Omega-3 Turkey Information

This LINK explains why the Omega-3 Connection is so important.

Here are Helpful Links to Cooking Instructions

Roasted Turkey        Brine Roasted Turkey        No Bread Meat Stuffing

How to Cook a Frozen Turkey

What is a plastic Hock Lock and is it safe?

If your goal is to have ample leftovers, aim for 1½ pounds per person whatever the turkey’s size.

For example, to serve 8 people buy a 12-pound turkey.

For no leftovers, plan 1 pound per person whatever the turkey's size.

 

Slanker Select Omega-3 Turkeys Not Found in Health Food Stores

Omega-3 Turkeys are a Slanker Grass-Fed Meat exclusive. Our turkeys are the world's most nutritious turkeys because they are raised with a special feed and supplements that gives them a healthy essential fatty acid profile. They are fed almost the exact same diet as our famous Omega-3 Chicken which Dr. Oz reviewed in this 3-minute video from his television show. Then he conducted an on-the-air taste test in this video segment. In addition to healthy fats, our Omega-3 Turkeys are more nutrient diverse and dense with a zero glycemic index. There are no added flavors, honey, sugar, preservatives, or spices. Our exclusive Omega-3 Turkeys have all these checks in the box.

No Additives
Never Administered Antibiotics
 Certified Humane
 Free Range

But far and away the most important check in the box is that they ate the same feed as our Dr. Oz recommended Omega-3 chickens. (Once again, see his comments on the importance of eating Omega-3 poultry HERE.) It's a special feed that gives our Omega-3 Turkeys their amazing EFA ratio of 2:1.

The Basics

All Slanker Grass-Fed and Omega-3 Meats are Beyond Organic. The meats can be labeled as natural, no sugar, no added hormones, not fed antibiotics, non-GMO, gluten free, high Omega-3, free range, cage free, and humanely raised. What actually makes our meats the healthiest meats in the world and sets them apart from all others is that they are zero glycemic, nutrient dense and diverse, with Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids balances of less than 2:1. These last three points impact health and disease way more than all of the other labels combined. It's why we say "Beyond Organic." It's the actual chemistry of our meats that makes them so healthy. Read our eBook, The Real Diet of Man for a fuller understanding of food chemistry and the chemicals that cause chronic disease.

Our Omega-3 turkeys are a custom-raised, extremely low-volume product which is why they are more expensive than most turkeys. If you are seeking better nutrition and flavor, our turkeys are the real thing. Unfortunately most shoppers do not understand or even care about actual nutritional differences so they end up buying cheaper yet overpriced, nutritionally deficient and tasteless  heritage, free range, pastured, or organic knockoffs. They do that all in the name of trying to eat better and support better poultry practices! That's why shoppers need to understand the differences in order to make wiser choices this holiday season. Our turkeys have an extremely low 2:1 ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs). EFA ratios above 4:1 are associated with nearly all chronic diseases. Pastured turkeys are 8:1, usually more. Conventional, organic, heritage, and free range turkeys have unhealthy ratios of about 15:1 which defines the Omega-3 deficiency. A Whole Foods pastured turkey has a ratio of 13.5:1 as shown HERE.

There's one major, high volume turkey grower with national distribution that raises free range heritage turkeys that are very popular with health food stores. But their turkeys are raised in large feedlot settings eating a typical corn/soy diet that is the same as the cheapest turkey at Wal-Mart. Therefore they are essentially tricking health conscious consumers into believing they are getting something special when their turkeys are not special. That goes to show you that labels usually do not refer to actual nutrition.

What is an Omega-3 Turkey

Below is an actual table from an EFA analysis of a Slanker Select Omega-3 Turkey.

High glycemic foods and the Omega-3 deficiency are the primary causes for so much chronic disease both mental and physical. We solve that by eating foods that are low glycemic and have Omega-6 to Omega-3  EFA ratios that are as close to 1:1 as possible. All meat products are zero glycemic which is great. But all conventional grain-fed meats have EFA ratios of 15:1 or higher. Those ratios are horrible because chronic diseases in people start to occur when EFA ratios exceed 4:1. As you can see in this classic nutrition report 15:1 is asking for health issues. Slanker Select Omega-3 Turkey is the world’s only turkey that has a nearly perfect fatty acid profile of 2:1 that is low glycemic and also nutrient dense and diverse. It is a turkey you can eat to your heart’s content and good health.

Were they raised humanely?

Raising Omega-3 turkeys is not a simple task. They are raised in large barns with outside pens. That's in order to protect them from hawks, other predators, and severe weather.  The turkeys are fed a specially formulated, very costly feed. It is far superior to the normal turkey fare of corn and soy because corn and soy cannot provide the spectrum, density, and balance of nutrients required for a nutritious and healthy turkey.

All birds grow very fast. When they are on pasture they are vulnerable to hawks, coyotes, foxes, skunks, bobcats, and other predators. The birds are easily stressed and loses can be high. Another killer is abrupt changes in the weather. Fast building thunderstorms, exceptionally cold nights, hail, even very high winds take their toll. Finding a group of stressed out or dead turkeys because of a some event is not fun. That's why the turkeys have large facilities to provide a safer environment that still gives the turkeys plenty of freedom to be turkeys.

