It's getting close to turkey time and no one is more aware of this than the members of the Slow Food/4-H Heritage Turkey project! This year nine youth members are raising a total of 175 heritage turkeys for the Thanksgiving market. The varieties offered will be Black, Bronze, Holland White, Lavender, Narragansett, Royal Palm and Slate.
Support this project:
Heritage Turkey Dinner & Auction
Oct 12, 3-7pm at SRJC Shone Farm.
Slow Food Russian River in collaboration with Sonoma County 4H started this project 9 years ago to re-introduce the heritage turkey varieties to the market. This year, over 95% of the turkeys were bred and hatched by project members and their families here in Sonoma County. This was one of the goals that Slow Food Russian River had when discussions began with two 4-H families in 2005 about starting the Heritage Turkey project. Turkey poults, in spite of being larger than chicks, are more fragile and do not endure shipping well. Each year, the 4-H turkey growers have been able to reduce the number of day old turkey poults purchased from out-of-state hatcheries and now are even able to make locally grown turkey poults available to other farmers in the area.
Why all the fuss about heritage turkeys? The commercial broad-breasted turkeys commonly found in grocery stores today have been selectively bred and intensively managed to produce meat in the fastest, most cost-efficient manner possible. Along with these economic improvements it has nearly eliminated their ability to mate naturally. By the early 1960's the Broad-Breasted White had become the industry standard, leaving little or no market for the heritage breeds. Commercial turkeys take a little over 3 months to reach market weight. Heritage turkeys, most varieties of which can be traced back to before the 19th century, are long-lived, natural mating birds with a slow growth rate of approximately 7 months to reach market weight. This allows them time to develop the unforgettable succulence and complexity of flavor found in the heritage turkey.
There's a great way for you to meet your holiday turkey and the 4H youth who raised it! Plan to attend the Heritage Turkey Dinner and Auction on October 12th at Shone Farm. Enjoy an artisan cheese, charcuterie, and wine reception overlooking the beautiful Russian River valley where you can browse a diverse selection of silent auction items. A harvest dinner prepared by popular bay area chefs from A16 and Hillside Supper Club will be followed by an exciting live auction where each of the project's young turkey growers will offer one of their turkeys for bid immediately following dinner. Additional "experience" packages will be offered at this lively auction, including an aerial tour with lunch. This is SFRR's most important fundraiser of the year. Proceeds from this event help support the breed preservation of these fascinating birds through the Heritage Turkey Project, and other projects including the Gravenstein Apple Presidia and the 3-Sisters High School Gardens Project. Tickets for the event.
If you can't join in for the dinner and auction, you can always order your 4-H Heritage Turkey for Thanksgiving by contacting Catherine at thodefamilyfarm@pacbell.net for more information.
