The Slow Food USA Blog

Thanksgiving Takes the Bronze

Posted on Fri, December 05, 2008 by Nathan Leamy
2 Comments | Categories: Biodiversity, Farms and Farming,

by Jerusha Klemperer

For a few years now, as part of my job, I have been preaching to others about eater-based conservation and the joys of keeping biodiversity alive by eating heirloom varieties, and heritage breeds. Conventional turkeys are not bred for flavor, don’tcha know; they’re bred for big boobs and fast maturation, and ability to freeze well; and blah blah blah and yup sure, I hear ya.

Finally this year I myself cooked not just a free range bird but a heritage one—an American Bronze from Frank Reese’s Good Shepherd Ranch in Kansas. Which for me is a bit like a football fan saying he ordered a football and it came from Brett Favre’s backyard where Brett Favre himself stitched the pigskin together with his own two (giant) hands.

I proudly served the beautiful 9 pound bird at the Thanksgiving feast called by one enthusiastic guest “the most delicious, least emotionally complicated Thanksgiving I’ve ever had!” And I found that I was suddenly my own target audience; this bird was weird. There was no light fluffy, watery breast. It didn’t taste like any turkey I have ever eaten before, and of course that was unnerving.

But by bite three I was won over by this flavorful, tenacious, lean meat, and finally understanding this idea of “real turkey flavor,” that heritage bird proponents talk about. My initial dislike helped me understand how deeply ingrained our food preferences are—we like what we know, and what we know is a Butterball. If I am to be any kind of spokesperson at all for the importance of re-shaping our palates, I must begin with myself, no?

*This post originally appeared on Jerusha’s blog.

Member Comments

From Joy on Sun, December 07, 2008

I too ordered a heritage turkey, from US Wellness Meats. Mine was 11.5 pounds and I can’t remember the specific variety. It surely LOOKED different, with a narrow, A-cup breast. Various instructions suggested cooking it to an internal temp of no more than 140…. or 160…. degrees. I settled on 140, and that baby cooked FAST. And yes, it was quite a shock, that first bite. Chewier, denser, definitely more flavorful, moist but not bursting-with-a-watery-chemical-broth mouth feel. It took me considerably more than 3 bites to appreciate this outrageously expensive bird, but by day 2, chopping some incredibly dark, rich thigh meat for turkey hash, I appreciated the virtues of this bird. However, at this point it is too expensive for even occasional splurging. Christmas, I’m thinking Cornish hens. Whatever our choice, it will never, ever be one of those poor pitiful mutant turkeys that are so top-heavy they can barely stand and they can’t even reproduce in the usual way; without artificial insemination they would be GONE in a generation. That’s just wrong and sad.

From Lisa P on Tue, December 09, 2008

Sarah Palin has evidently been busy over the Thanksgiving Holiday, cementing her public relations status by performing her solemn duty as Governor of the State of Alaska. That is, she pardoned a turkey from turkey slaughter for the holidays. She decided that one bird should receive the benefit of a permanent stay of execution (she couldn?t give the poor thing a cash advance to go with it?) and kept it off the chopping block. Why just that one bird? Why not pardon its brothers and sisters from its hatching? Regardless, Palin delivered a moving oration in defense of the rescued bird, whilst another one met its demise in the background. It almost begs the question of whose neck is next? It seems tacky, to say the least, to pardon one bird and speak on its behalf whilst its relatives get slaughtered within earshot. Is this what we are to expect when she is supposed to run for President in 2012? She may endeavour to save Joe Sixpack, but what about Tom Turkey? He may have to get a fast cash advance for a suit of armor. Click to read more on a Cash Advance