Know Your Turkey and the History of Thanksgiving

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When you think of cooking a turkey for a meal, the one meal everybody thinks of is the Thanksgiving Dinner-sharing that time with family and friends. While that table is covered in food dishes that we all love and brings back good memories. Why is that turkey is so famous for that one day and not the rest? We all know it is nutritional and tasty; is it due to the time it takes to prepare and cook such a large dish? Perhaps that is it. In our busy lifestyles, we just do not have the time to spend 4 days thawing a turkey and then preparing it. Cooking one seems like it could take a few hours longer than we have after work. Actually, there is no reason not to eat turkey weekly. In most markets, you can buy turkey packaged just like chicken. If you are a drumstick person, get only those. If you are a white meat person, you can have the breast bone-in, boneless, tenderloins, and even pre-sliced medallions. So let's dive into what type of turkey you should/can buy. 

The Types of Turkey 

The whole turkey comes in many styles. 

The conventional frozen turkey that you see everywhere in stores generally has been injected with a solution to help keep it moist during the cooking process. Some come injected with butter to assist with cooking also. When one is labeled as Fresh Turkey, that does not necessarily mean that it has never been frozen. This refers to it not having anything added to the animal before purchasing. 

Basically, it is just like the conventional frozen turkey with - most fresh turkeys come in a package looking nothing added precisely like all the rest. One that is labeled Natural refers to how the animal was raised back at the farm. But the government has no guarantee to back up the word "natural" on a label. You must read on to determine if the bird is antibiotic-free, free- range, and/or raised on a vegetarian diet. In certain parts of the world, you buy your turkey on what breed best suits your recipe, like a heritage breed or even a wild turkey. 

As I stated before, buying this meat could be as stress-free and easy as just getting a pound of ground turkey or breast meat. Turkey can take on spices and seasoning relatively quickly. This delightful food can be used to get a great char Flavor from grilling or setting in a smoker while absorbing the sweet smooth smoke of wood-burning. 

The History of Turkey 

The turkey has grown drastically over the last 20 years to take its place in the food recipe world. They have not always had the popularity that they endure now. 

Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States and Canada, and it revolves around a preciously cooked meal, typically consisting of turkey. Furthermore, there is bread stuffing, cranberry juice, potatoes, and pumpkin pie, but the most imperative is turkey. 

This type of Thanksgiving originated from the event we know as "first Thanksgiving," when a meal was shared between the Wampanoag people and the Pilgrims who settled in the Plymouth colony (modern-day Massachusetts). In 1621, the Wampanoag people brought deer to the table while the Pilgrims brought wild "fowl." The historians are confused about the "fowl," as it could have been turkey, ducks, or geese. 

For the pilgrims, giving thanks to God for everything in their life was not a big deal, and no particular day had been commemorated for that very purpose. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, communities would hold their own unofficial thanksgiving celebrations. Somehow by the nineteenth century, the dish had gained enough esteem and recognition and was reserved to be served on special occasions as such. The bird was enough for a whole household, and the turkeys were in easy access. Also, the turkeys on a family farm were almost always available. Cows and goats would be raised for milk, and chickens would be fostered for eggs, while the turkeys were only raised for the meat. Thereby, they were readily available. Furthermore, turkeys have always been affordable to everyone. 

Thanksgiving was then made a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln in 1863, recognizing the significance of the day. It was a day for everyone to gather and pay tribute and acknowledgments to God. Bradford had previously written how the Pilgrims had hunted wild turkeys. This was in 1621, and as turkeys are distinctively found in the North American region, they achieved traction as the meal that was to be served on the day of Thanksgiving. And to further highlight the importance of turkey, I would like to quote a saying from the founding father, Alexander Hamilton. He said, "No citizen of the United States of America shall refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day.'