Turkey Archives - Good Food St. Louis

Thanksgiving Day Wrap Up

November 25, 2023

Okay, my fellow foodies, we’re almost 2/3s of the way through the extended holiday that we now refer to as HalloThankMas. It’s time to put away the pumpkins and hang the mistletoe.

Below is a photo review of Turkey Day 2023 at our farm in Rolla.

Russ, Tom, and Robin debate the proper technique for the turkey dressing.

Russ gets the bacon barded bird in the oven.

Austin salts one of the turkeys he spatchcocked, i.e., remove the backbone and flatten the bird so it cooks faster and more evenly.

Ahh! Perfection!

Every last Brussels sprout was eaten. Sorry, Gracia, none for you this year.

Coco and Russ prepare the sprouts. Coco loves ’em.

Austin makes an updated version of Green Bean Casserole with wild mushrooms he picked at the farm and fresh green beans.

Debra bonds with one of the heritage turkeys.

Russ gets the bacon barded bird in the oven.

Lucy makes the applesauce in her antique colander.

Lisa and a visiting friend, Bella, prepare a designer dessert.

Jean and Robin by the fireplace.

And a Happy Hallo-Thank-Mas to all!

Bonding with Your Bird

My grandson, Austin, plans to “Spatchcock” one of our two Thanksgiving birds. Now some of you know what I’m talking about, but others will giggle in wonderment at the whimsical expression. Actually, it’s an ancient term for butterflying fowl, meaning “cooking a bird with dispatch.”

For those wanting a more bawdy definition, it can be found in the Urban Dictionary. But I’ll not post it here.

Turkey Trouncing Technique

I used to watch the BBC show, Two Fat Ladies, and cringed watching them spatchcock game hens with such gusto. When they finished, the birds looked like they’d been run over by a tractor trailer or whacked with a wooden hammer.

With the backbone removed the bird is easily flattened, making it possible to cook more quickly and brown beautifully.