HERITAGE TURKEYS
from Nature’s Little Farms in Kellogg, MN
Cooks of Crocus Hill has once again managed to get a hold of a handful of heritage turkeys for the holiday season. These exceptional birds are delivered fresh to Cooks within a day of being slaughtered and are never frozen. Our supply is very limited, so place your order early to ensure you’re dining on the best Thanksgiving turkey on the market.

These birds are raised on Nature’s Little Farms in Kellogg, Minnesota, where they get plenty of sunshine, fresh air, grass and the freedom to run around. Antibiotics, hormones and animal by-products are never used. This, in turn, produces the best bird money can buy.

$8.99 per pound. (Available in two size ranges: 6–10 lb. and 11–17 lb.) Since we can only provide weight ranges at this time, your bird will be weighed and priced prior to payment on the pick-up day. A $75 deposit is required for large birds, a $50 deposit is required for small birds.

Call to order. Pick up after 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 23, at either location. Customers MUST pick up their bird that evening, due to a lack of refrigeration for the birds at Cooks. Cooks isn’t responsible for birds not picked up on Tuesday, November 23.

America’s heritage turkeys were bred for fine flavor, beauty, and “thriftyness” or good yield of meat from the food provided. They needed to be hardy, self-reliant birds. After all, they were sometimes herded to market in flocks. The Naragansett and Bourbon Red varieties are two beautiful representa-tives.

By the 1960s heritage turkeys had been driven from the market by the industrial Broad-Breasted White. By 1990 they were very near to extinction. Today’s Broad-Breasted White turkeys cannot mate naturally. They don’t even walk well. Their narrow genetic base make them vulnerable to catastrophic disease. Their meat is dry and lacks flavor.

The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy has acted to preserve the traditional heritage varieties of turkey our grandparents enjoyed, but these varieties are still ser-iously threatened. Slow Food is working with ALBC to broaden awareness of these precious, traditional farm animals, and to stimulate demand for their delicious meat.

If you would like more information on Heritage Turkeys, the Heritage Turkey Foundation is a great place to start.

Want to get your hands on a organic, free-range Bourbon Red? Look no further than Cooks’ Crop Shares. Call to order: 651.228.1333 in St Paul or 952.285.1903 in Edina.