Turkey Talk for 2014

[podgal]

Okay! 6 BBW done and on ice. 19 weeks. 34 lb, 3 30 lb, 28 lb and 22 lb. Smallest one went lame few weeks ago and I think lost some mass near the end he's mine since he's the only one who'll fit in the roaster. Full breasts and the rest to sausage. Sold 3 at 4$/lb 94 lbs. Made some money back. What a great first attempt. Thank you to the posters and moderators who made this journey not so stressful by providing endless info, insight, and sage advice. Turkey talk 2015 here I come!!!

 

[duluthralphie]

I wanted to raise our Thanksgiving turkey this year, but we never were able to get one, so....we had to b-u-y one.

I guess there's always next year.

I had one I would have sold you alive!!!!

 

[duluthralphie]

Okay! 6 BBW done and on ice. 19 weeks. 34 lb, 3 30 lb, 28 lb and 22 lb. Smallest one went lame few weeks ago and I think lost some mass near the end he's mine since he's the only one who'll fit in the roaster. Full breasts and the rest to sausage. Sold 3 at 4$/lb 94 lbs. Made some money back. What a great first attempt. Thank you to the posters and moderators who made this journey not so stressful by providing endless info, insight, and sage advice. Turkey talk 2015 here I come!!!

What do you use to season the sausage?

Do you add pork fat?

Thanks

I Wish I would have sold one or two to make my choices easier.

 

[podgal]

What do you use to season the sausage?

Do you add pork fat?

Thanks

I Wish I would have sold one or two to make my choices easier.

I bought maple breakfast sausage mix from meatprocessing.com website. Sweet Italian seasoning and casings back ordered so I'm just doing maple and plain ground turkey. Adding bacon fat and bought some casings locally.

 

[TeaChick]

I had one I would have sold you alive!!!!

Thanks!!!
I should have posted a week or two ago. I'll have to remember in case we aren't able to make my turkey dreams come true this year.

 

[LogCabinChicks]

Thanks!!!
I should have posted a week or two ago. I'll have to remember in case we aren't able to make my turkey dreams come true this year.too

too bad you're in the deep south! I"m in northern NY and have 3 left!

 

[chuckp7860]

This will be my forth year to have my own turkey for Thanksgiving but this is the first time I ran into this. Wondered if someone has had this. I had a 1 1/2 yr. old that I used for this year and when I started processing I found a large fat sack at the neck and chest area. I cut out most of it and looks like it continues to the leg area. Wonder if this is because they haven't had enough exercise or is it the food they eat? Any feed back is helpful. Also, wonder if others have such a time with hatching turkeys. Not near as easy as hatching chickens!

 

[duluthralphie]

This will be my forth year to have my own turkey for Thanksgiving but this is the first time I ran into this. Wondered if someone has had this. I had a 1 1/2 yr. old that I used for this year and when I started processing I found a large fat sack at the neck and chest area. I cut out most of it and looks like it continues to the leg area. Wonder if this is because they haven't had enough exercise or is it the food they eat? Any feed back is helpful. Also, wonder if others have such a time with hatching turkeys. Not near as easy as hatching chickens!

I had a terrible time hatching turkeys.

I killed 80 eggs with turkeys getting half developed and they died..

I had Ethel, my hen, set on 12 eggs, the hatched on September 10th. It was cold and pouring rain. 5 babies hatched, 7 drowned in their shells. The nest was in the swamp and was holding water like a bowl during hatching. I lost the 5 babies to an eagle. I am zero for 92 on successfully raising my own turkeys. I did buy 8 day olds this spring and they are doing fine still.

 

[podgal]

Looking for (more) advice/suggestions. 1) I now have many sets of hearts/gizzards/liver/necks. Should I freeze them in sets for future use or make one giant batch of broth and freeze.
2) freezing individual breasts. Should I freeze them plain, add broth, or perhaps ital dsg?
Thanks very much.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I'm thinking it would be a Julia CHild gourmet effort!! Deboned and duck stuffed inside the turkey, I'm just guessing though. I'm happy with getting most of the feathers off and shoving the bird in a cold oven, and turning it on!! ROFL