The Front Porch Swing

[LeslieDJoyce]

Not only can I NOT fathom a turkey that large being able to even walk around but I cannot fathom the size of freezer that would hold several of those beasties!!!!

I love, love, love turkey and wished were neighbors so I could buy one from you, though I also can't fathom how much a 48 lb homegrown turkey would cost.....I could can that bad boy and it would feed us all winter long!

When we hunt or grow our own we butterfly the breast filets, roll them in flour, season and fry, then use the rest in soups. Nothing better than turkey breasts done in this way...makes my mouth water to even think on it!

We processed any males that were having trouble walking early. At the end, the ones that were left were still strutting, but they were HUGE, and that's why nobody bought them. Le duh.

I bet your family could work through one of these big birds no sweat.

I would need a much bigger fry pan to fry these breasts ...

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Yep I have heard stories about Guineas being Bee eaters. But for the most part they leave them alone. They are actually gentler to a garden than chickens. Not as big into scratching in the dirt.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

I've got this bad boy going again ...



We defrosted another of last Thanksgiving's turkeys in brine ... 48 lbs this time ... without so much ice in the brine so it didn't take as long to defrost and probably won't have as much of that "Corned Turkey" flavor I created last time (I liked that a lot, but it took forever for that bad boy to thaw, and I didn't want to worry about it for as many days this time).

Yesterday I wrestled with it & parted it out ... legs, wings, breast meat, and some very meaty sections that don't normally exist/have names ... started this big pot with the leftover bones, and a big bag of turkey feet from the freezer. I roasted the legs/wings/extra meaty bits last night (that took my two biggest roasting pans) ... I will work on the breasts today (I think I'll only be able to do one at a time because they are THAT huge). First I gotta clean my roasting pans.

So we're back on the turkey soup/turkey sandwich treadmill for a while. Le joy.

I kinda hate to ask how many more of these things I've got in the freezer ...

ETA: freezerS ... I have a smaller chest freezer in my basement full of turkey, but there is a huge freezer over in one of the barns full of turkeys, too. And then the "side" freezer of my egg refrigerator has necks & feet ...

I am hopping from post to post to day.... At first I thought... have you got the strength for canning? But then I realized the scope of your Turkey meat endeaver. Wow.

Turkey freezes well but doesnt keep forever... Have you thought of Donating part of them to a food bank and taking the write off?

I bet the only places that would have a set up large enough to roast a whole 50 lbs of turkey would be a commercial kitchen. If you have access to a meat market or butcher shop they may be able to Part up the frozen turkeys using a band saw for meat. Then you could sell Quarters of frozen Turkey. If one turkey is 48 lbs a quarter would be around 12 ish pounds.

There is also smoking, Jerkey, and sausage that can be done.

deb "who wants to learn how to can in the worst way"

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I am hopping from post to post to day.... At first I thought... have you got the strength for canning? But then I realized the scope of your Turkey meat endeaver. Wow.

Turkey freezes well but doesnt keep forever... Have you thought of Donating part of them to a food bank and taking the write off?

I bet the only places that would have a set up large enough to roast a whole 50 lbs of turkey would be a commercial kitchen. If you have access to a meat market or butcher shop they may be able to Part up the frozen turkeys using a band saw for meat. Then you could sell Quarters of frozen Turkey. If one turkey is 48 lbs a quarter would be around 12 ish pounds.

There is also smoking, Jerkey, and sausage that can be done.

deb "who wants to learn how to can in the worst way"

There are laws about what you can do with turkey meat. Too much detail to get into, but we are not allowed to part it, and unless it was processed in a certain way, I don't think any commercial operation can part it, either.

This is why we are working on eating through it quickly because we understand it won't keep forever.

We have a LOT of people close to us that could benefit from a donation of a big chunk of meat, but they all seem scared off by the size and Dad is being super stingy about "donating" it because these birds cost us upwards of $10/lb to raise. Probably more than that, but I don't want to think about it too much. Our feed mill really let us down about the feed last year, and then I couldn't get the birds processed so we fed them for a few months longer than I had hoped ... it was a huge mess.

I think I'm going to start REALLY pressing the issue of donating the meat with Dad. He is too busy to think about this much, but it would be a total shame to have this meat go to waste.

 

[LindaB220]

There are laws about what you can do with turkey meat. Too much detail to get into, but we are not allowed to part it, and unless it was processed in a certain way, I don't think any commercial operation can part it, either.

This is why we are working on eating through it quickly because we understand it won't keep forever.

We have a LOT of people close to us that could benefit from a donation of a big chunk of meat, but they all seem scared off by the size and Dad is being super stingy about "donating" it because these birds cost us upwards of $10/lb to raise. Probably more than that, but I don't want to think about it too much. Our feed mill really let us down about the feed last year, and then I couldn't get the birds processed so we fed them for a few months longer than I had hoped ... it was a huge mess.

I think I'm going to start REALLY pressing the issue of donating the meat with Dad. He is too busy to think about this much, but it would be a total shame to have this meat go to waste.

It's a monumental task. But think of canning quarts of turkey. Enough to last for years.

Don't let it go to waste. At $10 lb to raise, you eat it.

 

[Tomtommom]

I bet the only places that would have a set up large enough to roast a whole 50 lbs of turkey would be a commercial kitchen. If you have access to a meat market or butcher shop they may be able to Part up the frozen turkeys using a band saw for meat. Then you could sell Quarters of frozen Turkey. If one turkey is 48 lbs a quarter would be around 12 ish pounds.

....We bought a frozen turkey last year that was too big, we cut it in half with a Sawzall.....

It was messy, but funny and worked out great.




Sadly.. I can't find the picture of us sawing it

 

[Tomtommom]

Also... thaw it, grind it, brown it and refreeze... use in pasta sauce, tacos, casseroles etc?

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Ah... But you could still have them cut up frozen to give out as donations right?

You could still do the smoking jerkey and sausage for your own variations otherwise you are going to get reallllly sick of eating turkey. Though doing Turkey Pastrami might also be a good option.

Of course you have dates and weights on your packages right?

Oh and there is also dog food options. Especially if you find one that is a bit too old. My Aunt Helen used to make her own dog food out in the back yard with a huge black cauldron... Looked like a witches brew out there. She added rice and a few other veggies.

If you take a look at canned dog food the good stuff and it will be say two bucks for an eight ounce can. or four bucks a pound. AND you have NO idea what other stuff is iin that dog food. They cook up the really nasty bits for dog food.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
OMG that is freaking HILARIOUS....

I have to share this with a friend who got a gift of a 48 pound turkey once when they were struggling with a social security snafu.
deb
.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Ah... But you could still have them cut up frozen to give out as donations right?

You could still do the smoking jerkey and sausage for your own variations otherwise you are going to get reallllly sick of eating turkey.  Though doing Turkey Pastrami might also be a good option.

Of course you have dates and weights on your packages right?  

Oh and there is also dog food options.  Especially if you find one that is a bit too old.  My Aunt Helen used to make her own dog food out in the back yard with a huge black cauldron...   Looked like a witches brew out there.  She added rice and a few other veggies.

If you take a look at canned dog food the good stuff and it will be say two bucks for an eight ounce can.  or four bucks a pound.  AND you have NO idea what other stuff is iin that dog food.  They cook up the really nasty bits for dog food. 

deb

What I'm saying is ... I need to check the legality of donating it to "strangers" at all ... parted OR whole. But I will.