Welcome back!
This year we had an opportunity to purchase a heritage breed turkey for Thanksgiving. We got a 20 pound Narragansett tom, and we cooked him side-by-side with a conventional turkey that my mom received from work. Narragansetts were the breed of turkey I had settled on when we were considering adding turkeys to our farm (they're still in the list, just not for next year!)
We brined both birds overnight; same brine (we use this one https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/234005/thanksgiving-turkey-brine/), same cooking method, made gravy the same way in order to taste the differences between the 2 birds. This experiment 100% confirmed for me that we need to raise our own turkeys! The meat has better texture and richer flavor.
This year I made my own jellied cranberry sauce again as well, using the recipe from Leda Meredith (http://ledameredith.com/jellied-cranberry-sauce-recipe-with-spicebush-and-orange/). It was such a hit last year that this year my mom did not insist on having an open can of the store bought stuff. I love the bright and complex flavor of the above recipe. It calls for cinnamon stick and spicebush berries, with a substitution of black pepper and allspice. I am determined to find spicebush to add to the homestead eventually, but for this year I'm settling for a couple of highbush cranberry plants!
Step 1
Notice the small bag of spices! Cinnamon sticks, black peppercorn, and while allspice.
Step 2
Cook until all the berries have popped, then boil for 5 more minutes. Be careful; that goop is HOT and it boils aggresively!
After cooking but before canning
I dont have a food mill yet, so I just ran it through the blender. Look at that color!
If anyone has any leads for spicebush plants near the middle of New Hampshire, let me know in the comments!
