Trashcan Turkey?!

This year we raised turkeys again. It's quite a profitable thing for the family if you can keep those things alive until they are too old to drown themselves somewhere- which they do unless you keep them somewhere with no access to water except shallow water for them to drink...and even then...I'm not so sure they couldn't figure out a way.

This spring I bought three and this fall we butchered three. A new record!

This year Tom was invited to dinner. He dressed out to #33.8 can you believe that? He was a big eater *U* I won't raise a Tom in with the hens next year though, because he thinks he needs to eat constantly and if he doesn't have anything he has no problem pecking the poor hens. They were both wounded badly this year. Old Tom ruined some of my meat!

The turkey was too big to cook in the oven, so the guys cooked it in a new trashcan that they seasoned first over an open fire last night. It didn't take that long, and it was THE best turkey we ever had! Here's what it looked like after they took the coals and can off. It was smokey, tender and juicy. The drippings made some mighty fine gravy, too.

Here we are with the McCartys, who were our guests. What a wonderful meal, with wonderful friends. Since she and I had prepared most of the food in the days before, and the guys cooked the turkey outside, we had a relaxed dinner at 11:00. Joni is a marvelous cook, and her pies were scrumptious! Since they came the day before and spent the night, we had alot of time to visit; we had such a fun and easy holiday that we decided to make the whole thing tradition and do it the same way every year *U*

Thanks guys! Hope to see you again soon!