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Turkeys Are Twice as Big as They Were in 1960 (theatlantic.com)
Alexis Madrigal, writing for The Atlantic: A turkey today is not the turkey of yesteryear. For decades, animal breeders have been transforming the genomes of turkeys to make them grow larger. Since 1960, the weight of turkeys has gone up about a quarter of a pound each year. The average weight of a turkey has gone from 15.1 pounds in 1960 to 31.1 pounds in 2017. And most of that change has been genetic. In one study of a representative strain of turkeys, poultry researchers fed the same diet to turkeys from 2003 and to a control group of turkeys that were representative of that strain's genetic pool from 1966. On average, the 2003 females grew to 33 pounds. Their 1966 cousins only got to 16.3 pounds.
twice as heavy as 1960, thought this was article about obese americans
I'd rather eat chicken. Turkey is the _worst_ of the domesticated birds.
Also: Duckhen is much much better than TurDuckHen.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
The phrase "transforming the genome," although accurate, may be a little misleading to the non-science public. What this means is "selective breeding," not "genetic engineering."
It is interesting to compare farm-bred turkeys to the wild ones. We do get wild turkeys in our backyard-- they are quite impressive birds, not at all similar to the big-but-dumb coop-raised turkeys.
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
Have you tried brining it and not over-cooking?
Bad User. No biscuit!
But either of those ways keeps it juicer....and if you smoke it, the leftovers can be used for smoked turkey and sausage gumbo, you also boil the carcass for stock for the gumbo...YUM!
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
10% of U.S. adults were classified as obese during the 1950s. In 2011 to 2012, however, the CDC reported approximately 35%. Source: https://www.livestrong.com/art...
I've just never liked roasted/baked turkey.
Maybe its because I don't generally drink and eat at the same time, I don't wash my food down....so, ANY roast turkey I've ever had, tastes mostly like dried cardboard to me.
I started my own tradition decades ago, each year I do a standing Rib Roast.
We always do a ham and a turkey for Thanksgiving, but a while back I was able to talk my family into doing standing rib roasts for Christmas. So much better. Turkey is always so dry, and the skin is tough, dry, and stringy.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
News at 11.
...that's a space station! No, wait... that's no space station, that's a 2017-strain American Turkey! Change course!
Can't, it's got us stuck in its massive gravitational field! Well, it won't take ME without a fight!
Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
A criminal, Keptin... a product of late 20th century genetic engineering!
Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
Stop making shit up. We spend many millions/year treating obesity related health issues in poor people. They get free electric scooters, so they don't have to exercise at all.
The reason to cuss the GP is for overcooking great meat. Low and slow is for cheap cuts. For Prime rib, just shine a flashlight on both sides...it's cooked.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Ok...so,what exactly are you saying?
Are you saying because some in the world aren't as fortunate as me, that I should forever deny myself a few worldly pleasures, such as cooking and eating a nice meal with my family?
The world is a large and tough place. Not everyone is equally blessed or gifted. But that's no reason not to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
I'm not a wealthy man, but I do ok....I'm generally of the quality of quantity school of thought.
I RARELY if ever eat junk food out. I prefer to shop and cook for myself, trying to keep it as healthy as possible. I'd rather do that, and save my $$ to splurge occasionally for a nice meal out at a restaurant with a fine wait staff and good wine...OR, like on Tday and special occasions where I go out, and buy something really nice to enjoy.
I suppose YOU are going to dine on nothing more than Dinty Moore or Spaghettio's until the world has succumbed to social justice and everyone eats on the same level, right?
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
since I've always hated the stuff, but modern fruit is just awful. Oranges especially. They grow to the size of grapefruits and as a result the tree can't get enough sugar or flavor to them. They taste like balls of fiber and wax. I stopped buying them. I can by the various breed of tangerines I guess but it's just not the same. I miss real oranges.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
I'll pull it off the heat at about 125F and let it rest about 25-30 min before carving..it should be right about at medium rare at that point.
I was actually thinking of trying to do a makeshift of the "reverse sear" method I used on steaks > 1".
In that when I pull it maybe at 122F...let it rest, I'll fire up the BGE on high...and throw the roast back on for just a couple minutes to get a good crust on it, yet keep it medium rare....
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
We are prospering too much!
Seriously I can easily image JFK, Eisenhower, or one of those guys promising that in the future Turkeys would be larger.
They're larger in part because our better economy carries that demand.
