Slow Cooked Turkey

We killed three free ranging turkeys at the weekend. Relax, this one isn't dead yet! I wanted to show you the beautiful wings spanned out and the lacy under rear.  One doesn't see them like this very often.  We saved some of the feature feathers for a friends crafting work.

I won't get gory on you as I know many cannot kill their meat. I will tell you though that to pluck and draw it, they hung it from my beautiful garden arch that Craig made me for Christmas one year! This method worked very well as it was a good height and they had a large box underneath to capture the feathers.

These lovely free rangers had full crops when they were killed. One had a crop full of whole cherries and basil and another had a crop full of whole acorns!

One of the females we left whole for a roast and we had some of the kids around. I'm not just being a boast here, but, this was THE best roasted turkey I have ever had. It was moist all over and the meat was a beautiful texture. I think the proof is right there for a free ranged, humanely slaughtered bird.

What else can you do with turkey???

I discovered a French recipe of turkey breast cooked in white wine with grapes and artichoke hearts....but that's not in keeping with our home produce ideals at all (ie: I don't have any of those growing here or locally).

I found a recipe slow cooking it in milk...that gave me a better idea.

 

This - Slow Cooked Turkey in Milk with Leeks and Broccoli

I cut some breast and thigh into strips and covered it in milk in the slow cooker. I added salt and pepper and sliced leeks and broccoli stalks, then cooked on low for four hours. I added the broccoli flowerets and made a slake of plain flour and water and stirred this in to create a thicker white sauce. I turned it up to high for about half an hour. Meanwhile I cooked some rice to go with it.

I'll be honest here and tell you that Craig thought it was weird but he liked it (He had two helpings of weird!)

I liked the way the leeks infused the dish and I think they are a great partner for turkey.