In 3 days and if you live in the US, you're probably going to eat quite a lot of turkey.
Nothing wrong with "regular" turkeys, except that...
You see... Chances are that the turkey you will eat on Thanksgiving Thursday is really no good. Like, no good at all. Disgusting and scary, even. Seriously.
I don't mean to scare you but let me explain...
Though they are birds, turkeys can't fly. They used to, but decades of large-scale food production, along with breeding to achieve a big-breasted bird (pleasing our insatiable appetite for white meat), has driven the turkey of the Pilgrims to the verge of extinction.
We, as consumers, have created a monster. And turkey factories have a name for it: "Broadbreasted White," a.k.a. the common supermarket turkey.
This monster turkey with huge breast is the most popular variety in supermarkets and other food stores. During their short existence, the turkeys don't fly (wings are too small), they don't run (legs are too short) and they don't lay eggs either.
They can't mate naturally because of their size and are bred through artificial insemination.
In other words, they don't act the way turkeys are supposed to act. They are Thanksgiving freaks, and would serve Halloween better.
Somehow, I suspect I'll have a hard time regaining your enthusiasm after you know this.
On a brighter note, "heritage turkeys" are being reintroduced to the commercial market by some 30 farmers across America.
What does a heritage turkey taste like?..
Ask anyone old enough to remember eating turkey 50 years ago. Listen in awe. Watch the tears glisten in his eyes. That's the heritage turkey they're talking about. Raised outdoors, they have richly flavored meat, succulent and juicy, and are naturally well-proportioned, with more dark than white. They descend directly from the wild turkey, native to America.
Fifty years ago, Thanksgiving turkeys across America were served moist and tender, by nature more than by design. What a concept.
Since then, cooks have tried everything to have their guests ask for a second serving, hence the crazy amounts of leftovers we end up with each year. We try to find answers in cooking gadgets and culinary tales. The truth is, there is almost no way to avoid the dry breast, since the breast and leg meat of a whole turkey are perfectly done at different temperatures (170 degrees for breast, 180 for legs). The answer remains simply in the quality of the bird.
Among the farms that raise the rare breeds the appellation heritage actually regroups breeds such as the Narragansett, Bourbon Red, Jersey Buff and Standard Bronze.
It's not too late to place an order this year, actually.
D'Artagnan has some heritage turkeys left but today is the last day. Like, right now is the deadline.Price is about six times more than the supermarket turkey. But considering that turkey meat is not too pricey, I would recommend you try it.
To Your Great Health,
Carissa Alinat, PhDc, MSN, ARNP-BC
Chef Gui Alinat, CEC
Authors of The French Paleo Burn
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