Ya and we could literally feed dozens of people with the money each crack addict spends on crack daily. We could also feed dozens with the money spent on free needles at safe injection sites daily. We could feed millions with the money that's given out in welfare and ends up getting spent on booze, cigarettes, and lotto tickets. So excuse me if I don't particularly care that there are millions of citizens still going hungry. You've been using them as an excuse to take more and more from the hard working citizens that are doing their best to improve their own lives for a half century, and you never get any closer to solving the problem of poverty.
Just in case you're wondering why after cooking your meat has about 10% of its original size, feast your eyes on this.
In other words, how big is your turkey after roasting for a few hours? Is it still bigger? Or did it "sweat"?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
^^ Ironic small minded pretentious asshole.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
What time are we eating? I've got a bottle of some good bourbon I can bring.
You are welcome on my lawn.
How many people you think we could feed for the half a trillion dollars we've spent on the F-35?
You've been spending trillions on weapons and we never get any closer to solving the problem of war.
You are welcome on my lawn.
While I can only base this on my experience, it seems that the larger the turkey the weaker the flavor seems to be. I wonder if much like fruit, the turkey has been bred only for size and the flavor has been ignored. Sure you get 30+ pounds of turkey, but it might as well be tofu for all the flavor it has. Maybe that's why they're all injected with 'flavor enhancers'. The turkeys we get from the local farmer around here are smaller (15-20 pounds on average) but they taste so much better. We did a side by side comparison one year and couldn't believe the difference. Of course you pay for that flavor, but for once a year it's well worth it.
So it's not as "cool" as Jurassic Park, but hey... baby steps.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
I tried smoking a turkey, but I couldn't keep it lit.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Think of it as evolution in action.
Can you please post weight measurements in other units, as Europeans have a hard time with Pounds.
For instance, what would those turkeys weight in stones ?
> How many people you think we could feed for the half a trillion dollars we've spent on the F-35?
Are you suggesting we take money from the welfare program and funnel it into some sort of welfare program?
Have you tried brining it and not over-cooking?
As far as I can tell, almost every turkey sold in supermarkets has already been injected with brine by the manufacturer (at least I've never found wan that wasn't).
So unless you go out of your way to find some kind of "authentic" turkey, more brining would just be salty mushy overkill.
That's because nobody you've had it with evidently prepares it right.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
[*rimshot*]
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I'm not a fan of turkey but after discovering Williamsburg Turkey Soup turkey is always on the menu for thanksgiving so we can have the leftover carcass for the soup. The soup is obscene calorie wise but so good. That and turkey breast on whole wheat with mayo and sweet pickle chips.
I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
Same thing with chicken. For a long time during my 30's I had the impression that chicken didn't taste like it used to, but I dismissed it as the 'good old days' syndrome. Then I visited a town on the savannas in Guyana and ate free-range chickens that didn't look as though they'd been cross-bred with beach balls. Wings, legs, and breasts were much smaller than I'd grown used to, but they tasted wonderful - just like I remember chicken tasting in my early years.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
Let me guess, you it thye white/light meat, in that case I agree it tends to be dry, The darkere meat on the other hand is imho full of flavor.
Disclamer: I live in europe so this may or may not aplay to USW torkys which I can't comment on as I've mever tasted them.Why do I bothet to comment on an article that deaks with US torkys then? Well in my experience people complainingf about torky not having flavor tend to go for the whiite meat (not done any reserch on the topic tho so this might just be a coincidence). I wonder if the same size increase has happened here in europe
5 hours work and you still get Turkey (spit) at the end of the process. Just no.
For only a little more time, I could smoke some baby backs.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Your statement stands on its own just fine. Nothing to refute.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
There are 2 requirements for war, just as there are 2 requirements for theft. There has to be a person or group with no intention to respect the rights of others, and there have to be (potential) victims.
The solution proposed by leftists is that the victim class either let themselves be killed or agree to be slaves.
The solution recognized by reasonable people is that aggressors be restrained, or when appropriate killed. That requires weapons.
Half a trillion dollars given to militant Muslims, for instance, will result not in poor Muslims being fed, but will result in Muslims buying weapons to kill their benefactors. This is the way of the world; you need to grow up and recognize it.
Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
Dry is good. It's a clue that the meat you're eating is low in fat.
Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
How large an animal is at slaughter has little to do with how large the animal can get and more to do with how large the producer selects the animal to meet the customer demand.
I raise pigs on pasture. A full grown pig is 900 to 1,800 lbs. I do not sell my hogs at full size. Rather I raise them to a weight that fits my customers needs.
For standard whole pig family orders that is about 250 lbs live weight.
