $3.49 per pound) from Northern California. The Farms also adds $30 per order for each cooked turkey. They will even carve the bird for you.

(credit: Loreto’s)

Loretos
983 W. Compton Blvd.
Compton, CA 90220
(310) 537-7612
loretos.net

Cooking a deep-fried turkey takes serious preparations as well as risks. Skip all of that planning and call Loretos, a family run café that has been deep frying holiday birds for the last nine years. Chef Joe Loreto and his son and daughter cook a deep-fried whole turkey that is perfectly juicy for your Thanksgiving meal. The crisp, golden-skinned bird is fried in 100-percent peanut oil, and available at 15 to 16 pounds each ($4.65 per pound). Orders are being taken now through the Thursday before Thanksgiving. Loreto personally deep fries the bird, wraps it in foil to seal the juices and refrigerates the turkey for customers to pick up before the holiday. He gives his customers simple at-home reheating instructions. Popular for Christmas, New Years and the Super Bowl, the deep-fried turkeys are also available to take home all year long.

Related: Best Autumn Desserts in Los Angeles

(credit: Gelson’s)

Gelson’s (Westfield Shoppingtown Century City)
10250 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90067
(310) 277-4288
www.gelsons.com

Gelson’s is a favorite go-to market for Angelenos. Its made-to-order and service deli departments have everything you need for Thanksgiving, including cooked whole turkeys and all of the traditional fixings. The California-based Zacky Farm turkey ($4.99 per pound) is available in three sizes serving eight to 10, 12 to 16 or 16 to 20 dinner guests. This year Gelson’s is also expecting to sell low-sodium, salt-prepared turkeys. Oven roasted in savory barbecue flavors, turkeys come whole and cold with reheating instructions.

Related: Best Thanksgiving Take-Out in L.A.

(credit: Trader Joe’s)

Trader Joe’s West Los Angeles
11755 Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 477-5949
www.traderjoes.com

Hosts and hostesses rely on Trader Joe’s for fabulous ingredients as they prep for any holiday party. This year Trader Joe’s will be featuring frozen turkeys that are all natural from California, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. All-natural means that these turkeys were raised on 100-percent vegetarian feed, do not have artificial ingredients and have never received growth hormones or antibiotics. Trader Joe’s brings ease to the Thanksgiving table with its pre-brined turkeys by offering all natural, brined fresh young turkeys ($1.99 per pound/12- to 22-pound birds), and Glatt kosher (kosher salt is used) all natural, fresh young turkeys ($2.49 per pound/12- to 16-pound birds). Birds start hitting the freezer bins in November – purchase early as it’s first come, first served.

(credit: Maraconda’s Meats)

Marconda’s Meats in the Los Angeles Farmers Market
6333 W. 3rd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 938-5131
www.marcondas.com

Specializing in Willie Bird turkeys, which are free-range, all-natural or organic, Marconda’s Meats and Puritan Poultry is a premium butcher and meat market in the original Los Angeles Farmers Market. Since 1941, the family owned meat market is a No. 1 source for poultry and a wide variety of meats and sausages. For holiday cooking, these broad-breasted birds are perfect for a crowd that loves white meat. Willie Bird turkeys are raised on a vegetarian diet in Sonoma County. Marconda’s suggests ordering your bird early for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Frozen turkeys are available all year round.

Sheryl Craig is a writer with a passion for interesting finds and treasures in Los Angeles. She has a background in journalism and public relations. A mother of two daughters, Sheryl integrates her healthy lifestyle into raising her children. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.