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Thursday, December 4, 2008

My Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving fell right in the middle of my deer hunting season. I had a house full of hunters and had to come up with a meal....this was it.

First I spatchcocked a turkey and brined it overnight in a mixture of water, kosher salt, garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, and black pepper corns.
I then sliced some smoked sausage and placed it under the skin of the bird...rubbed the bird with butter and sprinkled with kosher salt, garlic powder and cracked black pepper.



Into my drum smoker with a bit of apple wood.....










The smoked sausage under the skin adds so much moisture to the bird....



I made a broccoli and rice dish...

Lots of dressing......



Fluffy whipped potatoes with bacon/onion sauteed corn....


I made a batch of garlic olives...served various pickles and olives....

Made deviled eggs, pecan, cherry and pumpkin pies... also cranberry sauce.

Also hot buttered rolls....
Thankfully, my deer hunting guests didn't complain. :)


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

ok... that does it, I'm coming to your house for thanksgiving next year! lol.

cowgirl said...

lol Mike...bring your hunting gear! :)

Mark said...

Who could complain about a meal like that? But I must ask you one important question...

How early should i make my reservation for next year? Now, I'll only come if you let me help cook! Mmmmm!

cowgirl said...

That sounds like a great idea to me MG!! I've seen the food you put out, I'd be getting the better end of the bargain! :)

Ulla said...

OMG woman. I wish you lived next door. :)
Smoked turkey? WOW!:)

Anonymous said...

Uhhh my husband showed me the link to your blog. Not sure where he found it.

sigh - how am I ever gonna live up to this!?

Looks great!

cowgirl said...

Thank you Ulla!
That smoked sausage and brine sure add a lot of flavor. Hope you give it a try sometime.

cowgirl said...

Sharon, Thank you!!
You are too kind. :)

Anonymous said...

Just found your site Sunday. It is great. Would like to know how to make garlic olives. Thank you.

cowgirl said...

Thank you Anonymous!
I fill a quart jar with pitted black olives, add about 1 tsp of oil and one large clove of garlic..minced. You can add herbs too if you like.
I keep them in the fridge and give the jar a shake every once in awhile.
They taste best if left in the fridge for a couple of days before eating.

Hope this makes sense! lol

Thanks for checking out my blog. :)

sod buster said...

Do you have a recipe for green olives? I have a couple of jars without the juice and would like to use them.

cowgirl said...

Sod Buster, I've never made garlic olives with them, but have cold smoked green olives before.

Also, sometimes I roll them in a kind of biscuit cheese mixture and bake them. If you're interested in the recipe, I can see if I can find it for you.