With so many kinds of turkeys in the market, choosing your holiday bird can be mind-boggling. First you have to choose between a fresh and a frozen turkey, and then you have to-decipher all those other labels like “all-natural,” “free-range,” and “organic” that are so freely bandied about. This year, I set out to untangle the web of terms used to label turkeys, and then I did my own tests to learn which turkey really tastes best.

Fresh vs. frozen

The first thing I learned is that there are new labeling laws for fresh turkeys. The new laws allow a turkey to be labeled “fresh” only if it has never been chilled below 26°F. Before December 1997, poultry producers were allowed to use the “fresh” designation on birds that had been chilled as low as 0°F. The new law is designed to assure consumers that the fresh turkey they buy has never been frozen. (Turkey meat, according to the National Turkey Federation, doesn’t freeze at 32°F, but at a temperature closer to 26°F.)

火鸡冷藏在0°F以下的冷藏必须标记为“冷冻”。或者，如果已出售已被解冻，则可能会在标签上看到“以前的冷冻”。大多数土耳其生产商都认为冰冻会影响肉的质地和味道。当细胞中的水冻结时，它会破坏肉的细胞结构，从而使其在解冻时失去水分（因此风味）。许多大规模的火鸡生产商通过在冷冻前注入水，油和调味料来补偿这种损失。这些火鸡可能被标记为“自我抨击”。

Some turkeys are neither “fresh” nor “frozen.”随着法律的变化，那里有一个火鸡类别闲逛 - 鸟类的冷藏在26°F以下，但低于0°F。他们不能被标记新鲜，但不必被标记为冷冻，使土耳其行业不确定该怎么称呼。因此，如果您看到一只没有新鲜或冷冻标记的鸟，则最有可能在此类别中，尽管有时这种类型的鸟也会被确定为“硬冷”或“以前没有冷冻”。但是为了节省困惑，一些生产商（例如，黄油球）不再生产此类鸟类，为客户提供了新鲜和冷冻之间的简单选择。

超越新鲜 - 专业火鸡

确定火鸡是新鲜的还是冷冻的，您将需要考虑其他素质。许多火鸡都带有“纯天然”，“ Freerange”和“有机”等标签。还有其他专业火鸡不属于整洁的类别，而是由品牌区别。（大多数特色火鸡在假期期间新鲜出售，但有些可能会被冻结。在一年中的其他时候，很难找到新鲜的火鸡。）betway电子游艺

或者ganic turkeys—After much debate and public activism, the USDA issued a policy in January 1999 that allows a turkey farmer to apply to any one of a number of regional or federal certifying entities. If the farmer meets all the criteria of one of the certifying agencies (such as Organic Growers & Buyers Association, California Certified Organic Farmers, or Oregon Tilth), the birds may be labeled organic. Because the certification process is a long one, there are currently only a few certified organic turkeys in the market-place, although many farmers are working towards this goal.

Free-range turkeys—This term seems to stir up a bit of debate since, by USDA definition, “free-range” simply means that the birds have access to the outside. What really affects the quality of the meat, however, is how crowded the birds are, not whether they can go outdoors. For instance, some of the best-quality turkeys are not technically free-range simply because the uncaged birds do not roam outdoors. In order to be certified organic, however, a turkey must be free-range.

“Natural” turkeys——“自然”一词时,我几乎没有意义t comes to a raw ingredient such as turkey. It simply means “no artificial ingredient or color added, and minimally processed.” The term makes no reference to the way the turkey was raised.

犹太火鸡—A kosher label may only be used on poultry that has been processed under rabbinical supervision. The turkeys are grain-fed with no antibiotics and are allowed to roam freely. In addition to being individually processed and inspected, kosher turkeys are soaked in a salt brine before being packaged which gives them their distinctive savory character.

Brand-name turkeys- 品牌名称火鸡是度假鸟的越来越重要的市场。像默里（Murray），贝尔（Bell）和埃文斯（Evans），枫树草坪农场（Maple Lawn Farms），科赫（Koch），威利·伯德（Willie Bird），埃伯利（Eberly's），帝国犹太洁食，戴斯特尔（Empire Kosher），戴斯特尔（Empire Kosher），戴斯特尔（Diestel）等公司都根据其声誉出售火鸡。接受采访时，大多数生产和出售这些火鸡的人都解释说，它们的火鸡和其他人之间的主要区别在于鸟类获得的饲料质量。大多数情况下，饲料中没有动物副产品，通常没有抗生素。

接下来，我了解到大多数这些鸟都没有被笼罩。他们的饮食中缺乏动物脂肪，而鸟类可以自由移动的事实转化为火鸡，比工厂饲养的鸟更慢。这意味着肉有机会发展更丰富的风味和浓密的质地。

品味问题

With so many choices available, the real question remains: which turkey tastes best? To answer this, I roasted a variety of birds—everything from a frozen mass-produced turkey to a fresh certified organic one—to see for myself.

我注意到的最显着的差异是商业上饲养的鸟类和特色鸟之间。我品尝了几只品牌特色鸟（自由放养，无抗生素和全蔬菜饲料），并给人留下了深刻的印象。他们具有良好的土耳其风味，质地很肉，根本不干。作为深色肉的粉丝，我喜欢大腿和鼓肉肉湿润而多汁的方式，但不是油腻的或浓郁的。

Obviously there are differences in the quality of specialty turkeys, and I found that the best assurance is to talk to a knowledgeable butcher or distributor (some of the producers even have web sites). I found that the best turkeys come from small producers who are exigent about the feeding and care of their flocks. While one of the best turkeys that I tasted was certified organic, there were others that I liked just as much that had simply not undergone the certifying process. The extra time and effort of becoming certified translates into a higher price tag on a certified organic turkey (as much as $3.99 per pound).

接下来,我试图确定there was a grave difference between fresh and frozen turkeys, and the results were less conclusive. In general, I found that fresh turkeys were moister with a deeper turkey flavor than birds that had been frozen, but if they had not been side by side, I might not have been as discerning. The most important factor is the quality of the turkey before it heads to the freezer. Also, the freezer storage time and thawing can have an effect on the quality of a frozen turkey.

最后，我品尝了一些自我猛击的火鸡。我不是添加剂的忠实拥护者，但我还发现basting解决方案使肉的味道太大了，就像加工过的火鸡熟食肉。我不推荐他们。

I do have a few important words of advice for cooking a specialty turkey: Use a meat thermometer, and start checking the thigh before the estimated time is up (the turkey is done when the thigh meat registers 165°F). I’ve found that these turkeys tend to roast a bit faster than others do. (One estimate is that they cook ten minutes per pound less than average.)