D and I are going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving, and she tells
us she's getting an heirloom turkey for the feast. Has anybody had an
experience with such a thing?


modom

modom wrote:
>
> D and I are going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving, and she tells
> us she's getting an heirloom turkey for the feast. Has anybody had an
> experience with such a thing?
>
> modom


I hope that doesn't mean she's had it in
her freezer for 20 years....

;-)
gloria p

On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 15:02:08 -0600, modom > wrote:

>D and I are going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving, and she tells
>us she's getting an heirloom turkey for the feast. Has anybody had an
>experience with such a thing?
>
>modom

My grandpa once shot a wild turkey at the end of an unsuccessful deer
hunting trip in central Texas, and brought it home to an unhappy
grandma. She cooked the old bird (the turkey, not my grandpa), and we
all tried our best to like it. Is that what you mean?

I suppose there could be some genetic segue still available between
"I'm a wild turkey and I'm smarter than most of you," and "my breast
is so white that I can't flap my wings," so maybe she has found such a
beast that could be called an "heirloom," but I don't know of it.

Will you let us know what you find out?

David

"modom" > wrote in message
...
> D and I are going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving, and she tells
> us she's getting an heirloom turkey for the feast. Has anybody had an
> experience with such a thing?
>
>
> modom

From google first hit.

It's Turkey Time?

Last year Northwest gastropods ordered 225 turkeys as part of Slow Food
USA?s campaign to bring the American Heirloom Turkey back from the verge of
commercial extinction. This year we hope to double that number.

The turkey: Traditional American Bronze variety, Wishart strain. Raised to
order by Wish Poultry of Prairie City, Oregon. These birds are hatched in
April, prairie raised: grain-fed, pesticide and antibiotic free and
harvested just before the Holidays.

Second Hit

To many folks, Southern food conjures up visions of everything from ham &
biscuits to grits & gumbo to great bbq & great bourbon, with pecan pie to
cap off a serious meal. But what do you do if you are a turkey growing up in
the heart of Kentucky? You take a name that not only speaks to place, but
speaks as well to Kentucky tradition. So it is with the Bourbon Red,
developed in the late 1800s from a Pennsylvania breed known as the Tuscarora
Red & is to date the most popular (and says Miriam Burros of the New York
Times, the most tasty) of the heirloom turkey breeds.

Also known as the Bourbon Butternut or Kentucky Red in the bluegrass region
of Kentucky. It resulted from breeding stocks taken to Kentucky & selected
for improved meat production & a darker red color. Recognized by the
American Poultry Association in 1909 & it was ambitiously promoted - today
it remains the most numerous of heirloom turkey breeds on Slow Food's Ark
USA. (Slow Foods is a pun on the Fast Food not very healthful or tasty
movement)

Dimitri

Hark! I heard say:
> modom wrote:

> > D and I are going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving, and she tells
> > us she's getting an heirloom turkey for the feast. Has anybody had an
> > experience with such a thing?

> I hope that doesn't mean she's had it in her freezer for 20 years....
>
> ;-)

Heh, I have one that's been in the freezer for six years! We had
a power outage and it partially thawed, but I still haven't gotten
around to throwing it out. I figure it helps to keep the freezer
cold...


--
j*ni p. ~ mom, gamer, novice cook ~
...fish heads, fish heads, eat them up, yum!

On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 15:02:08 -0600, modom > wrote:

>D and I are going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving, and she tells
>us she's getting an heirloom turkey for the feast. Has anybody had an
>experience with such a thing?
>
>
>modom

Depending on exactly what she means by "heirloom turkey" it likely
won't be as large breasted as a modern hybrid turkey, but if it was
raised on grass like most I've read about it's going to taste much,
much better.

Presuming, of course, that she does a good job of cooking it.

......Alan.


--
Curiosity killed the cat -
lack of it is killing mankind.

modom > wrote in
:

> D and I are going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving, and she tells
> us she's getting an heirloom turkey for the feast. Has anybody had an
> experience with such a thing?
>
>
> modom

I myself wouldn't like a turkey that's been in the family more than 2
generations.

There are many heirloom animals out there, from sheep to donkeys to cows to
now apparently turkeys. These like the seeds are no longer commercially
viable. So only very few breed these animals.

