The Ford Family: Turkey Fish Play

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Turkey Fish Play

Cooking a Turkey: Lesson 193

Found a 16 pounder for 76 cents a lb after Thanksgiving. Kept it in the freezer for awhile. When it says "thaw in fridge on tray"...it means it. I had to clean almost the whole fridge because turkey juice leaked everywhere (although it was in a bag and I didn't think I would leave it in the fridge as long as I did). After freezer, fridge, and oven, this is how it looked. Not bad. I used salt, pepper, butter/cooking spray. I thought I took out all the giblets...however once I started "plucking" the turkey, I found the neck was still inside. Yuck.

After leaving it ON A TRAY in the fridge again for days, I decided to take one of my few breaks with all kids sleeping and attack the turkey. I sure didn't want all this trouble to be wasted and let the turkey go bad in the fridge. As I sat for way over an hour pulling this thing apart, I felt like someone lost in the wild, starving, and doing anything to survive... It got a little gross after awhile...especially with some of the sounds that were made while pulling certain pieces off.

Finally! My plate of meat. I got 6 2-cup bags of cut up turkey to freeze and some to leave in the fridge to eat on. Someone else can tell me if that is good or not... It didn't seem like a TON of meat, but maybe it is?? I've made turkey tetrizini and some other turkey/rice casserole dish. Tastes like chicken. After it's all said and done, I would have to say that everyone should cook their own turkey at least just once to get the whole experience. However, I am not convinced that all the work that goes into it is worth it. Maybe I was so slow because it was my first turkey?? But, the sense of pride and accomplishment still linger.