Can We Talk Turkey?

I would love to have a little conversation with you concerning turkey. So many people only associate turkey with two times of year, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Folks! I am here to tell you that turkey can be our friend all year long. I highly encourage you to take advantage of Thanksgiving sales this year and stock up with three or four, or five, turkeys. If you don't have a deep freeze, find someone who does and rent some space. Turkeys aren't just for the holidays. All throughout the year, my family loves for me to smoke a turkey. Let's get something straight. Smoking turkey's and smoking cigarettes is NOT the same thing. Are we all on the same page now?

One of my scrumpdilyicious smoked turkies...done in the middle of summer!

 I know! I know! It takes more than simply smoking a turkey to make it our year round friend. But, consider this. You've just finished eating all of that delicious turkey up, and you have a carcass left over that looks like it was a victim of Cujo. Do you just throw it away? Heck, NO! You throw that sucker into the largest stock pot you have, throw in some carrots, onion, celery, and garlic, and boil the stew out of it. There's flavor in them there bones, folks! Oh! By the way. This is the perfect time to go rooting through the crisper drawers in your fridge, and pull out all of those limp vegetables you wouldn't feed your dogs. (Come on, people. You know you have 'em.) There is a big difference between limp and lifeless, and a full fledged science experiment. Limp veggies may not be appealing to serve, but they still have oodles of flavor in them. Once your done boiling everything, your going to throw them out anyway.

What you have left, after boiling the turkey carcass and veggies is a big batch of turkey stock that can be frozen in pint and quart containers. This stuff will add more flavor and goodness to your recipes than any store bought chicken broth. Guaranteed! This works, whether you smoke, roast, or deep fry your turkey. With smoking you get the added benefit of a slight smokiness in your stock. It is amazing how much of a difference that subtle flavor can make in any recipe.

So, come on, folks. This year, make those supermarket meat department managers quake in fear. Let's go on a turkey buying spree, and show that turkey is our friend ALL year long!