Heritage Turkeys - A True Holiday Tradition
Nothing says Thanksgiving like a fully dressed out turkey surrounded by delicious sides, a few football games, and a slice…or two of pumpkin pie. Growing up I never gave much thought to that perfectly roasted turkey sitting on the table. Even as a young adult trying to roast my first turkeys in a bag - I never thought much about where it came from. As far as I knew a “fresh turkey” simply meant that it was only frozen for a few weeks and some turkeys had a little pin that would pop up when fully cooked inside. But as I grew in both age and awareness of what and where my food was coming from, I began to realize that not all turkeys were created equal.
For most American homes, a trip to the grocery store or local market will provide access to what most of us think of when it comes to a turkey: a broad breasted or “butterball” type turkey. They can often be found in very large sizes (up to and over 25 lbs) and typically come with a lot of white breast meat. They get the job done and you can’t beat the price when you find a good sale.
A little lesser known and harder to find are the Heritage Breed Turkeys. Structurally, they are slower growing and once dressed on the table, you will find larger legs and a smaller chest than what you will find in a supermarket. Price-wise, depending on the market and size of the farm, they can cost up to 10 times that of a typical butterball from costco or walmart.
Up to 10 TIMES as much?!?!
Yes, I said that, but it is important to understand the turkey and the industry in order to understand the price so let’s break it down further.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Americans will consume over 60 million turkeys. They are without a doubt an ingrained component to our holiday festivities and gatherings. This part hasn’t changed much over the course of the last few hundred years. What has changed, specifically in the last 60 years, are the industrialized food systems producing and making these turkeys available. 99% of the turkeys sold in the US each year are the broad breasted white turkeys. These turkeys are intentionally bred to grow as efficently as possible, minimizing the length of time to reach market weight and maximizing the feed conversion rate. They essentially grow very big in a very short amount of time, often to the detriment of other quality of life traits. A full weight of 40 lbs can be obtained in 20 weeks of life and younger turkeys can be harvested as early as 14 weeks for consumers prefering a smaller bird. 70% of their weight is in their chest which is where the name “broad breasted” comes from. While this will produce a lot of white breast meat for the table it ultimately renders that turkey unable to walk properly, fly, mate or tend to young turkeys while it is still alive. These turkeys are bred only by artificial insemination and are widely available. It is safe to say that, while there are smaller scale pastured turkey farms out there, most of these turkeys are produced/raised in large productions buildings and, unfortunately, never see fresh ground or grass.
Heritage Breed Turkeys are descendents of wild turkeys originally found in North and South America. They are the turkeys that were served for the holidays before factory farming and industrialization pushed the market to the fast growing alternative we have today. Heritage breeds are rare and classified as 8 specific turkey breeds by the American Poultry Association: Black, Bronze, Narragansett, White Holland, Slate, Burbon Red, Beltsville Small White and Royal Palm. They are not nearly as common as their broad breasted counterparts with production turkeys coming in at about 30,000 per year. Heritage breeds typically take 24-30 weeks for 10-30lb turkeys. This slower growth is harder from a feed conversion and price perspective, but it also allows their bodies to develop naturally allowing them to mate as well as survive in outdoor, minimmally confined (if at all) pasture based environments. In addition to allowing these birds a more respectful and natural life, the slower growth rate allows a richer flavor to develop in the meat, ultimately driving its place at the center of your holiday dinner.
I know that the heritage turkeys can not meet the full turkey demand for the holidays each year. There simply aren’t enough out there. But I am increasingly aware that we all make choices for what we eat and allow into our bodies. As well as what we support or find acceptable in terms of animal husbandry and treatment of animals prior to processing. In this blog, I am barely scratching the surface of what is involved in the commercial mass production of holiday turkeys - I simply stopped at the breeds of turkeys available and what that means for their quality of life. A Heritage breed turkey is expensive and finding one for $100 or more is not as crazy as it might seem when compared to a $20 turkey from Walmart. Understanding the basics of their biology, breeding and growth rate differences is only the beginning in unpacking the true cost or quality that heritage breeds have to offer.
Even if you don’t try a heritage turkey this year, it is becoming easier and easier to find broad breasted turkeys that are raised on pastures by local farmers. They will be a little more expensive than the walmart turkey, but I also know that those pastured birds will be among the small percentage served this holiday season that were given fresh grass and bugs every day - a respectful raising for an animal ultimately intended to feed and nurture the family sitting around the dinner table.
I would encourage everyone to try the heritage turkeys if you can find them. This year we are growing Black and Burbon Red varieties for our local customers. The flavor is unmatched and they saw fresh bugs and grass every day. It is a pleasure to give them a good life knowing what they, in turn, will provide to our family in terms of nutrition and sustinance. For more information regarding the breeds we raise or our practices here on the farm, please feel free to email us. Happy Holidays!