On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 21:09:42 GMT, Puester >
wrote:

>modom wrote:
>>
>> D and I are going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving, and she tells
>> us she's getting an heirloom turkey for the feast. Has anybody had an
>> experience with such a thing?
>
>I hope that doesn't mean she's had it in
>her freezer for 20 years....
>
>;-)
>gloria p

This occurred to me, as well, but it appears to be an older breed of
domesticated bird. Non-Butterball, that is. I'm wondering if any
rfc-ers have either cooked or tasted one.

modom

On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 21:21:19 GMT, David Wright
> wrote:

>On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 15:02:08 -0600, modom > wrote:
>
>>D and I are going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving, and she tells
>>us she's getting an heirloom turkey for the feast. Has anybody had an
>>experience with such a thing?
>>
>>modom
>
>My grandpa once shot a wild turkey at the end of an unsuccessful deer
>hunting trip in central Texas, and brought it home to an unhappy
>grandma. She cooked the old bird (the turkey, not my grandpa), and we
>all tried our best to like it. Is that what you mean?
>
Stephan Pyles has a recipe for wild turkey and cornbread dressing.
I'd guess you don't cook wild birds like you cook store-bought ones,
but I have neither Pyles' recipe here nor any experience with wild
foul beyond some dove breasts I baked thirty years ago.

>I suppose there could be some genetic segue still available between
>"I'm a wild turkey and I'm smarter than most of you," and "my breast
>is so white that I can't flap my wings," so maybe she has found such a
>beast that could be called an "heirloom," but I don't know of it.
>
This appears to be what's on the menu. Like with older cultivars of
tomatoes people call heirlooms, there are breeds of domesticated
turkeys that are not much in favor with the factories that produce
most of our Thanksgiving birds.

>Will you let us know what you find out?
>
I'll take notes and produce a tasting report after the feast.

modom

On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 21:44:08 GMT, "Dimitri" >
wrote:

>
>"modom" > wrote in message
.. .
>> D and I are going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving, and she tells
>> us she's getting an heirloom turkey for the feast. Has anybody had an
>> experience with such a thing?

>From google first hit.
>
>It's Turkey Time?
>
>Last year Northwest gastropods ordered 225 turkeys as part of Slow Food
>USA?s campaign to bring the American Heirloom Turkey back from the verge of
>commercial extinction. This year we hope to double that number.

Yikes! Gastropods! I knew the slugs got bigger than andouille
sausages up there in Washington State, but I had no idea they could
order their food like this. Slow food = munchies at a snail's pace?
>
>The turkey: Traditional American Bronze variety, Wishart strain. Raised to
>order by Wish Poultry of Prairie City, Oregon. These birds are hatched in
>April, prairie raised: grain-fed, pesticide and antibiotic free and
>harvested just before the Holidays.
>
Thanks for the info. Have you tasted one?

>Second Hit
>
>To many folks, Southern food conjures up visions of everything from ham &
>biscuits to grits & gumbo to great bbq & great bourbon, with pecan pie to
>cap off a serious meal. But what do you do if you are a turkey growing up in
>the heart of Kentucky? You take a name that not only speaks to place, but
>speaks as well to Kentucky tradition. So it is with the Bourbon Red,
>developed in the late 1800s from a Pennsylvania breed known as the Tuscarora
>Red & is to date the most popular (and says Miriam Burros of the New York
>Times, the most tasty) of the heirloom turkey breeds.
>
>Also known as the Bourbon Butternut or Kentucky Red in the bluegrass region
>of Kentucky. It resulted from breeding stocks taken to Kentucky & selected
>for improved meat production & a darker red color. Recognized by the
>American Poultry Association in 1909 & it was ambitiously promoted - today
>it remains the most numerous of heirloom turkey breeds on Slow Food's Ark
>USA. (Slow Foods is a pun on the Fast Food not very healthful or tasty
>movement)
>
>Dimitri
>
Thanks again.

modom

On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 22:32:53 GMT, Hahabogus >
wrote:
>
>I myself wouldn't like a turkey that's been in the family more than 2
>generations.
>
>There are many heirloom animals out there, from sheep to donkeys to cows to
>now apparently turkeys. These like the seeds are no longer commercially
>viable. So only very few breed these animals.

Yup, but I was wondering if anybody out there in rfc land had bitten
into a chunk of one -- or even better had roasted one.

