THE FIRST THANKSGIVING TURKEY RAISED AT THE HOMESTEAD

The turkey was made using a traditional Russian family recipe, stuffed with apples and sour cranberries. The best part was that we raised the turkey ourselves and although he was not hatched at Reilly Farms, we still gave him a name: Derp.

Derp wasn’t a broad-breasted turkey, instead he was just a regular old brown wild turkey weighing in at about 12 lbs. However, he was plenty to feed all of the family!

Who attended:

The Seleznev Family, Bann Family and Reilly Family.

My husband Dalai expertly carved the baked turkey for us.

He was also the one who butchered the turkey in the first place. I was in charge of marinating, baking and serving it.

For the marinade:

I chose a saline solution with Himalayan Pink Salt, Fresh Rosemary, Fresh Thyme, Oregano, Black Pepper and Worcestershire Sauce.

The turkey was then left in the fridge submerged in the marinade for a whole 24 hours.

We then took the turkey out, stuffed it with Fuji and Gala apples cut into slices, and the cranberries as well as lemon juice and half a lemon to plug the opening. No sewing up necessary!

Then, we covered the entire turkey in herbed butter and began the baking process.

After about 2 hours baking it in the oven at 350°F, we took off the foil covering it and allowed it to roast for another hour and a half with a water bath underneath.

And Voila!

It was served on a bed of roasted gold potatoes and fresh rosemary. Delicious!