The daily sentinel., 1907-11-26
The Thanksgiving Turkey
By C0RNELlA c. BRADFORD

raising OF the THANKSGIVING turkey
as to its cooking. Few of US today
are able to do this; We need do no
more than to HE to the market and
PICK out the one. But, could the
shades of our venerable ancestress-
es visit these markets, We might not
De edited by their comments on the
STOCK there displayed. In :. major
ity or cases 1t is drawn from cold
storage supply, where it may have
IAN for year or two. Much of the
poultry is scrawny. with the yellow.
lsh skin dehoting scalding for the
removal of feathers and with the
dark or greenish tinge and swollen
neck denoting killing directly after
hearty meal.
Seleetion-The best grades of
turkey are dry picked. giving an uu-
broken, soft pink and white skin and
the entrals or empty, no food havil lg
been given for twenty-four hours be-
fore killing. When in good condi-
tion the eyes will be full, the feet
SOFT and moist; short and plump legs
many pin feathers, absence of long
hairs and with the end of the breast
bone soft and pliable-those signs
indicate young bird in good fresh
condition. that will, when properly
cooked, prove tender.
The purchaser of a turkey should
bear in mind that the butcher. try
ing to do his work in the least possi-
Bile time, slashes and cuts until extra
skill is required on the part of the
cook to make the bird presentable at
table. We have yet to find the
butcher who will properly remove
the crop and large intestine, or cut
OF the edible portion of the gizzard
without opening the feed sac. One
thing he should do, however-pull
out the sinews. A slight incision
is made below the knee joint 1t is
caught Oh one of the strong hooks
behind him and with jerk the
sinews are dangling.
Preparation-When the bird is
received pour two spoonfuls of alco-
hol in saucer ignite 1t and singe
thoroughly; this is much better than
paper, as the fame is smokeless
Next cut OFF the head just below the
beak ard break the legs below the
joint. With the sinews out cut the
skin over the broken bones and re-
move the feet. Turn the bird over
on its breast; with sharp knife
make long stroke through the skin
along the backbone, from shoulders
end to end of neck: draw 1t back
loosen and draw out crop and wind
pipe Sever the neck close to the
body, leaving the long flap of skin to
cover its removal. At the end of
the backbone. close to the tail. is the
oil bag; cut out carefully and turn
the bird breast upward. Cut slit
in the skin just above the vent With
two fingers loosen all the organs in
the cavity from backbone and ribs
Grasp firmly with the gizzard-the
large organ-and with a steady pull
draw all outward. Cut around the
vent thus removing intestines intact
thus removing the intestines intact.
Again explore the cavity for heart
and lungs, the latter needing spec
ial attention, as they cling closely
to the ribs Remove the kidneys,
then wipe out the cavity with cloth
wrung out of cold water; wipe the
shfu' 5t'fu5 special care uuuer the
wings.
From the mass of organs remove
the heart. setting 1t to remove the
clotted blood the liver. which must
be carefully handled until it is freed
from the gall sac; the gizzard. slit
ting the tough, iridescent membrane
at each end and cutting off the lump
of meat underneath 1.-THE inner
sac should be discarded without
opening. Scald the feet and remove
scales and toe nails. Put these with
the neck in saucepan, covered with
cold water and simmer gently. Re-
move the liver In half an hour, sim
mer the other pieces for several
hours or until very tender. The
bones are then removed and the meat
fine and added. later on, to
the gravy.
Trussing-A cupful or so of the
stuffing should be tucked in at the
neck to give fullness to the breast
and, after the body cavity is filled
a long trussing needle should bel
threaded with thin but stout twine.
The stuffing is made secure by a
few stitches; the legs are then push
ed forward and close to the body, the
needle inserted at the thick part OF
the leg under the bone and run
through the body. Returning 1t
passes over the bone and is pulled
tight and tied. The heck flap Is
pulled over the back and the wings
turned SO that the tips come close
together over the flap; they are Sc
cured in this position by two paral-
leu bllltllt6 run lulOubh TIC bpbS
the same way as the first pair. For
the third pair of stitches the needle
is passed through the end of each
leg and returning run through the
rump. 1t Is best to have all the
stitches start on the same side of the
bird; after cooking they may be cut
on the opposite side and pulled out
by means of the ends hanging from
the knots.
Cooking-An eight or ten-pound
tnltIey requires fully three hours
cooking in a hot oven and another
hour must be added II from twelve
to fifteen pounds in weight. After
trusting the skin should be thorough
ly rubbed with soft butter, then
dredged with salt ard pepper and
placed on a rack in a large pan.
Several thicknesses of paper are
tied aroui.l the ends of the legs and
the breast is protected by cover OF
heavy glazed paper. During the en-
tire cooking the oven should be-
kept very hot, as some heat is lost
each time the door is opened for
basting. A mixture of butter is used
for this purpose, keeping it hot and
pouring some over the turkey every
ten or fifteen minutes, as the more
thorough the basting the juicHr the
result.