I'm starting to get into this "no longer commercially viable"
comestibles thang. We're going to have free range chicken wings for
dinner tonight.


modom

"modom" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 21:44:08 GMT, "Dimitri" >
> wrote:
>
> >
> Thanks for the info. Have you tasted one?

For several years I used to take the weekend rate at the Marriott Suites in
Costa Mesa across from the Southcoast Plaza (one of the premier malls in the
world). We would take Friday,Saturday and Sunday over the Thanksgiving
weekend. The Hotel shuttle would drop us off and pick us up after shopping.
Then to the Jacuzzi with a bottle of red.

I mention this because on one trip we stopped at the Chanel store for some
soap and dusting powder. Now at that time I was nuts really nuts for Red
Ties that is all I wore. I spotted the most beautiful red tie I had ever
seen. It was a strong red with little yellow daises. It was gorgeous,
classy, suave, and tasteful. That tie said who you are and would be perfect
really perfect with a Blue or black pinstripe suit and an oxford cloth blue
shirt.

I walked over felt the silk and turned the tie around and noticed the tie
was on sale for only $350.00. It surely says who I am. That is a tie I
will never own.

Have you tasted one? (the Turkey)

Nope and at the prices at site #1 I don't think I ever will.

Dimitri

On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 17:08:02 -0600, modom > wrote:

>On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 22:32:53 GMT, Hahabogus >
>wrote:
>>
>>I myself wouldn't like a turkey that's been in the family more than 2
>>generations.
>>
>>There are many heirloom animals out there, from sheep to donkeys to cows to
>>now apparently turkeys. These like the seeds are no longer commercially
>>viable. So only very few breed these animals.
>
>Yup, but I was wondering if anybody out there in rfc land had bitten
>into a chunk of one -- or even better had roasted one.

I haven't cooked one myself, but I have eaten them. Damn good! Like
I said before, they're not double breasted and the dark meat is dark,
but they're damn good. Need slow cooking and brining is a good thing.

Probably won't get another one until I raise them myself. Maybe next
year.

There's a mailing list on Yahoo for heirloom turkey growers.

>I'm starting to get into this "no longer commercially viable"
>comestibles thang. We're going to have free range chicken wings for
>dinner tonight.
>
>
>modom

Well, there's commercially viable and there's commercially viable.
There's another list on Yahoo for Pastured Poultry which means birds
raised on grass. If anyone is interested it's worth investigating to
see if you have a grower anywhere near you.

......Alan.


--
Curiosity killed the cat -
lack of it is killing mankind.

In article >,
wrote:

> D and I are going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving, and she tells
> us she's getting an heirloom turkey for the feast. Has anybody had an
> experience with such a thing?
>
> modom

I'd be edgy about a birdy old enough to be considered an heirloom,
Michael.
--
-Barb (www.jamlady.eboard.com updated 10-16-03; check the PickleHats tab, too.)

David Wright > wrote in
:

> On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 15:02:08 -0600, modom > wrote:
>
>>D and I are going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving, and she tells
>>us she's getting an heirloom turkey for the feast. Has anybody had an
>>experience with such a thing?
>>
>>modom
>
> My grandpa once shot a wild turkey at the end of an unsuccessful deer
> hunting trip in central Texas, and brought it home to an unhappy
> grandma. She cooked the old bird (the turkey, not my grandpa), and we
> all tried our best to like it. Is that what you mean?
>
> I suppose there could be some genetic segue still available between
> "I'm a wild turkey and I'm smarter than most of you," and "my breast
> is so white that I can't flap my wings," so maybe she has found such a
> beast that could be called an "heirloom," but I don't know of it.
>
> Will you let us know what you find out?
>
> David
>

Some years ago we had Thansgiving dinner at the Waldorf Astoria. There
was a choice of domestic or wild turkey. We chose wild and it was
wonderful!

Wayne

"modom" > wrote in message
...
> D and I are going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving, and she tells
> us she's getting an heirloom turkey for the feast. Has anybody had an
> experience with such a thing?
>
>
> modom

Heirloom turkeys are quite a change from Butterballs! But in a good way, I
assure you. They don't have the huge breasts of today's grocery store
turkeys, and they're usually topped out at 12-14 pounds. But, they have
awesome flavor, because it hasn't been bred out of them, sacrificed to the
big breast deities! I've ordered them twice now, and intend to order one
this year as well.

kimberly