Heritage Turkey ala Zesterhorn

[crowjoy]

So, what is the point of eating heritage meat? We eat them to keep them alive. Back in the early days of American agriculture (mm, let's say mid 1800's to mid 19's) farmers developed all sorts of varied breeds of livestock, well designed for their own purposes... meat, milk, eggs, etc. As factory farming became the norm these breeds were replaced

Comments

[dcfullest]

How does brining work in a heritage bird? I couldn't believe the difference it made in our store bought bird-- it added so much flavor. Is it even worth it or is the bird just naturally packed with more flavor?

[crowjoy]

You know, I'm not 100% sure of what brining actually does. How it's different than a saline solution pumped into the meat I don't know (like most store birds have been processed) but I have seen this recipe: http://www.taluswindranch.com/recipes_turkey.html for brined turkey. The main difference between what we're used to and a heritage bird is that they are proportionate, so there's no robust breast to cook (or overcook, right??) and it's much more dense and chewy. It has a much different mouth feel. The breast of this turkey had a texture more like steak, and the dark meat was connected by real tendons and such... connective tissue that worked in its life. It's a much leaner bird too it seems and that's why the need for the butter. The gravy was seriously divine, I must say.

[dcfullest]

here is the best brining explanation i have read:
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/70/Brining

however, alton brown's food network show about brining was the thing that converted me.

[mpellet771]

I've had only one organically grown chicken and it tasted so much like chicken that it was okay that it was so small. Enjoy that turkey. I like your leeks idea. Your gravy must have been delicious.