A hot topic in recent years is heritage vs. conventional turkeys.
The typical Thanksgiving turkey is a Broadbreasted White that has been raised in cages, force-fed grains that are not part of their natural diet, and pumped full of antibiotics. Broadbreasted Whites are grown for size, not flavor. In fact, they grow so large that they cannot move themselves easily by the end of their short lives and cannot even reproduce without outside help.
Heritage turkeys are the exact opposite. Heritage turkeys are breeds that have been around a long time — generations. For the most part, farmers raising these breeds are doing so the right way — the birds are not kept crammed in cages, nor are they stuffed full of feed and antibiotics. They get much more exercise and have a varied diet. These turkeys take longer to reach maturity, but the resulting bird has more fat. Fat = flavor.
If you are interested in finding out more about heritage turkeys, go to Heritage Foods USA and The Daily Green.
Unfortunately, heritage turkeys do cost more per pound. That said, turkey is in general a budget-friendly item to add to your menu. For more on the topic, check out Enviro Girl’s post on turkey (including her foolproof recipe).
Tell the Eco Women: What kind of turkey will you be roasting this year?
