Friday, November 21, 2008

Do You know where Your Food Comes From?

Today I helped our friend Tom Colbaugh process some turkeys for the upcoming holiday. We've been getting a local farm raised bird for the past few years- once you have an organic farm raised bird you will never go back to a frozen boat anchor from your local supermarket.

The hardest part is catching them, I personally didn't bleed any but I did everything else, add another skillset to my toolbox! After putting the birds in a sack with their head sticking out, they are hung upside down and their carotid artery is cut. It takes about 3-4 minutes for them the peacefully bleed out. Then their legs are removed at the knee joint and they are put into a scalding water bath for about 30 seconds, then into the de-feathering machine. It spins them around and rubber fingers pluck most of the feathers. Then the neck and entrails are removed, the neck, heart, and liver are put into a bag and stuffed inside the cavity and then they are soaked in water and then bagged and put into cooler.