Talking Thanksgiving Turkey

In the era of healthier foods, it’s interesting to note that Thanksgiving dinner—already adrift in gravy, whipped cream, brown-sugar-and-butter glazing and cheese sauces—has taken yet another cruise down the Less-Than-Optimal-Nutrition River. Not content, or just not patient enough, to slowly roast and baste the bird the good old-fashioned way, we are now drowning poor Tom Turkey in saltwater brine or plunking him into a boiling vat of hot oil.

I understand that both methods result in delicious, moist meat, but—and call me a culinary Luddite if you will—I’ve never actually tasted these preparations. (My Thanksgiving turkeys are cooked by others—generally quite nicely, thank you—and I’ve never felt the urge to burn down my garage or try to jam a five-gallon bucket in the already overflowing cornucopia known as my fridge.) I’ll assume the general principals seen in “industrially brined” poultry or deep-fried chicken hold here.

I’m not complaining about the techniques, as I’m the first one to give a thumbs-up for better-tasting food. But what I find interesting is that, on just about every other food front, adding excess salt and fat is a hanging offense. And while I’m not certain of the veracity of this particular source, frying apparently gives you “up to three times more fat than if it were roasted,” and brining results in “around 550 mg of sodium” per serving.

And you know you’ll have seconds.

–Lynn A. Kuntz