{"id":49936,"date":"2009-11-21T10:00:36","date_gmt":"2009-11-21T15:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marksdailyapple.com\/?p=9331"},"modified":"2009-11-21T10:00:36","modified_gmt":"2009-11-21T15:00:36","slug":"heritage-turkey-and-mashed-parsnips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/49936","title":{"rendered":"Heritage Turkey and Mashed Parsnips"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"cookedturkeyThanksgiving is only a few days away and in the United States this means one thing: turkey. No other foods seems to dominate a holiday like this large bird and the mind-boggling demand (an estimated 45 million turkeys are eaten for Thanksgiving) has created some unsavory practices amongst turkey producers.<\/p>\n

Beginning in the 1960s grocery stores started selling a breed of bigger, plumper turkeys known as Broad-Breasted Whites. This turkey is bred for one main reason: it\u2019s cheap to raise, primarily because it\u2019s genetically modified to grow quickly. Turkey producers can maximize their profits and provide what they think consumers want: birds with more white meat. But the thing is, all that white meat makes a turkey cook and taste different. In fact, it is probably Broad-Breasted Whites (not your mother\u2019s cooking skills) that are to blame for decades of dry, flavorless Thanksgiving turkeys. Even worse than dry meat, the genetic modifications to Broad-Breasted Whites leave them unable to fly or reproduce without artificial insemination.<\/p>\n

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By far, the Broad-Breasted White is the dominant breed of turkey sold in grocery stores. In the 1990s, it almost put other breeds of turkey into extinction. Luckily, organizations<\/a> and turkey producers dedicated to preserving culinary heritage and to fighting against industrialized food production have been diligently protecting natural breeds of turkeys that have been around since our forefathers. Collectively, these breeds of turkeys with colorful names like Bourbon Red, Standard Bronze and Narragansett are known as Heritage turkeys. In recent years, as consumers have become more interested in where and how their food is grown, Heritage turkeys are enjoying a surge in popularity.<\/p>\n

Heritage turkeys are more expensive to buy, ranging from $6.00-$12.00\/pound, because they are more expensive to raise, taking up to 30 weeks to grow to close to 30 pounds while a Broad-Breasted White can reach that weight in just 18 weeks. Why splurge on a Heritage turkey? For starters, they are not genetically modified to maximize breast size and meat. Heritage turkeys have more fat and more dark meat, which helps keep the meat moist while cooking. The meat has a richer, heavier texture and more intense flavor, rich and robust and slightly gamey – what a \u201creal\u201d turkey is supposed to taste like.<\/p>\n

Heritage turkeys can be bought from some local butchers and from Whole Foods Markets. Mary\u2019s Turkeys<\/a> does not sell directly to consumers, but does provide a listing of where their Heritage turkeys are sold. Heritage Foods<\/a> and Local Harvest<\/a> ship directly to consumers, but their prices are higher than most retail stores.<\/p>\n

Buying a Heritage turkey is like casting a vote for humanely, naturally raised animals and for the farmers who are putting a premium on healthy, safe, natural food instead of profits. Pair your Heritage turkey with any number of our favorite Primal Thanksgiving sides<\/a><\/a> and you\u2019re guaranteed to have a very Happy Primal Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

Ingredients:<\/strong> (based on a 12 pound turkey)<\/p>\n

\"ingredients<\/p>\n