Thanksgiving is over for this year, and all of the leftover turkey is gone, too (finally). For the last several years, we haven’t had turkey on Thanksgiving. It was because I couldn’t find a locally raised heritage bird. I like the flavor of heritage breeds, and I want to support rare breed conservation. If I can’t find a bird raised as I wish, we choose a different meat for our Thanksgiving feast.
This year, I was able to find a new farmer in our valley raising Bourbon Red turkeys. I was almost too late, but I managed to purchase two birds: a nine-pounder and an eight-pounder. The price was very reasonable from my point of view ($7.50 per pound). I raise my own meat chickens, and it costs me $6.50 per pound to raise a slow-growing broiler, so a bit more for a pastured turkey is completely reasonable. Turkeys take longer to mature than chickens, so they’ll eat more. That means more expense.
Anyway, it had been several years since I’d cooked a heritage bird, and I wanted to make sure it turned out nice. I put butter under the breasts and covered them with oiled parchment paper. Then, I roasted the thawed, unstuffed bird in a 350°F oven until the thighs reached approximately 175°F. The bird rested for about 30 minutes before we carved it, and it was perfect. The skin was a bit tougher than I wanted, but that was due to how I cooked it. For the next one, I’ll use butter over the whole bird, or baste it a bit while it’s cooking.
Now, how did we get 15 meals from this one bird? Here’s the complete breakdown of how many adults ate what each day.
Day 1: Thanksgiving
We had guests, so there were four of us who ate our fill of turkey and sides.
Day 2: Lunch
Three people had turkey sandwiches for lunch.
Day 2: Dinner
Three people had turkey tacos for dinner.
Day 3: Lunch
Three people either had turkey sandwiches or a turkey burrito for lunch.
Day 5: Lunch
Two people had the rest of the turkey meat for lunch. We took a break from turkey on day four.
I saved the bones from all the meals and weighed them. I have 2.3 pounds of bones stored in my freezer from this turkey. After we cook the next turkey, I’ll combine those bones to make broth that’ll enrich many more meals.
From just the meat of that one small turkey, we got 15 adult-sized meals. There were 6.7 pounds of meat on that bird, so on average, each portion was just over seven ounces before cooking, but I suspect it was actually closer to six ounces. That’s a generous amount of meat! The meat portion of each meal averaged $4.50 per person per meal.
Our guests all commented that the meat was rich and satisfying. They didn’t feel cheated with smaller portions, and they enjoyed the wonderful flavor.
I’d encourage you to take a chance on higher-quality meat and see just how far you can take it. You might be surprised at how good it tastes and how little meat you need to feel full and satisfied.
I’m looking forward to Christmas, when we’ll eat the second turkey.