Heritage Turkeys - Bourbon Red,
Jersey Bluff, Naragansett, White Holland - Choose Wisely
Nov 10, 2007 Jacqueline Church
Some cooks are choosing heritage breed turkeys this year. Bourbon Red, Jersey Bluff, Naragansett and White Holland head the list.The choices are staggering for which turkey to roast for your Thanksgiving or Christmas. Still, the broad-breasted White turkey will make up the majority of turkeys consumed this Thanksgiving.
To those you might add the scary sounding "TerDuckEn" (a chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey to stuff into your guests) or even scarier, "Tofurkey" (a tofu crafted turkey substitute). Just an observation: awfully large number of those who eschew meat devise ways to make non-meat things emulate meat. Food for thought. Let's sort through what these things mean and what each choice means for your meal and our food system.
Whatever bird you choose, fresh is best
Half the holiday advice seems to consist of frozen turkey problems and de-frosting debacles. Setting aside the time consuming hassle and the dangers of bacterial growth, the bottom line is that most chefs tell us: fresh just plain tastes better than frozen.
Natural or Organic
If you don't think there's a taste difference between natural or organic versus conventional, try this. Buy one organic or natural chicken breast, one conventional, cook them side by side and taste. It's amazing. Natural means: minimally processed with no artificial additives.
Organic means: the turkey has been fed only organic feed, no growth hormones or antibiotics.
Bourbon Red, Jersey Bluff, Narragansett, White Holland
Heirloom vegetables and fruits are in vogue as well as delicious. In general, supporting efforts to keep biodiversity, well diverse, seems sensible. Resistance to disease, supporting farmers who have expertise in these old foodways, these are good things. For an interesting and timely article on a heritage turkey farmer, see the New York Times here.
From a cook's point of view, there are also reasons one might choose the heritage bird. The bird that most of us know was bred to commercially convenient specifications: fast-growing, easy to farm, big-breasted birds. The meat is drier on these birds, which explains all the panic and advice this time of year about ways to keep the meat moist.
The heritage breeds are gamier and tastier. They're fattier. They are also slow-growing, must be selected to breed by someone with unique skills and knowledge that few farmers now have. According to the industry standards, they must be able to mate naturally, which apparently, the commercial birds cannot. Think about that while you baste!
The “Eat Local” Angle
The locavores and others will urge us to “eat local” like the guy on TV who shills sandwiches and wants us to “eat fresh”. Aside from the fact that we cannot eat adjectives, it's worth considering whether “local” is better than heritage from afar. Heritage birds are hard to come by as so few farms are actually raising them anymore. Due to the longer maturation period, it is likely this year's flock are already accounted for. If the decision has not been made for you by the laws of supply and demand, consider these points raised by a local grocer and advocate of local farms.
Consumers have grown accustomed to predictability in products they buy. With heritage breeds, and indeed, any small farm, factors such as rainfall, temperatures, predators all affect the quantity and quality of harvest. Your bird may not look like the cover of a glossy magazine.
Locally raised broad-breasted white (non-heritage) turkeys will cost less than heritage breeds. Buying locally farmed turkeys will support local farms, though they will cost more than supermarket birds. Local farms need our support. Even the farmer profiled in the New York Times article, one of the top farmers of heritage turkeys, has another job to make ends meet.
Whatever turkey you choose, these may help you think through the issues, or at least plan the side dishes:
- On shopping the farmers' market and Wal-Mart's entry into the organics arena.
- A recipe for Bourbon-orange glazed sweet potatoes.
- Carrot soup instead of butternut squash?
- A plan for procrastinators, including a terrific cranberry sauce recipe.
- Quick list of "cheats" tips and tricks.
And of course, you could always eat ham, instead.
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