“How can you kill something you raised?” well let me tell you

That is a question I get by everyone when they find out I actually eat chickens and turkeys I have raised. 

In a previous post I gave a brief explanation of how this is done I have made a few adjustments after a few processing's now. 

Start with a building a fire; you will need this later.

Put a huge pot of water on to boil.

Get your bird.

Hang a rope from a tree limb.

Tie the turkeys legs together and hang him upside down.

 

This will freak him out for just a few seconds, then he will calm.  This is my preferred killing position; they do not flop on the ground and bruise the meat.

Next take a super sharp knife and cut the veins on each side of the neck. Only the veins try to miss the fingers.

 

Give them a few minutes to bleed out. 

Put the turkey in a wash tub and pour hot water on it. 

I prefer this to dipping the bird, it seems to get the wing areas better.

Pluck the bird.

My photographer was pretty much grossed out at this point and pictures of removing the entrails would be too gross for some of my readers (and you know I’m politically correct). 

Remove the entrails, neck, feet, etc. and toss in the fire along with the feathers.

Otherwise your help will get them.  You don’t want them to get the taste of fresh blood.

 

That is Lucy, Sasha and Winston’s pup.

Once the bird is cleaned, soak in cold water to cool the temperature down.

Wrap in freezer paper, like the chickens pictured below

or put in the refrigerator and cook in two days as the turkey picture below.

Then kiss the cook!

ENJOY!

A Turkey's Lament...

When I was a young turkey, new to the coop,
My big brother Mike took me out on the stoop,
Then he sat me down, and he spoke real slow,
And he told me there was something that I had to know;
His look and his tone I will always remember,
When he told me of the horrors of ..... Black November;
"Come about August, now listen to me,
Each day you'll be thick, where once you were thin,
And you'll grow a big rubbery thing under your chin.
"And then one morning, when you're warm in your bed,
In'll burst the farmer's wife, and hack off your head;
"Then she'll pluck out all your feathers so you're bald'n pink,
And scoop out all your insides and leave ya lyin' in the sink,
"And then comes the worst part" he said not bluffing,
"She'll spread your cheeks and pack your rear with stuffing".
Well, the rest of his words were too grim to repeat,
I sat on the stoop like a winged piece of meat,
And decided on the spot that to avoid being cooked,
I'd have to lay low and remain overlooked;
I began a new diet of nuts and granola,
High-roughage salads, juice and diet cola,
And as they ate pastries, chocolates and crepes,
I stayed in my room doing Jane Fonda tapes,
I maintained my weight of two pounds and a half,
And tried not to notice when the bigger birds laughed;
But 'twas I who was laughing, under my breath,
As they chomped and they chewed, ever closer to death;
And sure enough when Black November rolled around,
I was the last turkey left in the entire compound;
So now I'm a pet in the farmer's wife's lap;
I haven't a worry, so I eat and I nap,
She held me today, while sewing and humming,
And smiled at me and said "Christmas is coming..."

Borrowed from a fellow member of http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/
Happy Thanksgiving!

Giving Thanks Party.

I read Jen’s blog and saw the Giving Thanks Party hosted by Lynn over on The Vintage Nest. While there are many things I’m thankful for, let me start by first quoting Brad Paisley

“But remember I’m still a guy”. 

FRESH TURKEY

While he is in the field today he will be on my Mother-in-Laws table on Thursday.

Until you try it you don’t know how good it is.

Some new creatures

This has been a big weekend at Rosebriar Farm.

On Nashville’s Craigslist I found a lady giving away some pot belly pigs; this always makes me wonder why? Are they mean?, Are they escape artists?, etc.  In this particular situation they live in Hillsboro and the husband commutes to Murfreesboro, everyday to work.  They are depleting the animals and selling the farm.  I wanted the Holstein steer however they have plans for him to move to the freezer.  I did pick up one female pot bellied pig, she is about 1-1/2 yrs old and weighs about 125 pounds.  As with most of my animals Jen gave her a literary name; Ophelia (Hamlet’s Lover).  How fitting.

Hamlet (left) Ophelia (right)

We also took the opportunity to pick up another turkey because Tom’s days are numbered, literally.  Unless the Governor calls (my cell phone will be off, just in case), he is scheduled to die the evening of  Tuesday, November 23rd. 

The new turkey (left) and Tom, Thanksgiving dinner 2010 (left).

But wait there’s more.

As, I mentioned before most of our pets have literary names, this young lady however came with a name.  It could be considered a literary name if you think back to first grade to the Dick and Jane books, the younger sister’s name was, Sally. 

Sally has sort of a sad story, she was one of a set of triplets, whose mother died at birth.  The other two received most of the colostrum , from the mother before she died.  Sally is a runt,  she is now seven months old and only about half the size of her siblings.  That may have worked out best for her; she is too small to slaughter and also to small to breed, therefore we were asked to take her for a pet.

So here is our new lamb, Sally.

Sally meeting her new friends, Romeo and Maestro.

Is he strutting his stuff or strutting for stuffing?

While our tom is starting to show some size I’m still not convinced he will be ready to eat in 21 days, therefore he may get a last minute stay of execution.  This is only going to be the case if I can find another organic raised turkey big enough to kill process by Tuesday, November 23rd.  

Process on Tuesday, go thru rigor on Wednesday, and cook on Thursday, and they never see the freezer.  

Before you decide to call PETA on me let me further explain:

You know this looks good!

 

This was one of my farm raised turkeys of from last year.

And besides I’m a member of PETA.

P-people E-eatingT- tastyA- animals