Barbecue Turkey

Not really on the Barbi, but cooked in a barbecue sauce, anyway.



When my wife said she was marinading a turkey leg in barbecue sauce, I was a little skeptical. I have to admit, it came out well, though. It was juicy, flavorful and the texture was good.


This summer we raised turkeys again. We did more this year because last year's turned out well and we sold them easily. Again, they sold easily this year. My wife says she couldn't do any more than we did this year. I don't blame her doing all the slaughter and butcher ourselves was a lot of work.


We have eaten four turkeys for various holiday gatherings, one went to my brother, two went into our freezer as parts and the rest we sold. The turkey along with the goat from bucklings, roosters and the occasional pig we buy are most of our meat. We don't look a gift piece of beef in the mouth, but we don't by beef because we have enough of our own meat. It makes it that much more special to get it on rare occasions.

It's just an interesting juxtaposition for me. I can remember how long it's been since I bought a 29 cents a pound loss leader turkey or dollar ninety nine manager's special pork loin. Contrary to a lot of assumptions, raising our own food isn't so much about saving money. It's about knowing what food our food eats.

Food Snoot

A friend has rescued me. Well, thrown me a lifeline, anyway. You know, one of those donut floating things. Well, it's better than drowning, really!

I've been through two or three gallons of feedlot milk. I even mistakenly bought 1% milk. Friends have come to my rescue with a shipment of milk from their goats. It has been great to have real milk in the house again. I had an image in my head that I would quit drinking milk when I dried off the goats. But quitting a forty year habit has proven difficult. Even just until Ruffles kids in March.

This is kind of a good segue for something I have been thinking about for a while. Over the past 10 years I have become snooty about food. Ten years ago I felt pretty superior about cooking a dinner that was a supermarket turkey, store bought potatoes, packaged stuffing. Today, I turn up my nose at eggs that didn't come from my yard, I feel bad about feeding my goats grain from away. My wife and I talk behind our friends backs about their shopping habits. We now sell food and produce from our farm. And my eating habits have truly changed.

It's probably been a little annoying for my friends who are ahead of me on this curve. Urgently emailing them at all hours of the night with some food related tidbit of news that they have known about for years. I appreciate their forbearance in these matters.