I just finished noshing on some overdone, over-breaded chicken tenders and greasy french fries which my body will punish me for later when I’m 38,000 feet in the air. But the fries were sprinkled with sea salt so I think some part of that lunch may have been good for me.
I got to thinking about chickens as I dunked the tender into a ramekin of wing sauce. They’re a very versatile bird which us humans have managed to exploit completely. We use their eggs in cholesterol raising breakfast delicacies, enjoy their breasts, legs and thighs “original” or “extra crispy,” slather their wings in 20 different sauces and put our heads down at night on pillows filled with what used to keep them warm.
But what about the turkey?
This bird tends to only satisfy our craving for meat on Thanksgiving or if you happen to be at Disney World and have an intense desire to chew on a turkey leg. You can’t go to the golden arches and order Turkey McNuggets. Burger King has yet to introduce a Turkey Whopper. And I don’t see the Asian Turkey Salad on Wendy’s menu. Almost every good Asian-inspired restaurant has bird on the menu – duck and chicken – but no turkey.
Bad news for the chicken.
As we consume more and more chicken, the demand goes up. Someone said to me yesterday, “did you see the size of the breasts at KFC lately?” Not knowing whether I was stepping into a trap or not, I proceeded with caution. Unfortunately as the demand for chicken goes up, the chicken farmers need to rely on artificial means to get the birds to optimum size quickly and that may result in some chickens who are less bosomy than others.
I for one, enjoy turkey and look forward to the once a year treat complete with plenty of gravy, stuffing and instant mashed potatoes (as they taste much better than the peel-and-mash-by-hand type). Maybe it’s best we keep eating chicken and save the bigger bird for those special occasions.
After all, pumpkin pie just doesn’t taste as good with chicken as it does with turkey.