Ever cook an organic turkey?

coasterqueen wrote: This is a bit early, but speaking of Thanksgiving has me thinking about the turkey dinner I have to cook for Christmas Eve this year.

We bought an organic turkey (wish I would have asked how expensive it was beforehand though. ) and the directions the farmer gave us on how to cook it are a bit weird, is the only word I can think of. It talks about soaking a cheese cloth in broth and putting it on the turkey, etc. After reading it I was exhausted thinking of all the work I'll have to put into cooking this thing. In past years we just cooked a regular turkey in one of those roaster electric cooker thingies. Does anyone know, can I do that with this turkey or is there a reason I have to cook an organic turkey different?

Also, for curiosity sake - does anyone know if the chemical in turkey that makes you sleepy - does that chemical come from something a turkey may eat or is that a chemical their bodies produce? Ryan was asking me if an organic turkey would still put us to sleep.

lisar replied: I am no help. I have never even heard of an organic turkey. Let me know how it turns out though.

CantWait replied: I don't know about the cooking thing, sounds odd if you ask me, especially if you have to soak it in brooth, then you have to make sure it's an organic brooth or that really defeats the purpose.

As for the chemical that makes you sleepy, I'm pretty sure it's a natural thing that a turkey produces.

coasterqueen replied:
Yeah, we'd definitely be using organic broths, etc. It just seems like a lot more work the way the directions described. I just wanted to slap the thing in the roaster and go about my business.

Kaitlin'smom replied: well I was going to have an organic one but they are not ready yet, but I was just going to rub spices on like I always do and plop it in the roaster. I cant imigine it needs to be done different.

I also beileve Ketrophin (sp?) is something they naturly produce so organic or not you will still have it.

MyLuvBugs replied: I've cooked a wild turkey....does that count as "organic"? LOL

coasterqueen replied:
Close but not exactly. They would be called "au naturale" because they aren't caged, but they still typically eat of the land which has chemicals in it.

DansMom replied: I always buy organic and just cook it like I do any other turkey. That cheesecloth technique can be done with any turkey, nothing to do with the organic aspect. It just keeps the skin from scorching and keeps things moist, I believe.

I also think triptophan (that chemical, not sure I spelled it right) is a naturally occurring chemical.

coasterqueen replied: Thanks Tracy.

So can you tell me if it tastes alot better than a regular turkey? We paid a lot for this turkey and my FIL is leary about how it's going to taste. I told him it will taste good, I'm hoping.

mom2my2cuties replied: Karen - Organic turkey to me tastes better than an "normal" turkey. In the same way that most organic meats actually taste better. (At least to us)

Also - the cheesecloth thing - that is with any turkey. It's something old timers do to prevent the breast meat from getting dry and stringy. You can prepare it anyway. The last one I had was done with "Emeril's Big Bird" recipe from Food Network.

MyBrownEyedBoy replied: Sorry to laugh, but I just read Tish's response and I can't believe anyone would name a recipe "Big Bird" anything. I just get this mental picture of an 8 foot tall yellow bird singing "Sesame Street". LOL.
I agree with everyone else, the cheesecloth is just an old time technique to prevent drying out the bird. I would think that you could just use your turkey roaster the same way you have in the past. And tryptophan is the sleepy thing and it is naturally occuring.

luvmykids replied: So how was it? I used an electric roaster for the first time and it was the juiciest turkey I've ever had.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: In any case... that hormone is produced in little quantities, and you'd have to eat several turkeys to be put to sleep... the sleepiness is likely induced by the amount of work the last few days to prepare everything, running around getting things done, cleaning, baking etc... and then a HUGE meal and maybe some alcohol...

there's not nearly enough hormone in whatever turkey you may eat at the meal to make you anywhere near groggy even.



ETA - here's an article, copy pasted from www.esho.com

The Answer
Now, back to our original question. Does the tryptophan in turkey make you sleepy after eating a big Thanksgiving turkey dinner?

Sorry to say, that if you're looking for the sedative effect, it's unlikely you'll get it from eating meats like turkey. L-tryptophan doesn't act on the brain unless you take it on an empty stomach with no protein present. Additionally, the levels found in a turkey dinner are far, far too low to have such an effect. So, even though the mass media, CNN and Fox like to hype it and blame post holiday meal sleepiness on the turkey dinner... that's just a catchy sound-bite.. not the reality. The trypophan isn't to blame for the sudden drowsiness that hits right after the meal when the football games come on, and the dishes are waiting!

It's more likely due to the combination of drinking alcohol and overeating - not just turkey, but also mashed potatoes, ham, creamed onions, cranberries, sweet potatoes, peas, stuffing (or dressing, if you prefer), carrots, bread, pies, and whipped cream, (and how many beers did you have???) - all of which have the effect of pulling the blood away from your brain to help your digestive tract do it's work, and the sugar/insulin effect.

On the bright side, more evidence suggest that caffeine is not only not bad for you; it actually helps many brain functions, alertness, learning, memory and countering Alzheimers... so as long as you don't become a total, jittery addict... have a cup of coffee or tea! (and switch to green tea if you really want to claim additional health benefits! )!

mom2my2cuties replied:
hehehe funny you should mention that!!! I had never thought of it that way. I was working on Thanksgiving eve and I got a search and the question was "Can I eat Big Bird for Thanksgiving?" My sole response was "NO!! Kids everywhere would be heartbroken!" And then closed the search..the mental picture of people swarming big bird with forks was just too much for me!

jcc64 replied: We do the cheesecloth thing, organic or not. It keeps the breast meat from drying out, and it does keep the turkey nice and juicy. Doesn't have anything to do with the organic thing.

Kaitlin'smom replied: also I was watching food network and they say to really keep the breast moist cook it breast down, that way its in all the juices, then flip it for the last 30 mintes to brown the top.