Recipes, Tips & Tricks

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Directions:

Bake 1 package seasoning mix (lemon pepper or brown & sweet chili) at 350F for 15 minutes or until done

Optional: bake 3-5 pieces of bone-in turkey (generous amount of salt)

Drain and rinse with cold water

Preheat oven to 350F

Mix mustard, soy sauce and lime juice and pour evenly over turkey.

Place turkey in slow cooker

Place hot dog buns on bottom of slow cooker

Place 2 eggs over turkey

Place the top of bun on the top of egg

Cook for 6-8 hours

If you are using bones in turkey you may wish to remove these before cooking the broth. Place bones in a 5-gallon bucket or shallow dish and add enough cold water to cover the bones by about 1 inch. Place on the back deck or in a shed outside to cool to room temperature. You can refrigerate the water if you like, but we didn’t.

After 2 hours, drain the bones. Rinse well with cold water.

Once water is thoroughly cool, put bones and 2 cups cold water back into bucket or shallow dish

Use a sharp knife to cut bones in half crosswise. Repeat with a separate 5-gallon bucket with cold water to fill the bucket

Dump bone scraps in bowl

In a large saucepan, combine all remaining ingredients except hot dogs. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir to make sure liquid does not burn. Cook 5 minutes.

Pour evenly over hot dogs

Place top of hot dog bun on top of turkey

Bake for 20-30 minutes until juices run clear

Ingredients for the hot dogs:

1 lb. lean hamburger

1 cup hot water

1/4 cup sugar

Salt to taste

Optional: bun & slaw

Directions

Prepare everything you will need for the hot dogs, putting the sauce on a small plate.

Combine all remaining ingredients and place in large saucepan over low heat. Stir continuously, for about 3 minutes. Bring mixture to a boil.

Turn down heat, add bun, slaw, hot dogs, & mustard.

Bring back to a rolling boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Serve hot dogs with slaw & bun on the side.

We like to start with a fresh bird. We use Turkey Heart at Crazy Dirk’s. As soon as we take the turkey out of the freezer, I pour it into a colander and put it into the sink. I use my hand mixer to break up the ice crystals and remove all the excess water. I do this until there are no more crystals in the colander. I set the turkey in the colander and let it drain for about an hour and a half.

After I take the turkey out of the colander, I separate the legs and wing from the body. I place each into a gallon size ziplock bag. You can find quart bags at your local grocery store.

(You should wash your hands and all the dirty dishes before doing the next step. Just make sure you wash your hands before you move on to the next step.)

Take each meaty bag out of the bag and remove the rubber stopper. This stopper is used to protect the stuffing and is very strong. I try to pull it from the bag as little as possible, so I use my hands.

I put the bags into a large mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Make sure the inside of the turkey is completely dry before you try to de-bon it. This is usually the hardest part of the entire process.

Here is how you work on de-boning the turkey:

1. You will need some good cutting blades for your knife. We use a paring knife. It’s a very fine, sharp knife.

2. Place the turkey in your sink or cutting board and hold the end of the wing.

3. With the other hand, take the blade and make a series of small strokes down along the side of the wing. Be careful not to cut the muscle right under the skin. You will be able to feel the line where you’ve stopped the blade.

4. When you’re confident you’ve made a clean, straight cut along the side of the wing, take your fingers and pull the wing away from the body. Don’t try to get the wing all the way off. You just want to loosen the wing and guide it off the body. Repeat until all of the skin is off the wing.

5. Take your knife again and make a series of small, forward strokes along the wing edge. You can see that this time the knife has cut the skin.

6. Once again, with your fingers, pull the wing off the body.

7. If you have never used a cutting blade, this part will probably seem difficult. Give it a try anyway. There’s really no wrong way to do this.

8. Now comes the harder part. Remove the entrails. I don’t actually have a photo of this part of the process. It’s a delicate job. The way I do it is to take a few steps back from the bird. I get on all fours, reach my hands underneath and pull the bag of innards away from the bird. Do not lean on the turkey, this can rip the bag. Once the bag is removed, I place the bird gently on the cutting board.

9. Lay the legs out in front of you. You will see that the bottom of the legs has not been able to be removed. You can use the knife to cut away this part of the leg.

