Guest guest Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 We got our turkey back from the paid poultry assassins (only $2.75 to do the deed! Wow!) And since it was around 45 lb I cut it up into managable portions right away, which also helped it cool faster. I put the bones in the stockpot to cook down and was amazed at the yellowness of the stock - Really REALLY yellow, like someone had spilled lots of saffron and turmeric in it. I'd never seen poultry like that before, and we buy pastured chickens when we can. BTW, this bird was 2.5 years old and the meat I tasted was quite tender enough and very flavorful. Just from the ribs, etc. the stock made around 3 cups of fat that I'm going to save to cook the breasts like confit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 2008 Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 Were the chickens you got before pastured or run in Salatin style pasture pens? haecklers wrote: > > We got our turkey back from the paid poultry assassins (only $2.75 to > do the deed! Wow!) And since it was around 45 lb I cut it up into > managable portions right away, which also helped it cool faster. I put > the bones in the stockpot to cook down and was amazed at the yellowness > of the stock - Really REALLY yellow, like someone had spilled lots of > saffron and turmeric in it. I'd never seen poultry like that before, > and we buy pastured chickens when we can. > > . > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Well the pictures at the farmer's market showed them loose in a grassy field, but now I'm thinking that was just " advertising " like the pictures of cows in grassy fields on the milk cartons. I've seen Amish farms that had them crowded together so tightly they could hardly move, then others using the PVC hoop houses that looked pretty good. I never realized before that the fat could be so yellow, and I've never seen that in any meat I've bought, from any of the sources that I thought were good. :{ > > > > We got our turkey back from the paid poultry assassins (only $2.75 to > > do the deed! Wow!) And since it was around 45 lb I cut it up into > > managable portions right away, which also helped it cool faster. I put > > the bones in the stockpot to cook down and was amazed at the yellowness > > of the stock - Really REALLY yellow, like someone had spilled lots of > > saffron and turmeric in it. I'd never seen poultry like that before, > > and we buy pastured chickens when we can. > > > > . > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 --- Renate <haecklers@...> wrote: > I never realized before that the fat could be so yellow, and I've > never seen that in any meat I've bought, from any of the sources that > I thought were good. :{ Renate, I haven't seen yellow fat in the chickens I get either. Here's a photo of what real yellow chicken fat should look like: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3021027021/ This family raises and butchers their own chickens: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3023525556/ The chicken getting butchered had accidentally hung itself on a gate! http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3022679489/in/photostream/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Were those your photos? Yep, the turkey fat was that yellow. I've never seen anything like it. I've got a bunch saved and I'm thinking of trying the turkey sausage recipe I dug up but not sure if that yellow fat will make the color distasteful to people who aren't educated to know it's supposed to be good. > > I never realized before that the fat could be so yellow, and I've > > never seen that in any meat I've bought, from any of the sources that > > I thought were good. :{ > > Renate, I haven't seen yellow fat in the chickens I get either. > Here's a photo of what real yellow chicken fat should look like: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3021027021/ > > This family raises and butchers their own chickens: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3023525556/ > > The chicken getting butchered had accidentally hung itself on a gate! > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3022679489/in/photostream/ > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Wouldn't it be cool to know a surgeon or an undertaker and ask if people ever had yellow fat? Like WAPF type people? I wonder if it should be?? I wonder if one of those " Doctors Without Borders " surgeons would answer a question like that? > > I never realized before that the fat could be so yellow, and I've > > never seen that in any meat I've bought, from any of the sources that > > I thought were good. :{ > > Renate, I haven't seen yellow fat in the chickens I get either. > Here's a photo of what real yellow chicken fat should look like: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3021027021/ > > This family raises and butchers their own chickens: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3023525556/ > > The chicken getting butchered had accidentally hung itself on a gate! > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3022679489/in/photostream/ > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 --- Renate <haecklers@...> wrote: > Were those your photos? Renate, no they're not my photos. They were taken by one of the photo contributors to the Native Nutrition Flickr group, " Wildernessgal " . She has posted a lot of photos from her family farm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 I wonder if that REALLY yellow fat is from the old hens that quit laying. When we raised chickens on our farm when I was young, the old hens had really yellow fat like that. We used those for chicken soup. The younger ones, that we used for fried chicken and roasting, didn't have such deep yellow fat. They had fat like the chickens I buy from my free-range farmer, which is more yellow than if you buy a whole chicken in the grocery store, but not as yellow as the old hens. Other things that I remember are that we always made homemade noodles the day after we killed chickens, out of all those yolks in the hens. And it was all SO good! Soup made from those old hens with that deep yellow fat, homemade noodles made from egg yolks only, with big chunks of chicken in it. Ah the good old days! Kathy From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Sent: Friday, November 14, 2008 6:04 PM Subject: Re: Free Range Difference --- Renate <haecklers@...> wrote: > I never realized before that the fat could be so yellow, and I've > never seen that in any meat I've bought, from any of the sources that > I thought were good. :{ Renate, I haven't seen yellow fat in the chickens I get either. Here's a photo of what real yellow chicken fat should look like: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3021027021/ This family raises and butchers their own chickens: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3023525556/ The chicken getting butchered had accidentally hung itself on a gate! http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3022679489/in/photostream/ others. .. Image removed by sender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 Renate- > Wouldn't it be cool to know a surgeon or an undertaker and ask if > people ever had yellow fat? Like WAPF type people? I wonder if it > should be?? I wonder if one of those " Doctors Without Borders " > surgeons would answer a question like tha It's an interesting question. On one hand, I'd imagine healthy people would have yellower fat, and on the other, too much of a lot of carotenes is bad for people, so there might be some upper limit. - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 My family used to be in