For roaster pigs it varies from as little as about 20 lbs to 300 lbs with the typical oven roaster being about 30 to 40 lbs and the typical spit roaster being about 80 lbs.
For whole market pigs that I cut to deliver to stores and restaurants the size is more like 300 to 400 lbs.
Back to turkeys, when you raise them you can harvest them at 20 lbs, 30 lbs, 40 lbs or what ever size you like to fit you or your customer's needs.
Yes, we have been doing selective breeding for millennia to improve how feed efficient animals are, muscling, etc, but the selection of size has more do do with market demand and is done simply by raising the animal and harvesting it at the desired size.
If you would like a 1,000 lb pig just let me know. Realize they cost a lot more than the standard 250 lb pigs as they take a lot longer to get to that size and thus a lot more feed too.
The ONLY ways I've found turkey to be remotely flavorful are: Injecting it and deep frying it, or smoking it.
Have you ever tried gravy?
-- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
Which end did you light?
That could be the problem.
I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
You left out the third and most important requirement: A group of rich guys looking to profit from conflict.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Are you kidding? I'm not about to put my lips on a turkey's ass.
Anyway, I vape my turkeys now.
You are welcome on my lawn.
That's all that matters!
They're all GMO's
It's not proof of natural evolution, it's proof of the efficacy of selective breeding.
Basically the same thing except natural selection is replaced with the decisions of a breeder.
Or it's been lost from their genes.
Personally I think we should start with the teeth and big clawed hands.
Maybe start with fast running flightless birds.
Next step, velociraptors!
Buy your beef from New Zealand, we don't have huge corn fields. They're fed grass.
So it's basically been completely removed?
Maybe its because I don't generally drink and eat at the same time, I don't wash my food down....so, ANY roast turkey I've ever had, tastes mostly like dried cardboard to me.
Fried in peanut oil, it's one of the most moist and delicious things you can put in your month. (as terrible as that sounds)
But if you don't want to deal with 4+ gallons (hey, it's a US holiday, so imperial measurements, baby!) of expensive, hot, highly flammable cooking oil, try an electric roaster instead. Yeah, those things you see stacked to the ceiling in Walmart the second after they toss out all the pumpkins and plastic skeletons. Inject the turkey with this stuff, rub it with peanut oil, sprinkle on some poultry seasoning, and toss in the electric roaster. Use one of these thermometers, so you don't let the heat out of the roaster constantly checking the turkey.
The skin will look ghastly, but the meat will be every bit as succulent and delicious as if you'd fried the bird. If this still doesn't convince you turkey is a fricken awesome meal, I suppose you could always celebrate Thanksgiving with a cold Soylent meal replacement shake.
---
DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
It is the same here. The white meat is what tastes like cardboard. The darker meat tastes much better, but people for whatever reason pick the white meat. When the turkey is just out of the oven, the white meat isn't quite so bad. When you are eating the leftovers it really gets try. You have to put something - gravy, or crandberry sauce on the thing to make it palatable. The darker meat still tastes good when eating leftovers.
That problem could be solved with a cooking book. ...
Turkey is a juicy and soft and tastty as any other bird if you prepare it right.
It is actually my favourite after goose
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
Is it true or an urban myth that ovens in the US grew to keep up with the turkeys?
"When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
While I don't like to much fat at pig or cows, a decent amount is necessary.
There is absolutely nothing beneficial in 'low fat meat'.
How do you make a souce from the juice of your meat if it had no fat? Oh, you add butter?
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
Ok...so,what exactly are you saying?
Are you saying because some in the world aren't as fortunate as me, that I should forever deny myself a few worldly pleasures, such as cooking and eating a nice meal with my family?
I think it is likely that he thinks that the money you spend on preparing a nice meal for your family simply disappears into the ether, rather than being recycled into the economy and stimulating further economic activity, and that therefore any minor luxuries enjoyed by anyone other than himself are a frivolous waste of resources.
Whereas US males went from an average 166.3 pounds in 1960 to 195.7 pounds in 2014, a mere 17.6% gain.
Come on humans. Keep up!
Requiem for the American Dream
omg, pot calling kettle black. The flashlight should have no batteries.
Requiem for the American Dream
After the F-35 has brought them democracy, they'll be too busy 'voting' to eat.
Requiem for the American Dream
I'm a *vegan* beggar you insensitive clod!
Requiem for the American Dream
I'm a paramecium and I find your lack of big-picture thinking disturbing, worthy of a Didinium.
Requiem for the American Dream
I tried to inject a turkey - but it wouldn't stay on the spoon!
There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
Yeah, so we're twice as big as we used to be!