When raising turkeys we have two primary objectives. The first is to provide the finest food for human health as possible.  Chronic diseases are caused mainly by unhealthy diets that destroy health and well-being. Secondly, when it comes to livestock, the happier they are the more profitable the operation. This is true for all livestock operations. Therefore it's not only the love of animals that drives humane treatment but economic sustainability.

We love turkeys. They are a grand bird. We also really enjoy a great turkey meal for the holidays and we've eaten a lot of them. That's why we raise them to be as nutritionally perfect as possible. The idea is to have a Thanksgiving meal that does our body good, not harm.

The belief that most livestock are mistreated is one of the great PETA myths. Aside from a few bad seeds, ALL livestock producers love what they do and love their critters. Otherwise they are in a living hell because it's not an easy business and it DEMANDS their attention 365 days a year. Also, unhappy animals are unprofitable animals. Amazingly, people in the cities and towns seem to think that animals that are pampered are being mistreated while animals that live in a more violent wild state have the life of Riley. This "common knowledge" is a big part of the war on red meat (and white). It's as if the masses (seven billion people in the world) should all just starve, eat grain (the most environmentally destructive food to raise), suffer more chronic diseases, and pay way more for food that doesn't provide better nourishment.

Omega-3 Turkeys Sell in the Fall

We start taking orders for our Omega-3 Holiday Turkeys around the end of October. Normally our customers order more than just turkeys so they can take advantage of volume discounts. We do not yet know the first date we can start shipping turkeys. As always, once the turkeys are sold out we will not have them again until October 2019.

When purchasing turkeys via the Online Store the price is fixed and the weights will fall within a certain range.  Therefore the turkeys are not sold strictly on a price per pound basis, but by the range of weight the turkey falls within.  The regular discount program also applies to turkey purchases.

Omega-3 Turkey FAQs

Do the dining characteristics of Omega-3 turkeys justify their additional cost over free range, pastured, or organic turkeys?

In terms of nutrition, "organic" and "free range" mean absolutely nothing.  Birds raised on grain will all taste basically the same and they will make the same nutritionally deficient meal. Most commercial turkey rations are 65% Corn, 30% Soybean Meal, 5% Vitamins and Minerals. That's also the same feed pastured birds receive. That ration produces a EFA Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio of nearly 15:1.  How can Thanksgiving be a celebration of thankfulness when its centerpiece is so nutritionally deficient?

Can I purchase a "fresh" Turkey?

Our turkeys are harvested in late October and early November, as are 90% of all Turkeys harvested for Thanksgiving and sold throughout the nation.  They are chilled to 30 degrees immediately.  Then in transport the temperature will probably drop to 26 degrees or so. Turkeys labeled "fresh" can be stored at 26 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature at which tiny ice crystals may form in the meat. Temperature fluctuations during transport and storage (at the store and at home) can cause these crystals to thaw and refreeze, punching holes in the cell membranes of the meat and causing them to lose moisture.

Consequently nearly all of the turkeys sold in America are "frozen" at one time or another. It's the best way to retain optimal freshness. Deep freezing, such as we do, preserves them even better than keeping them refrigerated or just slightly frozen (assuring a safer food supply) and has absolutely no impact on the eating characteristics. For proof of that, just ask the people who believe they only eat birds that have never been frozen! I guess what they don't know positively impresses their sensory perceptions.

After we receive the birds we gradually lower their temperature to minus five degrees. We do this in order to guarantee the very freshest bird for your Thanksgiving meal. We ship our birds all over the nation and we could not ship a "fresh" (thawed out) bird and keep it at the same "safe-meat" temperature as when it leaves our facilities. No one can. Consequently, so called fresh birds always arrive somewhat aged, shall we say, in that in some cases they are no longer even chilled.  Because our birds are sub zero when they leave our facilities we can utilize less expensive shipping alternatives and save you money without even coming close to compromising the integrity of a very excellent product.

It is all a matter of meat safety and eating enjoyment. We would not want to eat a bird that was processed in early November and kept in a refrigerator until November 22nd. That's two full weeks! Not the best practice in our view. And it would be especially worrisome to us if at one time between slaughter and some many days prior to cooking its temperature had risen to maybe 60 or 70 degrees. We want our birds to be room temperature when we start to cook them, but that's the only time.

We try to raise a substantial supply of birds every year with the supply targeted to sell out during the Holiday window. Yes, the early bird gets the worm and therefore it isn't forced to eat a tasteless corn and soy fed turkey that represents everything that's wrong with the conventional meat supply.

Should You Ask Why?

Did your Holiday Turkeys of bygone years host the following legend?

“Containing up to 8% of a solution to enhance juiciness and tenderness. Solution ingredients: Turkey broth, salt, sodium phosphate, sugar, flavoring.”

Most of the poultry products sold in America have "enhancement" labeling.

Poultry products from Slanker Grass-Fed Meat do not.

Our meats are the real thing.

They certainly do not need artificial flavoring.  In fact, some people are surprised that turkey can actually have a flavor.