The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1908-11-20
THE THANKSGIVING BIRD

eating than hen turkeys, unless hen
turkeys are young small and plump.
Pin feathers indicate young fowl;
hairs an older one. If the end of
the breast bone be cartilaginous,
thus bending easily, the fowl is
young, thus more desirable. The
scales are quite pronounced and
sharp upon the legs of an old tur-
key. The feet and spurs of a young
turkey are soft, and the skin feels
smooth.
Besides considering the above
mentioned points, see to it that
your turkey is plump.
A turkey, before it is ready for
the roasting needs to be dressed,
cleaned, stuffed and trussed.
After the bird has been dressed,
wash it in the inside by allowing
cold water to run through; on the
outside by wiping it with piece Of
cheese cloth wrung out Of cold water.
Wipe inside and outside, looking
carefully to see that everything has
been removed.
If there be disagreeable cdor,
suggesting that the fowl may have
been kept too long, sprinkle inside
with cooking soda, and again wash
thoroughly.
Put stuffing by spoonfuls in the
neck, using enough to sufficiently
fill the skin, that the bird may look
plump when served. Where crack
er stuffing is used, allowance must
be made for the swelling of the
crackers, otherwise the skin may
burst during the roasting. Put the
remaining stuffing in the body and
sew the skin together.
To truss a turkey properly steel
skewers are a necessity. Draw the
thighs close to the body, and hold
by inserting a long steel skcwer I'M
der the middle joint, running it
through the body and having it
come out under the middle Joint on
the other side. Cross the. drum
sticks at tbs end, and tie securely
together with a long string, then
fasten to the tail. Place the wings
close to the body, and hold in place
by inserting a skewer through the
wing, body, and wing on the oppo-
site side. Draw the neck skin un-
der the back, and fasten with a
small skcwer. Turn the turkey on
its breast. Cross the string attach
led to the tail piece, and taking one
piece in each hand, draw one piece
around one end of the lower skewer
the other piece around the other end
of the lower skewer; again cross the
string, and draw around each end
of the upper skewer in similar
fashion. Fasten the string in knot
and cut off the ends. Place the
bird on its rack in dripping pan.
Rub its entire surface with salt, and
spread the breast, legs and wings
with one third of a cupful of butter
rubbed until creamy, then mixed
with one fourth CT a cupful Of flour.
Dredge the bottom of the pan with
flour. Place in hot oven, and
when the flour begins to brown, re-
duce the heat, add two cupfuls of
boiling water, and haste. For the
basting use one half cupful of butter
melted in one half cupful of boiling
water A turkey should be basted
every fifteen minutes during the
cooking, using the fat in the pan
after the butter and water mixed
for the basting is used. During the
cooking, turn the bird frequently, i
that it may brown evenly. If the
turkey is browning too fast, cover
with buttered brown paper to pre-
vent burning. a ten-pound turkey
requires from three to three and one
fourth hours for the roasting.
Place the turkey on a hot platter,
remove the string and skewers, then
garnish Pour off the liquid in the
pan in which the turkey has been
roasted. From the liquid skim off /