When turkeys go on sale, I tend to buy several. It seems like too good a deal to pass up. The problem is, we really don't like turkey! So I'm always presented with a dilemna. Do I cook up the turkey, knowing that whatever is not eaten initially will not be eaten as refrigerated or freezer leftovers. So this year I tried something new -- I canned turkey. Yes, you heard it right, canned turkey. It's pretty much a day long chore, but it's worth it because we love canned turkey. I start early in the morning with a thawed turkey and get it in the largest pot available (it has to be huge for those 20+ pound turkeys). The turkey is covered with water and then salt and other spices are added (this time it was thyme, summer seasoning and poultry seasoning). The turkey is simmered for 1 1/2 hours. You don't want to overcook. In fact undercooked is better since it will be processed in a pressure canner so long that it will finish it's cooking in the jars. After the turkey is cooked, I set it out on a tray and let it cool for about 45 minutes before I start deboning the meat. That's the messy part and least liked by me. I filled a large bowl with all the meat. Then the meat is packed in a jar, 1 tsp. salt added for each quart (1/2 tsp. for pints), boiling water poured over the meat with a 1" head space and it's processed at 10 pounds pressure for 90 minutes. Best of all it's delicious. We use it in soups, for casseroles and any other recipe calling for precooked chicken. One word of warning with processing meats, after 90 minutes of pressure it takes a long time, I mean a long time, for the pressure to drop in the canner and jars. Don't be in a hurry to get them out. I didn't take my jars out for almost 2 hours after the canner came off the stove and even 4 hours later the jars were still bubbling inside. Tomorrow I'll clean the outisde of each jar, label and date them and store them for those cold winter nights when nothing is better than a bowl of steaming hot turkey soup!
