The turkey.
Now that Canadian thanksgiving is over I wonder if turkey is perhaps the last thing some of you want to think about. You may still be recovering in a pair of stretchy sweatpants, rather than trying to squeeze into anything that has structure.
I have been thinking of how to approach the turkey subject for a few days now.
Do I take more of a scientific angle: How to harvest a turkey.
Or
Do I look at it from an emotional angle: Preparing for Death.
Trying to be sensitive and realizing that not everyone looks at a turkey harvest the same way let's try a little of both.
Friday, October 8th 2009
We put our turkeys in isolation with water and warmth- but no food.
Saturday, October 9th 2009
Stephen washed the picnic table, bucket, tablecloth, utensils and cutting surface down with a bleach solution.
Together we picked up our turkey (carried upside down) and place it in a bucket with a 5 inch hole cut in the centre, which had been fastened to a tree.
We thank the turkey for its life.
I took a sharp knife and sliced a 2 inch cut behind its ears. (yes, a turkey has ears- something that might get overlooked right?)
I gently stroked its head and say goodbye.
Now that Canadian thanksgiving is over I wonder if turkey is perhaps the last thing some of you want to think about. You may still be recovering in a pair of stretchy sweatpants, rather than trying to squeeze into anything that has structure.
I have been thinking of how to approach the turkey subject for a few days now.
Do I take more of a scientific angle: How to harvest a turkey.
Or
Do I look at it from an emotional angle: Preparing for Death.
Trying to be sensitive and realizing that not everyone looks at a turkey harvest the same way let's try a little of both.
Friday, October 8th 2009
We put our turkeys in isolation with water and warmth- but no food.
Saturday, October 9th 2009
Stephen washed the picnic table, bucket, tablecloth, utensils and cutting surface down with a bleach solution.
Together we picked up our turkey (carried upside down) and place it in a bucket with a 5 inch hole cut in the centre, which had been fastened to a tree.
We thank the turkey for its life.
I took a sharp knife and sliced a 2 inch cut behind its ears. (yes, a turkey has ears- something that might get overlooked right?)
I gently stroked its head and say goodbye.
The turkey bled out in about 5 minutes. Boy… deep breathe… that was a long time. It was peaceful. It looked at us as we watched the life bleed out of it.
Then we heated up a very large pot of water and dipped the turkey in for 40 seconds on each end to loosen the feathers.
Stephen cut the turkeys head off.
We plucked, gutted and bagged the bird.
Then we cleaned up and that was that.
The whole experience was. Hmm. What was it?
We have been preparing ourselves for this day since the turkeys were young, so it felt like the right time. I didn’t feel like a horrible person. It didn’t feel like the turkey was traumatized during its last moments with us. We felt pretty at ease with the whole thing.
It seemed to add a lot more meaning to our already ceremonious holiday. We were awaiting the arrival of good friends from the Annapolis Valley who were bringing a few of their years harvest goodies to share with us as well.
To make our thanksgiving meal complete we went to Donkin for a cranberry harvesting walk. We picked handfuls of bogberries and some gorgeous juniper berries and managed to made a beautiful cranberry sauce.
To make our thanksgiving meal complete we went to Donkin for a cranberry harvesting walk. We picked handfuls of bogberries and some gorgeous juniper berries and managed to made a beautiful cranberry sauce.
Here are a few of the other great menu items that we gathered up from our fall harvest both in the valley and here:
Home grown apple sauce
pickled beets
plum butter
leeks for the stuffing
carrots for a side dish
fresh eggs
the turkey
fresh baked bread and dried blueberries for the stuffing
sage from a friends garden
locally grown potatoes
green tomato chutney… and the list goes on.
Our table was filled with delicious treats- all made and grown ourselves or within a few kilometers of our home. Pretty neat.
Oh, and if you are wondering how the turkey tasted? Well, we soaked it in brine for 12 hours and then rubbed under the skin with a fresh sage and oregano butter. We stuffed it with a leek and wild blueberry stuffing and took the time to baste it every hour until it was finished. Needless to say, it was pretty darn tasty!
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