Turkey Troubles

[RichmondHens]

We just do ours same as the chickens. Despatch and pluck immediately while warm. Then hang for 2 -3 days then gut. Then either freeze or cook. But once gutted you can fridge the bird and cook it next day or day after.

Oh Scarlet I wouldn't want to be gutting Xmas morning, that is brave of you. I blat round the birds in my pyjamas once it's light enough while husband oversees children and other relatives (we usually have various family staying over Christmas) then return to open my stocking. Husband stuffs turkey and puts in oven. Then it's a team effort of him doing meat and me doing veggies interspersed with present opening and bottle opening (!!!) most of the morning.

Hey we should start a new thread, What do you all do on Christmas Day?

[chris]

Why do you have the carcasses then? Can you not eat them straight away - once done, plucked, gut straight away and then bang in the oven?

[chris]

Oh my Christmas day ritual, is:

Wake up, kids open pressies etc - the usual - but my breakfast is one of those big tins of roses/boxes of roses/any other chocolate. I eat so much I feel sick, then go cook dinner. Eat that, and then eat more chocolate afterwards, and feel really sick.

[petal]

Suppose you could eat them straight away but hanging tenderises and flavours the meat better? I am going to look at calender and do count down from xmas eve. I think I will get neighbour(who is seriously hot and handsome) to shoot the turkey stag - he is enormous.

[Glutton4...]

... I will get neighbour(who is seriously hot and handsome) ...

Steady!!!

[Feral007]

Suppose you could eat them straight away but hanging tenderises and flavours the meat better? I am going to look at calender and do count down from xmas eve. I think I will get neighbour(who is seriously hot and handsome) to shoot the turkey stag - he is enormous.

Who exactly is enormous?

And I"m not even going to go there with the other part of this discussion that springs to mind. Family forum ( keeping my mouth shut, I am, I am. But it's buddy hard!

[RichmondHens]

Who exactly is enormous?

ROFL !!

Spent a whole hour this morning refencing turkey area as they have now decided that the Minorca hens look like turkey hens ....... sigh.

[petal]

Oh, they would do- our turkey stag has killed 2 pekins mistaking them for turkey hens......

[VirginVegGrower]

Suppose you could eat them straight away but hanging tenderises and flavours the meat better? I am going to look at calender and do count down from xmas eve. I think I will get neighbour(who is seriously hot and handsome) to shoot the turkey stag - he is enormous.

Can we all come and watch Mr Enormous?

[petal]

ha ha - shall I take a foto when he is bent over? oh stop it, I will end up on the norty step.

[Acanthus]

This made me laugh a lot. Many years ago my husband and I bought a small holding, and discovered a small hen had been abandoned in a little henhouse. Luckily we discovered her on our first day there or she would have died a nasty death. She joined the geese Gus,
Gladys,Gerty, and Gilly, who we had rescued from some friends and driven up in the back of an old car, in 2packing cases, which is another story. So we decided to have a few turkeys. Ea h evening we would get home late from work, the geese would fly into the orchard from the field and usually hit the washing line, and we would have to lift each turkey down from the apple trees to put it to bed. They don't step daintily onto your finger like a budgie, and taking the weight of a full grown turkey as Christmas approached, in the rain and dark, after hauling at it for 10mins, made any growing feelings of affection die quite fast. I loved my geese and never forgave the fox for taking Gladys, but never again did we bother with turkeys.

[VirginVegGrower]

ha ha - shall I take a foto when he is bent over? oh stop it, I will end up on the norty step.

Yes please and RH I would appreciate one of you carrying a turkey across the field as well - fankoo

[RichmondHens]

Given that I am the only one who goes out in the wind and rain to get the unspeakable creatures a photo is unlikely VVG but I'll see what I can do.

And Acanthus I certainly agree with your last sentence, I too adore our geese but am considering not bothering with the turkeys again next year, although we will keep the breeding pair as pets. Husband did say though that we might hatch "just a few as they are quite fun and make sweet noises"! I shall see how many sweet noises he makes and how much fun he thinks they are when I send him out late at night in the pouring rain.

[VirginVegGrower]

You should write a book RH - seriously give me the giggles!

[petal]

yes please do and I will do the illustrations and cartoons!!