Uggghh....Have I let them get too big? I did it!!!!!!!!!!!

[goldenluver]

mine dressed out at 40lbs this year. I grabbed them by their feet, they are to heavy to fight upside down, DS grabbed the head to help me lift so they were over and slightly in a plstic barrel. All he did was slit their throats and I dropped them in the barrel to flop and drain. after that it is just processing.

 

[Armageddon]

OMG! I did it!!! Well, my husband did......we only got one done, the smaller of the 2, he dressed out at 40 Lbs....and is just beautiful.....I have some pics but I have the get them uploaded....

We just hung him upside down, and lowered him into a lined bin...it was very gentle...we dry plucked him.....I did have to cut him up there was no way he was going in the oven in one piece....the breast alone weighs 20 lbs...I coooked up the livers and gizzard, they were amazing....and I am canning about 20 Qts of georgeous broth....

Harder that I thought it would be, but I am very pleased with the end result and satisifaction know that the Turkey had a great life and I know exactly what is in that bird!!! and its ALL good!

I have one more to do for Christmas.....he's even bigger....but the hanging method worked out very well......

Yeah.

 

[chickenannie]

One idea is to do ground turkey. It takes a lot of work, but is great to have on hand in the freezer.

 

[ColbyNTX]

I just have some closeline cord from a tree branch with a loop in the end that hangs at about my eye levle(I am 6'2"). Slide the loop open like a noose and put the feet in to hang them upsidedown. Then I grab the head, slit the throat and walk away! Come back in a few and it is ready for the scald pot!

 

[Mother of All]

we did ours on Saturday and all my son did was to go in the cage and he got the bird tied a rope around both legs and with in a few min. came out with out a fuss with the bird in his hands handing upside down. made our first turkey so easy

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Congratulations.

I'm glad it went nicely.

I just processed our first turkeys ever. Heritage birds (Royal Palms), at the same age as yours but much smaller. I like the heritage breeds because you can just kind of forget about them. Except for a scoop of feed every day, they pretty much take care of themselves - roost in trees, forage for lots of their food, 100% free range. As little as I fed them, these boys had a good deal of fat on them.

Anyway, thought I'd share a few things that made our processing go easily.

We Saran Wrapped our birds. Yep. Saran wrap. My husband held them still while I wrapped them about 5 times around the middle to hold their wings. No need for a cone and you don't get the crud beat out of you, nor does the bird. The birds took the wrapping very well.

Dog chain collars - you know, "choke chains" or training collars. I use those to loop around their feet. Loop one end, then the other so it holds their feet in each loop. It's fast, easy, and super strong. I did the loops, my husband hung them for me.

He hung them over my chicken cones so their head, neck, and shoulders were in the cone. The rest of their body didn't fit but that did not matter since they were wrapped. I just wanted some control over their head. It was good for keeping things tidy.

I cut the carotid arteries just as I do my chickens. It was much easier than the chickens because there were no feathers on the turkeys' necks to deal with. The saran wrap worked beautifully!

We used a turkey fryer as a scalding container but, these "small" heritage birds were just small enough to fit in the 30 quart pot. 150 degrees, two 45 second dips, and that's it. They're resting in cold, salted water as I type.

Enjoy your bird. Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[herfrds]

I did 3 of my 10 turkeys on Tuesday. I went into the coop and grabbed a bird. Hubby was waiting for me. We took them to the block and chopped the heads off.
I have nails placed around 2 inches apart. Placed the heads between the nails. It holds them there.

Only trouble we ran into this year was with the scalding. It was so cold that the water on the feathers was freezing before we could run the plucker over them.

 

[goldenluver]

just to prove a 40lb. turkey will fit in the oven

btw, the glass plate it sets on is an old large microwave carosel dish

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Quote:
LOL...this is too funny...

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Quote:
WOW...Now I'm hungry..