the turkey business, so here's a little background you may find interesting. Feed corn will make poultry fat yellow. The industry typically switches to other grains like sorghum, wheat, barley or oats near the end of a feeding cycle to turn to fat from yellow to white. In all meats, consumers vastly prefer white to yellow fat. In fact, the meat grading systems in the US and Canada down grade for yellow fat. Thus showing how out of whack people's expectations about food really are. Of course if demand for yellow fat goes up, I'm sure the industry will respond with corn and not pasture. The only way to ensure yellow fat from pasture is to have a " certified pasture raised " system. But we're not there yet. There is no substitute for knowing your producers, and their practices. I suspect that some less reputable producers will simply keep their stock on corn to keep the fat yellow to satisfy demand for yellow fat. As such, I'd visit any producer if possible to confirm they actually provide pasture. On a side note, wording is everything in the food business and " free range " is a regulated term only for poultry. And then it only requires the poultry have access to the outside. This is commonly achieved by putting small access holes in high density housing buildings. A stock yard is next to the building. All the feed and water is kept in the building. The chickens may go outside or may never go outside. Plus it's not uncommon for each hole to be guarded by a dominant bird so others cannot go outside even if they wanted to. It doesn't require they have access to pasture. I think most of us would be appalled at the kinds of conditions that can legally be called " free range " . The term has no regulation for beef or pork. Here is more detail: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_range On a positive note, enjoy that turkey sounds yummy! Cheers, > > I never realized before that the fat could be so yellow, and I've > > never seen that in any meat I've bought, from any of the sources that > > I thought were good. :{ > > Renate, I haven't seen yellow fat in the chickens I get either. > Here's a photo of what real yellow chicken fat should look like: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3021027021/ > > This family raises and butchers their own chickens: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3023525556/ > > The chicken getting butchered had accidentally hung itself on a gate! > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3022679489/in/photostream/ > > > > others. > > . > > Image removed by sender. > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 --- <paulsonntagericson@...> wrote: > Feed corn will make poultry fat yellow. The industry typically > switches to other grains like sorghum, wheat, barley or oats near > the end of a feeding cycle to turn the fat from yellow to white. , thanks, that's good to know. Is it common for them to feed corn and then switch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 OK, it was a 2.5 year old turkey so maybe that's why the yellow was so extreme. Thanks for the noodle soup thing - we made homemade egg noodles for the first time yesterday - the kids had a blast and they were delicious in the turkey broth. I used semolina flour, thinking I was supposed to but a lot of the recipes said to use all-purpose flour. What did you use?? Does whole wheat work? I'm so tempted to try them now with spelt flour, because it's low gluten. > > I never realized before that the fat could be so yellow, and I've > > never seen that in any meat I've bought, from any of the sources that > > I thought were good. :{ > > Renate, I haven't seen yellow fat in the chickens I get either. > Here's a photo of what real yellow chicken fat should look like: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3021027021/ > > This family raises and butchers their own chickens: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3023525556/ > > The chicken getting butchered had accidentally hung itself on a gate! > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3022679489/in/photostream/ > > > > others. > > . > > Image removed by sender. > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 I wonder how long it takes corn to turn the fat yellow? Ours had been getting mostly milo, sunflower seeds, and wheat-type grains all summer, but I got some scratch grains containing around 50% corn the last two-three weeks. Most of the summer they didn't get any corn. And when I feed them mix with corn, they often pick around it and leave it for the crows and squirrels. > > > I never realized before that the fat could be so yellow, and I've > > > never seen that in any meat I've bought, from any of the sources that > > > I thought were good. :{ > > > > Renate, I haven't seen yellow fat in the chickens I get either. > > Here's a photo of what real yellow chicken fat should look like: > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3021027021/ > > > > This family raises and butchers their own chickens: > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3023525556/ > > > > The chicken getting butchered had accidentally hung itself on a gate! > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3022679489/in/photostream/ > > > > > > > > others. > > > > . > > > > Image removed by sender. > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 - > There is no substitute for knowing your producers, and their > practices. I suspect that some less reputable producers will simply > keep their stock on corn to keep the fat yellow to satisfy demand for > yellow fat. As such, I'd visit any producer if possible to confirm > they actually provide pasture. Yeah, it's similar to the way some chicken farmers will feed their laying hens marigolds or other dye sources to make the egg yolks they sell look yellower and more nutritious than they should actually appear. - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2008 Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 I don't much about the industry as a whole, but I would guess that when it comes to feed it's a matter of what's cheap at the moment and/or what your growing in your rotation, etc. I'm sure the growers associations and ag extension agencies have recommended feed guidelines. > > Feed corn will make poultry fat yellow. The industry typically > > switches to other grains like sorghum, wheat, barley or oats near > > the end of a feeding cycle to turn the fat from yellow to white. > > , thanks, that's good to know. Is it common for them to feed corn > and then switch? > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2008 Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 I have no idea, but it only took a few weeks off the corn to clean them up. It takes 22-28 weeks to raise a turkey depending on the sex or market. > > > > I never realized before that the fat could be so yellow, and > I've > > > > never seen that in any meat I've bought, from any of the > sources that > > > > I thought were good. :{ > > > > > > Renate, I haven't seen yellow fat in the chickens I get either. > > > Here's a photo of what real yellow chicken fat should look like: > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3021027021/ > > > > > > This family raises and butchers their own chickens: > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3023525556/ > > > > > > The chicken getting butchered had accidentally hung itself on a > gate! > > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3022679489/in/photostream/ > > > > > > > > > > > > others. > > > > > > . > > > > > > Image removed by sender. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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