Thanksgiving dinner is a big deal, even if as my wife points out, it’s pretty much like any Shabbat in our home – many people gathered around too much food, having a good time. Given the number of mouths to feed, whether every week or every year, we can all use a few shortcuts to make the whole thing easier, no? Well, here is one that explains why kosher birds are actually advantageous even if you don’t keep kosher.
The core issue in Kashering (making kosher) any animal is removing as much blood as possible before consumption. This goes back to the covenant with Noah in Genesis 9:4, “You must not eat any flesh with its life blood in it”. According to rabbinic tradition, that demands not only a specific method of slaughter, but also the salting and subsequent salting of the meat, before cooking. In other words, all kosher meat is brined before preparation! How’s that for convenient?
In case you are wondering, brining is the process by which the meat is soaked salted water, creating a more flavorful and juicy product at the end of cooking. It’s healthier than basting with oil or other fats like butter (the latter would not be kosher, by the way), and actually far more effective at obtaining the desired juicy bird.
So whether you keep kosher or not, if you want to cook like a foodie, but have no interest in the extra steps or work involved, buy a kosher turkey and consider yourself a few step ahead of the game. And in the case of poultry, it’s also healthier.

I don’t make such claims casually, and do not believe that the reason for the kosher laws is rooted in physical health. In the case of poultry however, kosher is healthier at least as far as salmonella and other bacteria are concerned.
Unlike “regular” birds, which are soaked in hot water prior to plucking (it makes them easier to pluck because the hot water loosens the skin), kosher birds must be cold-soaked. Using hot water would run afoul (sorry, I couldn’t resist) of the prohibition against cooking before the aforementioned salting/soaking/brining process which happens after the birds are plucked. Hot-soaking the birds essentially allows them to rest in what becomes a bacteria soup, which is why regular foul must be cooked to the point of dryness in order to assure that it is bacteria free.
So for a healthier, easier (albeit pricier) Thanksgiving, consider a kosher turkey. Or, just consider this a bit of insider information on some of the lesser-known benefits of eating kosher. Either way, Happy Thanksgiving to all!