Starting BIG! What to do with a turkey.

Really, I just want to get these pics out of my image folder because they are in my way! Plus, I think it will make a good practice post for uploading, etc...

A few months back, I found some Butterball fresh turkeys in the post holiday markdown bins at the grocery store. They were BIG turkeys, not close to expiring, and only $5 each. I bought them both with the intention of sticking them in my freezer but when I got home, I realized that they had a lot more potential boned and packed separately. So, I began.

The first thing I did was open up the turkeys, of course! Then, I removed the legs.

Definitely sharpen your knives before jointing and boning a turkey.

 Then, I took off the wings and cut them at the joints. The wing tips went into the bowl for the scraps for making schmaltz.

Then, I carefully removed the breasts. Everyone loves a big breast! I gave them a nice squeeze.

 After taking the meat off the thighs, I diced it up into bits for stir fry and soups.

 Unfortunately, I had to decline the offer for assistance.

With a sharp knife and a lot of care, your carcass should look like this.

 Then you put it on the stove in a big pot and cover it with water. Let it boil for about an hour, then *eye* took it out and carefully took off the cooked bits because otherwise they lose flavor. I ended up with 4 cups of precooked turkey for freezing and using in pot pies. Put the bones back into the pot and simmer them for several hours and you will have a thick turkey stock. After straining it, I made sure I had 10 quarts of stock, which, if I had paid $1 per quart at the store, would save me the cost of the turkeys at $5 each.

 The cooked turkey bits....
Somehow, several pictures are missing from my hard drive so I will now list what I got for my $10 investment.

4 turkey legs ... store cost: $6
4 turkey wings ... store cost  $6
4 5 pound boneless turkey breasts ... store cost $50
3 2 pound packages of boneless thigh meat ... guessing store cost $6 (can't find this in store)
4 cups of cooked turkey bits ... $5
10 quarts of frozen turkey stock ... $10
 A bag of fat and skin for schmaltz and gribenes ... priceless.


The only way I could make this better would be if I took these neck bones below and made a crappy craft to sell.

And there you have it. I will never buy turkey in any form again but whole and cut it up.

End first post. This was pretty easy.