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Friday, November 4, 2011

Already Excited About Thanksgiving-Heritage Turkeys

Being the foodie that I am, I am already thinking about Thanksgiving and what we will be eating.  Last night at 10:30 I was online ordering a turkey.  Not just any turkey, but a heritage, free range turkey.  Heritage means it is one of the old breeds we had before those poor white turkeys came along that are prized for their large breasts, fed all kinds of antibiotics and growth hormones and are kept caged up.  They reach maturity in about 18 weeks while heritage turkeys need 24 to 28 weeks.  Free range means the turkeys are allowed to roam in fields eating grasses and insects like nature intended.

Heritage turkeys are supposed to taste better and have less fat than commercially raised turkeys.  Since I have never been a huge turkey fan, I decided I had to try one.  The bird will be delivered to me on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, fresh, not frozen.  I will brine it lovingly and roast it Thursday morning, watching it closely and basting frequently.

I am a big fan of poultry and meat raised the old fashioned way.  I think it is better for us and certainly tastes better.  There is organically grown beef in our area but I haven't heard of anyone raising free range poultry.  I have to admit that the price stops me sometimes.  I think if there was more competition locally, the price would drop.  I think quality and taste always suffers when food comes from large commercial growers but I also realize it would be hard to grow enough food otherwise.

I will be reporting on the Heritage turkey and letting you know if it is worth the trouble.  Like I said, turkey meat is not my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal but I will also report every one's opinion on the bird.  As time draws closer I will share the rest of the holiday lineup and recipes.  In the meantime, I have an update on my birthday.  I did not get to go out to dinner as I planned.  Oh no, my family had other plans.  I had a surprise birthday party at my friend's house.  The whole family knew about it and did a great job of keeping it from me.  Since my husband can't lie about the smallest thing, I totally missed any clues and my children are unfortunately awesome at keeping secrets.  Thanks to everyone who came out and helped celebrate my big day.  And yes, there was dancing!

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