As I'm about to dispatch and butcher my first home raised turkey, I'm thinking about the thanks for all I have , family and friends, and the sacrifices of the life that nourishes our bodies.  

May you all have a happy thanksgiving where ever you are and however you spend the day.

I might have to forge a stainless hook to help me fry this turkey tomorrow. 

He had a good life and will be dispatched humanely. 

Are you going to quench in it's blood?

Lol iron dragon. Happy everything.

Thomas, the turkeys blood was added back the land. He went more peacefully then I've seen in videos on how to do it. I talked calmly to him and thanked him and am on to the rest of the tasks. 

Tom turkey is processed and chilling in brine till tomorrow. It went well. 

I certainly wouldn't want to do a lot more without equipment and helpers. 

22#s hes a big boy for being treated like the rest. 

Das, a lot more spiritually honest and satisfying that just getting a frozen carcass at the supermarket.  I've done similar when hunting.  I've always been primarily a meat hunter with the philosophy that you must eat what you kill.

GNM

 

   This is the 400th anniversary of Thanksgiving.  I just thought that was an interesting fact.   

Actually, the first Thanksgiving in America was held at Berkley Plantation in Virginia in 1619.  A day of Thanksgiving was declared that day.  You  can google for more information.  Pilgrims were 2 years late.

happy Thanksgiving to all

Happy Thanksgiving! I have much to be thankful for this year. 

Das, Your turkey sounds great. Its been a long while since I've had fresh anything!

Yup. Happy Bird Day to all. I'm blessed and very thankful. Hope everyone enjoys the day.

Steve

Deb and I are having a quiet Thanksgiving at home, nothing exotic or home grown. I bought a small turkey breast or we'd never finish it, probably won't anyway. I haven't raised and butchered a turkey or goose in a decade, it's just too much for us. 

I'm not going to list all the things I'm thankful for, it's not a competition. I mark the big one with my signoff. 

Be well Brothers and Sisters, feast well and enjoy a comfortable after dinner coma.

Frosty The Lucky.

He's all done. Too big for my fryer bin so I had to improvise. Used the trash bin I bought new to use for wood burner ash. I would not recommend it. But i had safety equipment ready and it worked out. Initially I grabbed the can to scold for defeathering but realized he was too big for my fryer pot. 

Anyway all turned out great and he had a good flavor, crispy skin, and I'm stuffed. 

Had to make a custom hook that was long enough to go through. 

 

Uh HUH, no picture of a crispy skinned fried turkey and you expect us to believe? Wouldn't it have been nicer of you to offer him a beer BEFORE dispatching and plucking him? 

Sleep well Das and family.

Beer brine . . . Hmmmm.

Frosty The Lucky.

Lol thanks frosty. He wasn't old enough to drink. He ate very well tho. 

Beer was mainly for size reference. And me. I needed one. 

We had a delightful Thanksgiving dinner at Debi's mothers assisted living facility. Ma is 92 and we finally convinced her to move up here, to be close to both daughters. She still gets around (with her walker) and is as feisty as ever. The facility put on a traditional dinner for all residents and guests. Ma has made some friends since being there and there were three of her friends who had no family or guests. We invited them to sit with us and it was a real blast. Everyone Gobbled till they Wobbled. They even asked me to say my grandmothers blessing, I felt honored.

Sneaking it in last minute. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I got to host this year and thus had bird duties (yes bird duties, ha-ha).

Naturally, I went with a bacon weave turkey. It was delicious.

And nobody cooked their turkey on their forge,,, 

I had steak for Thanksgiving; well a small piece that I cut small and gummed.  Luckily there were mashed potatoes, corn bread stuffing, candied yams with caramelized  marsh mellows, homemade cranberry orange relish that I could eat with few teeth.  There was also one pie per adult, 7, and only 4 kids and several were also "not crunchy".  In fact I think I will go get a slice of chocolate amaretto  pie right now, setting my insulin pump to turbo and drawing out my microtome!

Nice looking Turkey and bacon weave Frazer. 

Anvil, I did kinda quench mine in oil. Or would it be temper since the the turkey was cold and oil hot?

I could always load up on stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and sweet potatoes Thomas. 

I call em all sweet potatoes. Could be eating either. I just dont know. 

Unless you search them out in a specialty market you are almost undoubtedly not eating yams. 

Yams are part of the Lily family, native to Africa and and Asia, come in hundreds of varieties and grow above ground.

Sweet potatoes are not related botanically,  not even closely related. They're part of the Morning Glory family and grow on the roots like the even less related "unsweet" potatoes. Our much loved starchy tuberous root potato is in the Nightshade family. 

Here's where the confusion arose. Firm varieties of sweet potato were grown commercially long before soft varieties were. To differentiate for the market they started calling the soft varieties yams. Because African slaves were calling soft sweet potatoes yams because they resemble the yams they were familiar with. They are similar in flavor and consistency. 

Yeah, I had to look up the specifics but I DID know yams and sweet potatoes aren't related regardless how they taste. 

Frosty The Lucky.

You have me interested enough that now I need to look it all up haha. 

So I've most likely been calling it right.  Very interesting that yams grow above ground. 

I never knew enough interesting parts of this that I had to check it out. I'm betting the difference that I've heard of between more yellow and more orange have just been different variety of sweet potato. 

Thanks for boosting my interest. 

Frosty The Lucky.

https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/item/what-is-the-difference-between-sweet-potatoes-and-yams/

I yam what I yam, said Popeye the Sailor Man,,,   The first existentialist,,, sorta 

I saw a display of sweet potatoes today at the store just labeled Yams. 

Went to a friend's place in Kingman AZ. The turkey was the small female they raised , she was 24# when ready to cook. The two males were 31# when dressed.  They had the same problem as Das, needing a bigger pot.