With Jack O'Lanterns and Halloween behind us, it's about time to think about Thanksgiving. Now's the time to order your Thanksgiving turkey, goose, duck, or chickens from local Michigan farmers.
Did You Know?
- Turkeys were domesticated by the Aztecs about 2,000 years ago.
- Benjamin Franklin proposed that the turkey become the national bird.
- Most commercial turkeys are bred to produce a lot of breast meat. These turkeys have become so top heavy that they cannot fly and many have difficulty running. Fortunately, there are many "happy" turkeys raised in Northwest Michigan—birds that can run around the poultry yard pecking for bugs and eating weeds.
Find It!
- 42 Northwest Michigan farms and markets proudly offer locally raised meat. Three farms specifically list turkey. To find a farm, visit www.localdifference.org, click on "search now" in the "find a farm box," then click "meat" or "turkey" and the county you're interested in for a list of farms near you.
Try It!
- Try a different bird—perhaps a goose or a duck—instead of the classic Thanksgiving turkey.
- Try grilling your turkey outdoors. It's a great way to free up the oven for side dishes. Fire up the grill (aim for medium heat), rinse the turkey and pat it dry, and place it breast side down on the grill. Sear turkey on both sides until the skin is golden brown. Next, put 2 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of chicken bouillon powder, a few cloves of garlic, 2 onions (quartered), and 2 apples, quartered, in a roasting pan. Place the turkey breast side down in the roasting pan, spoon the bouillon-onion mixture over the turkey, cover tightly with foil and place on the grill. Grill for 3 to 4 hours (for a 12 pound turkey, longer for a bigger bird), until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 180 degrees. Remove the turkey from the grill and let stand for 15 minutes before carving.
Taste the Local Difference is part of the Michigan Land Use Institute's Entrepreneurial Agriculture Project, which aims to grow jobs, save farmland, and build healthier communities with food that's thousands of miles fresher. Find more than 200 farms and fishers who sell fresh foods on their farms, in farmers markets, and to restaurants and stores at www.LocalDifference.org . TLD lead sponsors are Traverse City State Bank, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indian, and the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce.
