Turkey Day! Question...

[Anarchaotical]

So this will be my first post here, and I am posting on behalf of my girlfriend.

She recently found out that she has Celiac Sprue, and has been adjusting to a new diet in the last couple weeks.

We have been looking at all the great questions and responses, not to mention the list of recipes too, and want to say thank you for being here! It is nice to have such a wonderful community to support those living gluten free.

My question is: Is Turkey ok to have? I heard that it is not wise to eat turkey because they are fed wheat, and somehow you will absorb gluten by eating it? I havent found ANYTHING to show evidence to this so far, just something my girlfriend read somewhere... I would appreciate any response! Thank you!

See you around....

-Jason and Christine-

[tarnalberry]

Turkey meat is fine, but check for things like self-basting turkeys. If a wheat (or grain) containing ingredient is added to meat, it has to be labeled (by USDA law, not the food allergen labeling law). I generally cook an entirely gluten-free thanksgiving meal for my husband and I and the in-laws (and sometimes guests). It's always been very tasty, and way too much food.

[Luisa2552]

If you are doing the cooking and you get a plain, naked turkey and cook it gluten-free, you will be fine. If you are going somewhere else you'll need to find out how they are preparing the turkey. I don't know that I would trust turkey meat from a turkey thats been stuffed (cc would be a huge possibility)

[Anarchaotical]

Thank you for the replies, we shall have a great turkey dinner now.

[Guest thatchickali]

Which "naked turkey" is okay? Like which brand? This will be my first gluten-free Thanksgiving, and I'm not going to the family dinner because they don't understand and I'm not emotionally prepared for that.

But I am cooking for my boyfriend and my immediate family will be coming up here to have a belated thanksgiving with us that weekend.

Is the Honeysuckle White whole turkey alright?

[shimo]

So this will be my first post here, and I am posting on behalf of my girlfriend.

She recently found out that she has Celiac Sprue, and has been adjusting to a new diet in the last couple weeks.

We have been looking at all the great questions and responses, not to mention the list of recipes too, and want to say thank you for being here! It is nice to have such a wonderful community to support those living gluten free.

My question is: Is Turkey ok to have? I heard that it is not wise to eat turkey because they are fed wheat, and somehow you will absorb gluten by eating it? I havent found ANYTHING to show evidence to this so far, just something my girlfriend read somewhere... I would appreciate any response! Thank you!

See you around....

-Jason and Christine-

I eat turkey about everyday but only turkey... meaning it cannot have anything on it. So yeah it's fine if you make sure it's all natural.

[Luisa2552]

Which "naked turkey" is okay? Like which brand? This will be my first gluten-free Thanksgiving, and I'm not going to the family dinner because they don't understand and I'm not emotionally prepared for that.

But I am cooking for my boyfriend and my immediate family will be coming up here to have a belated thanksgiving with us that weekend.

Is the Honeysuckle White whole turkey alright?

This will be my first too, but I always get a Turkey called a Willie Bird. I think they're local birds out here in CA. They're organic with no added hormones and stuff. Then I brine it overnight. YUM!

[Tim-n-VA]

I agree with the earlier posts that the turkey itself is okay, preparation is the issue. Most brands are okay (from a gluten perspective) but read the labels if they have anything added like the self-basting varieties.

The one thing I've not seen mentioned here are those plastic oven bags to cook a turkey. The directions for those usually say to put flour in the bag and shake it. That's one of those steps that a non-celiac cooking for you might not realize is an issue.

[hangininthere]

The Honeysuckle White Whole Turkey should be fine, at least it was as of last year, never know when a company will change their formula.

I e-mailed them last year to double-check when I first found out gluten was making me sick, and they e-mailed back that it was gluten-free.

I can't have soy either, and asked them that too, it is/was soy-free too. Some other brands of turkey have soy added to them, but not the Honeysuckle White. Some brands' whole turkey is soy-free, yet their partial turkey breast has soy added, so have to read labels carefully at all times.

And also hope they labeled it right, because I've gotten glutened from some canned goods (beans and pie filling) that were mislabeled.

I've read that they can legally get away with changing their ingredients without having to change their labels when it's just a small amount they're changing (they make changes sometimes based on which 'crop' is the cheapest at the time). The canned apple pie filling I got at Aldi's said 'corn starch' but it was wheat, because I got glutened big-time from it.

I've gotten the Honeysuckle White whole turkey for years now, and was so glad I could continue having it.

I don't eat anywhere else but home now, or I will take my own food, no way I trust not to get accidentally glutened, I don't want to chance getting sick for days.

Best wishes to all.

[Sweetfudge]

mmm, speaking of which, i had the best pre-thanksgiving dinner the other night. got it from rachel ray's show - go to her website and search turkey blue plate special. soooo yummy! like a thanksgiving dinner all piled into one bowl!

[mommyagain]

My hubby brought up an interesting related question the other day... what about gluten-free stuffing? Is there a gluten-free bread that is similar enough in texture to "real" bread that it would do okay as stuffing? At my in-laws (where we do Thanksgiving every year) we usually do some in-the-bird stuffing, and then a huge pan of "other" stuffing. His suggestion was that the in-the-bird stuffing be gluten-free, and the other be normal. Also, he said that he had already talked to his mom and she is okay with us "taking over" her kitchen to minimize CC!!! I almost can't believe that this is the same man who, a month ago, thought I was overreacting to the CC risk!

I did a quick search on the boards and found a bunch of recipes for out-of-bird stuffing, but I really wanna do the in-bird gluten-free stuffing... any ideas? I don't know that much about making stuffing... do you do anything different if you're putting it in the bird as opposed to out? Thanks!

p.s. sorry if I just hijacked this thread!

[hangininthere]

I make homemade stove-top stuffing, and it stays firm when made right before the dinner, within minutes, and first served, but the leftovers turn to total mush even by time you get seconds during the meal.

Made 'on the side', it would even get mushy by time you took it over for Thanksgiving in a bowl.

So I don't think it will work with the 'in the bird' way, will turn to mush, as the gluten-free breads just don't hold together when moistened, they just 'disintegrate'.

Best wishes!

[jerseyangel]

I call my grocery store about 2-3 weeks before Thanksgiving and order a fresh Butterball turkey. They are so good, nothing injected or added and I don't have to worry about storing or thawing a big turkey--we pick it up the day or so before.

[lovegrov]

I've been gluten-free about 6 years now and I have yet to find a brand of turkey that isn't gluten-free -- just as long as it isn't stuffed.

richard