10. Now turn the legs over and see what’s under the leg. You should have one big hole in the bottom. Gently remove the gizzard. You will have to put some pressure on the leg to get it to come off. If you push the gizzard down into the hole, you can ruin it. If you just lift the gizzard, it will fall to the floor. After you get the gizzard, you can proceed to the next step.

11. Remove the entrails from inside the turkey. In this step, I put the bird on a cutting board and cut away all of the innards. I put the gizzard in my plastic bag, then cut the legs away from the body.

12. Lay the bird back down on the cutting board. You now have a new problem. This bird is nearly frozen. It will take some time to thaw. Be patient. I try to put it on a heavy countertop every 20 minutes or so. This also helps you to keep an eye on it.

13. Remove the wings and reserve.

14. Using the sharpest blade you have, cut off the black plastic ring that’s connected to the drum of the drum, so the legs will sit down properly. If you have never done this, I’ll explain how I do it. There are two possibilities that I am aware of. I just use the big knife to cut through the plastic rings. The plastic is very strong and does not break. Just be sure you’re using a very sharp blade. If you’re just using the tip of the knife, your blade could cut right through the ring.

15. Once you cut through the plastic ring, you will also need to cut through the legs. I cut through the plastic leg and leave the plastic intact, then cut through the leg. If you cut all of the way through, you will have to cut it completely and leave a length of bone sticking up. You will want to clean the bone off before storing the leg.

16. Now remove the wing and reserve. Make

 sure you remove any of the dew that may be in the feathers.

17. Using your knife and a cutting board, cut around the leg so it rests on the cutting board. Now do the same with the other side.

18. Place the legs on top of the other wings and set them aside.

19. Now you’ll have to wash the bird. It needs to be soiled, so don’t use salt. Just make sure the bird is cleaned inside and out.

20. Using the same knives, clean the thighs and the breast area. You’ll want to use gloves if you don’t want to cut yourself. If you don’t have gloves, you’ll want to wear rubber gloves, not the paper ones. This is not to protect you from germs, but to protect the bird from contamination. Your bird may become infected if you dirty it.

21. Once you’re done washing, remove the gizzard and reserve from the drum. Place it on a cutting board. Gently remove the tenderloin.

22. Now the breast is ready to be cooked.

23. Next, cut the thigh from the drum. Now cut away the black plastic ring, in case you need to remove the gizzard later.

24. Cut away the leg and reserve. Make sure to cut it completely if you need to.

25. Prepare the oven, if you haven’t done so already.

26. Put the thighs into a pan of water.

27. Add salt. I usually use kosher salt, but this year I’m using sea salt.

28. Let the thighs cook for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how thick they are.

29. After 45 minutes, take out the thighs and check to see if the turkey is cooked through. If not, cook the thighs another 5 to 10 minutes. The thighs will continue to cook for a little while, so make sure you check after 5 minutes.

30. After the thighs are cooked, take them out of the pan and drain on paper towels. You can also remove them from the pan and put them into a big bowl.

31. To prepare the legs, remove the black plastic ring by digging a very sharp knife around the drum. There is a small metal piece that is stuck to the drum that you can remove. If it is clean, it is not necessary. If it isn’t, remove the piece and clean the drum.

32. Remove the tenderloin from the drum. Once the drum is clean, you can throw it in the oven with the legs.

33. Take the thighs and skin them off the drum. Now put them into a large bowl and put the breast aside to rest. 

You are all 

Ingredients

1 Whole turkey, giblets removed

3 Tablespoons Butter

1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger

4 celery stalks, chopped

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl, mix all of the ingredients together and use a wooden spoon to mash up the turkey and celery. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.

Transfer the mixture to a 10×15-inch rimmed baking sheet and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the stuffing is very tender. Remove the stuffing from the oven and let sit on the baking sheet for 20 minutes before carving.

For gravy, stir together all of the ingredients until smooth.

While the stuffing rests, heat 2 Tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat and, when melted, add the stuffing.

Return the turkey and stuffing to the oven, and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until heated through and the stuffing is tender and golden brown.

Serve hot, topped with a dusting of confectioner's sugar and freshly chopped