Just processed a turkey today

[Poultrybonkers]

By myself it didnt turn out so well as he was a heavy guy he was 29lbs live. Havent weighed him after yet. But i opened the gizzard to find 3 red marbles in there. Have no idea how they got there. As i dont have marbles. I still have another to do but need help to do so. I even broke a ceramic knife. :/

 

[Peep_Show]

Some things that help with (turkey) processing:

1) Disposable scalpels. Good for one bird's worth, but they do the job extremely well before dulling out

2) Lug tubs for scalding and cold water after-dip. You know, the big plastic buckets with rope handles often used to hold toys. As sometimes there's not a pot big enough in the kitchen for those large birds

3) A wheelbarrow for transporting heavy birds over distance.


I did homegrown turkeys for a couple of years...it was how I got my Christmas money. The largest two I ever processed (because I was lazy and let two toms go from Thanksgiving to Easter) were 75 lbs. live weight and about 54 and 56 lbs. dressed out. A thigh leg combo weighed about 7 lbs and looked like a small ham!

The problem with the larger birds is manuveuring them. One darn near broke my nose. If you use a rope to hang for slaughter and bleeding out, I'd suggest switching to a chain of some sort as the torque on large birds can easily strain a rope to capacity.

Good luck! I hope your next bird goes better.