Heritage Turkeys

THE HERITAGE DIFFERENCE
Heritage turkey vs Commercial turkey.

What exactly is a heritage turkey?

It’s a naturally mating bird with a slow growth rate (taking 26-30 weeks to mature) that spends most of its long life outdoors. By contrast, industrial turkeys live in cages, are bred to grow quickly(14 to 18 weeks to mature) , and can reproduce only through artificial insemination. In addition to growing slower, a heritage turkey is also more active, which results in less fat. In terms of flavor, a heritage bird is worlds away from the dry, tasteless turkeys most of us have grown up eating on Thanksgiving.

Heritage birds have a rich, full flavor and have darker meat. They’re closer to wild birds than the mushier, whiter-meat turkeys bred for obesity and early maturity.