retain a good 8 to 10 percent more moisture than an
equivalent unsalted bird. If all you plan to do is cook your
bird, kosher birds are a fantastic way of saving you the
trouble of salting or brining them yourself. The act of
koshering also means that your bird comes preseasoned
with salt—a fact that leads to kosher birds often winning
poorly controlled taste tests in which the competing non-
kosher birds haven’t been salted to an equivalent degree.
On the other hand, kosher birds give you less control over
the finished product. What if you want to add other flavors
with your brine? What if you want to make a salt-free stock
from the leftover parts? I prefer to buy less-processed,
nonkosher birds (which, of course, also give you the option
of buying specific breeds and sizes of bird or air-chilled
birds—see below), with the knowledge that if I want to salt
or brine my bird, I can do it better myself.
More importantly: I have never seen a kosher bird that
meets Certified Organic standards. Most are raised in high-
density factory farms, just like other conventional birds.
Q: It’s holiday time and I’m looking for a great turkey. I
often see labels that say “self-basting” or “enhanced”—
what do these mean?
These labels are far more common with turkeys, but you
may occasionally see them on chickens as well. The birds
are injected with a flavored brine intended to help them
retain more moisture as they cook—and it works. There’s a
reason why Butterballs stay so moist, even when they’re
drastically overcooked. My only problem with them is that
the added liquid dilutes the natural flavor of the meat and