Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

[BCMaraniac]

They don't ask that anymore around these parts and the do not have paper as an option. That's for the conservation conscience areas of the world like California or NY.

Now, the last place I lived had a small grocery store and they still had paper bags...really nice ones!

There is a grocery across the mountain in a college/retirement/tourist town that has a Harris-Teeter grocery store, and they do.....I just get plastic unless I need a paper bag for something, if I happen to go in there as I pass through.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: THis is my pet peeve about paper. It is billed as an effort to conserve trees . . . . . but I never hear that thinking applied to corn fields or wheat fields and such like, THe trees were planted to be harvested and ground into paper pulp. THe trees are carefully planted and tended for the many years of growth. THen harvested at the right time for use. IT is not like the ornamental in grandmas back yard was cut down for pulp . . .. ok rant over.

I want paper because it is natual and biodegradeable really biodegradable, not broken into tiny bits. Paper option is gone here. Only plastic. I hate it. I reuse it as many times as possiblebefore it is trashed, and then I reel guilty tossing it into the trash.

 

[loveourbirds]

wanted to share the turkey experience with y'all.

started with a 25 lb standard bronze tom. butchered/skinned removed all giblets and the neck since no one in my family eats them. washed it in the kitchen sink, then soaked it in a brine solution (1 cup salt 3 gallons of water) for 18 hours, turning every couple of hours. this morning i pulled it out of the brine and patted it dry on the outer surfaces, and covered with 1 1/2 packs of bacon, starting with the breast. i put the breast down in the pan and covered the rest of the turkey with bacon. every surface i could see, except the bones at the end of the legs. i then added about 1 cup of water. the turkey would not fit in the cooking bag, so i just used a disposable aluminum pan and foil.

i cooked it from 7 am until 11 am (4 hours) at 325*. let it set 15 minutes and drained all the drippings. covered it again and took it to the dinner. at noon my brother carved it, and we all sat down to dinner. the turkey was very moist, and carried some of the bacon's flavor. however i do wish i would have made the brine stronger, or salted/peppered the turkey before i put the bacon over it. i did NOT baste this turkey at any point during the cooking.

it was not the most pretty turkey i have ever cooked, when it was done it looked more like a Halloween decoration. the bacon had moved and shrunk making it look more like a mummy than a turkey. sorry, i didnt think to take a picture.

 

[BCMaraniac]

wanted to share the turkey experience with y'all.

started with a 25 lb standard bronze tom. butchered/skinned removed all giblets and the neck since no one in my family eats them. washed it in the kitchen sink, then soaked it in a brine solution (1 cup salt 3 gallons of water) for 18 hours, turning every couple of hours. this morning i pulled it out of the brine and patted it dry on the outer surfaces, and covered with 1 1/2 packs of bacon, starting with the breast. i put the breast down in the pan and covered the rest of the turkey with bacon. every surface i could see, except the bones at the end of the legs. i then added about 1 cup of water. the turkey would not fit in the cooking bag, so i just used a disposable aluminum pan and foil.

i cooked it from 7 am until 11 am (4 hours) at 325*. let it set 15 minutes and drained all the drippings. covered it again and took it to the dinner. at noon my brother carved it, and we all sat down to dinner. the turkey was very moist, and carried some of the bacon's flavor. however i do wish i would have made the brine stronger, or salted/peppered the turkey before i put the bacon over it. i did NOT baste this turkey at any point during the cooking.

it was not the most pretty turkey i have ever cooked, when it was done it looked more like a Halloween decoration. the bacon had moved and shrunk making it look more like a mummy than a turkey. sorry, i didnt think to take a picture.

The most important thing is the taste and texture of the meat. Looks don't matter. Next time you bake one, you will know exactly what you want to do.

Just FYI, I usually put brown sugar in my brine too. I make my brine REALLY salty.....but I brine in a bucket and put ice in the brine solution to keep it cold(unless it is cold enough outside to set it into the back of my Subaru)

 

[Sally Sunshine]

wanted to share the turkey experience with y'all.

started with a 25 lb standard bronze tom. butchered/skinned removed all giblets and the neck since no one in my family eats them. washed it in the kitchen sink, then soaked it in a brine solution (1 cup salt 3 gallons of water) for 18 hours, turning every couple of hours. this morning i pulled it out of the brine and patted it dry on the outer surfaces, and covered with 1 1/2 packs of bacon, starting with the breast. i put the breast down in the pan and covered the rest of the turkey with bacon. every surface i could see, except the bones at the end of the legs. i then added about 1 cup of water. the turkey would not fit in the cooking bag, so i just used a disposable aluminum pan and foil.

i cooked it from 7 am until 11 am (4 hours) at 325*. let it set 15 minutes and drained all the drippings. covered it again and took it to the dinner. at noon my brother carved it, and we all sat down to dinner. the turkey was very moist, and carried some of the bacon's flavor. however i do wish i would have made the brine stronger, or salted/peppered the turkey before i put the bacon over it. i did NOT baste this turkey at any point during the cooking.

it was not the most pretty turkey i have ever cooked, when it was done it looked more like a Halloween decoration. the bacon had moved and shrunk making it look more like a mummy than a turkey. sorry, i didnt think to take a picture.

Mummy turkey!! Love it!! next time add round onion cuts and olives to make for some eyes!! he he he

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote: I agree, when I did the brine I did for 4 days in a 5 gal bucket in the fridge with about one cup of salt and one of sugar, now I know what my Nana always had in that sink when the turkey sat in it filled with water! Always wondered lol

 

[loveourbirds]

i have used brown sugar in brines several times, ive used molasses too; that was great on hams IMO.

we have to watch sugar around mom and my step dad, both are diabetic. i hoped the bacon would add some sweetness, but i didnt really taste it, just the smoke flavor.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

i have used brown sugar in brines several times, ive used molasses too; that was great on hams IMO.

we have to watch sugar around mom and my step dad, both are diabetic. i hoped the bacon would add some sweetness, but i didnt really taste it, just the smoke flavor.

brian can he have brown sugar splenda?

 

[loveourbirds]

Quote: i dont know what they can and can't have for sure. i know they are constantly eating things they shouldn't - i try not to contribute, but i dont growl about it either. mom is a nurse so they both know the damages of what they do, i figure they are both adults; and my elders - so who am i to correct them.

 

[BCMaraniac]

i have used brown sugar in brines several times, ive used molasses too; that was great on hams IMO.

we have to watch sugar around mom and my step dad, both are diabetic. i hoped the bacon would add some sweetness, but i didnt really taste it, just the smoke flavor.

I don't think the bird would absorb enough of the brown sugar from the brine to really be of any significance to their BS. There are many other things on the menu for Thanksgiving that will raise their blood sugar a lot more....like the stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry salad, etc. The vast majority of the brown sugar will still be in the brine itself.