Turkey meat has long been considered the most high-quality and useful form of dietary poultry. Bred turkeys in many countries, including ours. Therefore, useful and harmful properties of turkey meat has long been studied by many specialists.
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Features and breeding
Turkey - a rather large poultry of the pheasant family. It is home to America. Even the Aztecs ate turkey, it was their only poultry. In the XVI century, these birds were brought to Spain, and after a while they began to breed in England, in France and throughout Europe.
Turkeys are considered the largest poultry. Their live weight is: males - up to 35 kg, females - up to 11 kg. These birds of a strong tail and long legs. On the head and on the neck they have specific skin formation in the form of coral, and males with upper beak hangs a fleshy appendage, which when excited bird reaches 12-15 cm. Plumage in turkeys is bronze, white and black, depending on the breed and variations.
Turkey in a modern society is considered very valuable views on the use of meat and is second only to chicken. Very high quality turkey meat in the United States has much higher than in any other country.
In our country, mainly bred breeds such as North Caucasian white, North Caucasian bronze, black Tikhoretsky white Moscow, fawn and white broad-chested.
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Application turkey
Turkey meat is very widespread in cooking. Turkey - very tender and lean meat, which does not require special culinary skill. It is used for a lot of dishes: it is fried, boiled, stewed, baked and added to salads. Turkey breast stuffed with vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, nuts. In many European countries is quite popular stuffed Christmas turkey, baked entirely on Thanksgiving Day.
This kind of meat cooked scallops, which are marinated in oil, lemon juice and spices. Incomparable skewers of turkey, which are suitable for the breast and thighs.
Those who do not like the smell of roast turkey before cooking it is recommended to put inside the carcass boiled or fresh vegetables or nutmeg.
Served very well suited boiled potatoes, boiled rice, fried potatoes, boiled or fresh vegetables.
Serve turkey with white dry wine.
In our country, this bird has a low, as it is thermophilic. However, despite this, this meat is sold in many grocery stores in the frozen and fresh.
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Benefits and harms of turkey
Turkey meat is very useful because it has dietetic properties. The bird bred in many countries, and therefore its benefits and harms have long been studied and proven professionals.
Use turkey meat is that it contains a lot of vitamins A and E. It is very low cholesterol content, which allows it to easily be absorbed in the human body.
Turkey contains large amounts of trace elements: calcium, iron, potassium, and so on. A huge benefit of turkey is protein, which is very necessary to the human body.
This meat contains much more sodium than beef and veal. Useful properties of the sodium contained in turkey, consist in the fact that it enhances the plasma in the blood and provides the normal metabolic processes in the body.
Another turkey meat is beneficial in that the level of fat in it is moderate and contributes to normal absorption of this element, such as calcium, which plays a very important role in the formation of bone tissue. For this reason, this kind of meat is recommended to receive for the prevention of various diseases.
For a long time, nutritionists discuss the benefits and harms of turkey, each time proving that it contains more iron than beef or chicken. Many doctors prescribe turkey anemic. Also, there is a perception that turkey meat is able to prevent the occurrence of cancer.
It is recommended to add to your diet turkey:
young children as foods;
pregnant women, which is important for folic acid contained in the meat;
lactating women;
insomniacs, wherein tryptophan contained in turkey has sedative effect;
depressed and prone to stress;
people who experience heavy exercise.
Of turkey meat contains phosphorus, it is the same as in fish. Yet it is rich in vitamins A, B2, B12 and PP, B6, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iodine, selenium, manganese and sulfur.
Turkey meat has almost no contraindications. It can be harmful only if it is of poor quality or stale. Therefore, choosing the meat, you must be careful to get the maximum benefit, not harm.
In summary, it can be argued that the turkey is almost no hazardous properties are not allowed. However, it should be remembered that people suffering from kidney disease or gout, turkey will not benefit, since it contains a lot of protein. Such patients need to limit consumption of meat.
Yet because of the large amounts of sodium are not hypertensive recommended dosalivat turkey during cooking. In other harmful properties of turkey outweigh its advantages.
It is worth noting that the liver turkey can harm those who suffer from kidney disease or gout.
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Tips on choosing, storing and cooking turkey
If you decide to buy a turkey meat, then you need to decide in what form you want to buy it, frozen or fresh. Today in supermarkets provide a large selection:
whole turkey;
SPLIT to pieces;
sirloin;
in the form of minced meat;
Separately, you can buy a drumstick, thighs, wings, breast and offal.
Choosing this type of meat, it is necessary to pay attention to the carcass, which must be well-fed, tenderloin, leg and breast should be thick.
The skin of the carcass should be light, with a yellowish tinge, moist and free of blemishes.
If you want your turkey was very tasty, it is necessary to determine its freshness, pressing a finger on the carcass if the dent immediately returned, fresh meats, and if not restored, then it is not worth buying.
Store fresh turkey meat must be refrigerated in a plastic bag, but if you're going to cook it soon. Turkey can not be stored for long periods, not more than a day.
If you defrost meat, cook it should be at once as at room temperature it pretty quickly begin to multiply bacteria by repeated freezing and they will remain there.
Turkey cooking recipes there are so many. Her fried, baked, boiled, stewed and smoked. Also, prepare the meat for a couple. Very tasty meat of this species are obtained meatballs, canned, pates and sausages. Very often the turkey included in the diet of baby food.
Each country uses its own methods of cooking turkey meat. So, for example, in the UK preparing a turkey stuffed with berries and mushrooms. In France, the carcass of a turkey stuffed with truffles, mushrooms and rosemary, and the finished dish before serving pour cream sauce. Italians stuffed turkey oranges.
Very useful turkey eggs, and fluff with feathers of this bird is used to make clothes and stuffing pillows and blankets.
Time for preparation of this type of meat in the oven takes quite a lot. When cooking it is necessary to heat the oven to 200 degrees and bake the turkey for about 3 hours.
But turkey is cooked long. For this purpose it is necessary to put into cold water for half an hour and cooking. If you are preparing a second dish, the meat can be put in boiling water and cook for about one and a half hours. The formation of foam is necessary to remove it. It should be noted that during the cooking carcass decreases and loses up to 30% liquid.
If you are going to roast a turkey, it must be on all sides with salt and, if desired, rub with garlic and black pepper.
To Get Juicy meat, it is necessary to lubricate the sour cream and the frying time from time to time to pour fat formed during frying. Time it takes about 2 hours. To fry it, it must turn. Readiness turkey can determine its penetration. If the clear juice is released, it can be assumed that the meat is ready.
