The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-12-10
TABLE TALKS
@HoME sERWcE DERARTMENT -RoNAA MLLINe coMRANY -
STUFFING AND TRUSTING THE
HOLIDAY FOWL.
By
Jeanette Boyer

STUFFING AND TRUSTING THE I
HOLIDAY FOWL
Do you feel as helpless as a babe" when
confronted with a turkey to roast for the
holiday feast?
l did. And to conquer the beast I
delved into cooking and roasting litera-
ture and evolved this system which I've
used often with good success. 1t will work
with any kind of fowl.
1. Young birds are most tender. Select
a turkey weighing about eight to ten
pounds. The larger it is, the smaller pro-
portion Of bone to meat, and the more eco
nOmical to buy. A young turkey has
smooth black legs and feet. The tip of its
breast bone is soft. 1t will not have as long
hairs as an old bird.
2. If the butcher removed the ~entrails
for you, cuts off head and legs, be sure to
have him remove the tendOns from the legs
also. He will not do this unless you espec-
tally ask him. If the tendOns are removed,
the drumsticks will be tender instead of
hard and tough. If you buy the turkey
with the legs on you can remove the ten
dOns yourself by cutting through the skin
at the lower joint and pulling each tendon
out separately with a skewer or a strong
fork or knife.
You will need some skewers for trusting
the turkey. 1t is not always possible to
buy the long steel ones, but the butcher
will give you as. many long wooden ones
as you wish.
8. So much for buying the fowl. When
you have him at home, pull out all the pin
feathers. A strawberry huller or a point
ed knife are the best weapons. Then SINCE
the turkey. Be certain that all Of the en-
trails are removed. Very otter the butcher
will miss the lungs or 1.-The electric lights"
as someone's expression is. They are bright
red and spOngy and lie high up along the
back. Look for the kidneys, a darker red,
lower down along the back, and remove
them. Cut off the little oil bag on the top
Of the tail.
Wash the bird well in clear water, using
soap on the outside if the skin is especially
dirty. Do not let the turkey soak in the
water, which draws out its good flavor,
but let the water run through IL. II the
inside Of the turkey does not smell sweet,
wash it with strong soda water, and rub
soda underneath the wings.
Draw the skin around the neck down,
and cut off the neck close to the shoulders.
Also cut off the wing tips. These pieces
do not have very much meat on them, and
can be stewed with the giblets separately
for the gravy. To remove them makes a
better looking fowl.
4 OR bird is ready for his stuffing.
Below are variations for poultry stuffing.
My favOrite one is a combination with cell
cry, parsley, nuts and ~raisins, and 1t viii
take double the recipe for a good sized
bird. Use bread from the inside Of the
loaf, and do not add too much liquid. A
good stuffing should be crumbly when
taken from the fowl.
Salt the inside Of the fowl well. Pack
stUff1ng In the cavity There the crop was
below the neck. The butcher usually Sits
it there to take out the crop. And then fiji
the inside OF the bird with stuffing. Do not
pack 1t in too tightly because it swells. The
two openings may be closed by pinnine
with poultry pins, or by sewing with 8
darning needle and string. But most salts
factory for me is to lace the openings
closed with tOOthpicks and string, which
can be very quickly done, and which ar
easily removing after the bird is baked
without spelling its appearance.
3. The bird is trussed in this way=witl
a long string, tie its legs tight down to IL
tail. Leave the long ends Of the string
loose. Run a long skewer through the mid
die joint Of its leg, through the body an
out on the other side through the Othe
wing. This holds the wings and legs clos
to the body so that they viii not dry on
through the long baking, and also give
the bird a good appearance when It ]
brought to the table.
Pin the neck skin back with q tOOthpicl
To make the bird even more compact an
solid, bring the lower ends Of the strin
tied around It's legs, across the string o
the back Of the turkey; bring Il around th
ends Of the skewer through the wings an
tie II tight behind the shoulder blade 4
the bird. OF course, the atring could B