I like meat. It's no secret. Go ahead and call me a big Meat Eater.
I also like animals. A lot. Not enough to keep unruly dogs in my household, but I nonetheless love critters.
That said, meat that looks like an animal is difficult for me. Now I am not talking about a steak cut into the shape of a cow or anything, I am talking about meat that looks like it's original self. I just cringe when I see its animal-ness and think that it was once alive and walking around, and then it died, and now I am going to eat it.
Why mention this? Because I did my first turkey yesterday. (I know, it's May. It's hot out. Why turkey? Because I bought one in November, didn't have Thanksgiving at home, and well... you get it.)
The instructions said "remove neck and giblets." Eeeeewww. That was one long neck folks. Why do they even leave it in there? Does anyone actually eat it? I just got so irked that I was pulling out this turkey's neck. His neck. The part that connects his mean, little head to his big, turkey body. Strange experience. Too much like animal, not enough like meat. Yeah, and I never found the giblets. (Though Charming did later, when he was carving it....)
So yes. Turkey trauma. But let me tell you, that bird tasted dang good. And as I said to Charming at the dinner table, apparently I can cook a turkey.
7 comments:
you go girl. I made a turkey one time and I was carefully rinsing it in the sink, and somehow the water got under the wing, and it "flapped" a little. I dropped it in the sink and screamed. I still managed to fix it, but I didn't eat it.
That's funny, I had my own turkey story just a couple weeks ago. I myself bought a turkey at thanksgiving, good prices, couldn't pass it up. I finally decided to cook. I like meat, but HATE dealing with it raw, and that might even be an understatement. My hands were broken out with cracks from my eczema so that made my contact with the turkey even faster than normal. Needless to say, It went well, I didn't have a meat thermometer and the turkey didn't have one of those pop up things, so I borrowed one from my neighbor who was coming over to partake later. The turkey bag instructions said to place the thermometer in the thickest part of the leg while it cooked, so I did (my first time using a meat thermometer). Well I ended up going to the store and buying one because the face on the thermometer started to melt!!!!! Funny how on the packaging of thermometers it tells you never to leave it in while cooking meat, just to check it at the end of the cooking time, but the turkey bag instructions tell you to, you would think they would get on the same page (for the sake of us first timers)!!!! So then it came carving time, which the hubby had never done before and he was having some severe issues with. And that's when we found out my stupid mistake, I had cook the bird upside-down! There was a pop up thing, so I didn't need a thermometer, but with me dealing with the meat so little I only looked at one side of the thing. So there you have it, I felt like a total dork, but my neighbors got a new thermometer out of it. And the hubby actually said it kind of liked it like that because the breast had been cooking in the juices so it was more tender.
I totally feel the same way about dealing with raw meat, especially when it looks like the animal. I will do everything within my power to not touch it. Forks are great to use! My husband just laughs at me. I make him get the meat ready if it involves me touching it. I have gotten a lot better with it in the past 7 years since I was married. At least I WILL cook it now, when I wouldn't 7 years ago!!!
Wow. You took on a turkey. I'm not sure I'll ever be that adventurous in the kitchen. I also love how your post inspired so many other fun turkey/meat stories. :)
lol. yeah i'm with you. it's like i don't mind eating fish, but i hate it when they leave the eyeballs in at the grocery store. :)
Okay, this is totally me. I can't STAND to make whole chickens or turkeys. Anything on the bone actually. I picture them just walking around and that is IT for me. Ew.
And I grew up on a turkey ranch. hehe.
Fun meeting you last night!
turkey advice: use the neck for making some turkey broth, drop it in a pan w/ some water and simmer it, then throw the neck out, and keep the broth.Use the broth for gravy or soup (with leftover turkey. After the meal, I also cut all the cooked meat off of the bones, then drop the carcass (sorry about what is probably a gross word here)in a large pot and add water -almost to cover, some sage or thyme or celery if I'm feeling fancy, then let it cook for an hour or so, strain out the broth, and freeze in quart bags, labeled, for future soup uses.
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