The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-11-28
Just Before Thanksgiving.
THE TURKEY-HOw TO CLEAN, STUFF
TRUSS AND ROAST IT.

THE TURKEY-How TO CLEAN, STUFF,
TRUSS AND ROAST IT.
AS there are so many people who are
not familiar with the best method of
preparing poultry for the table, | will
give minute directions. Pick out the
pufeathers and SINCE the hair and down
over blazing paper. Then wash the
skin of the turkey thoroughly in warm
water ia which little soda has been
dissolved. 1t is better to do this before
the bird has been cut. The drumstick
of turkey is greatly improved by re-
moving the tendons, which always be-
come hard and bony in baking. Cut
carefully through the skin below the
leg joint, but do not cut the tendons;
bend the leg at the cut by pressing it on
the edge of the table, and break off the
bone. Then pull on the tendons, one
at time, with the finger; or, all at
once, by putting the foot of the fowl
against the casing of a door that opens
towards you, then pressing the door
hard against the foot, and pulling on
the leg. The tendops will come out at
tached to the foot, but if they are once
cut they can never be removed. There
is an advantage in breaking the leg be-
low instead of at the joint, as the ends
of the bones afford more length
for trusting, and, after roasting,
this is easily broken off, leaving
clean, unburned joint for the table.
Cut off the head. Slip the skin back
from the neck and cut the neck off half
way down, or close to the body if you
prefer, but always leave the skin longer
than the neck, so it may be folded
over on the back. Remove the wind
pipe and turn the skin over; pull the
crop away from the neck and breast
and cut it off close to the opening into
the body. If the bird be not drawn at
the market make circular cut around
the vent to free the end of the intes-
tine. Cut out the oil bag in the tail.
Make horizontal incision through the
skin one inch above the vent and wide
enough to insert the two fingers. Keep
the fingers close to the breast bone
until you can reach in beyond the giz-
card and heart, and loosen the mem
branes on either side down toward the
back. Then draw out the whole mass,
and afterward remove the lungs, which
lie close to the ribs and the soft brown
kidneys found in the hollow of the
back Wash the bird quickly in warm
soda water and then in cold water and
wipe dry. Washing does not mean
soaking in pan of water, but quick
rubbing all over and rinsing. Place
the fowl in deep bowl and put in the
stuffing at the end of the neck until the
breast is filled round and plump. Draw
the neck skin together at the end and sew
it over on the back. Put the remainder
of the stuffing into the body at the other
opening. Use enough to fill in lightly.
The best and most wholesome stufling
is made by crumbling the soft inside of
loaf of stale bread; moisten the
crumbs slightly with melted butter,
and season with salt, pepper and thyme.
The steam from the fowl will furnish
sufficient moisture, and the stuffing
will be light and delicate instead of
soggy, rank and heavy. Draw the
thigh close to the body and put long
skewer through the thigh into the body
and out through the opposite thigh.
If the incision be made as directed,
the ends of the drumsticks may be put
through the opposite thigh. If the in
cision be made as directed. the ends of
the drumstck may be put through the
opening and out at the vent, and then
| fastened to the tail with a skewer or
with Irvine; hut, if made in the usual
way, cross the drumsticks over the tail.
Turn the tips of the wings back and
keep them in position close to the
body (not up on the breasD by running
a skewer through one wing, under the
breast and out through the other wing
Wind a string from the tail to the
skewer in the thigh, then up the back to
the one in the wing, across the back tO
the other wing, then down to the OPP
posite thigh and tie firmly at the tail.
Put the turkey on a rack in pan, rub
well with butter, salt and flour. Put il
into hot oven for five minutes or until
the flour begins to color; then reduce
the heat and add pint of water. Melt
quarter cupful of butter in cupful
of hot water and haste with it often
until some of the fat of the turkey has
been drawn out into the pan; or spread
piece of clean paper with soft butter
and lay it over the turkey. When the
paper is dry and quite brown, lay
on another piece, and when this
is dry haste with the dripping and add
more water as it boils away. Basic
often and when half done dredge again
with flour, to give the outside frothy
appearance. Cook the turkey slowly
after the first slight browning, and
quicken the fire the last half-hour il
the bird be not sufficiently Drowned
An eight or ten pound turkey will cool
in two or three hours. 1t is done il
the thigh seems tender when pierced
with small fork, and appears as if il
would separate easily from the body
Remove the turkey to small pan anC
keep it warm while you make the gravy
Pour off nearly all the fat from the
dripping pan. The water will be nearly
if not wholly gone. Set the pan OF
the stove, and stir two tablespoonful
of dry -four into the fat. Scrape off al
the brown fat that has adhered to the
edges and add more flour till the fat is
all absorbed. When the fat and floul
are brown, and not until then, ado
gradually the boiling water. AS il
thickens. at first it will seem as if the