Husband's family weird Thanksgiving custom

No. Never heard of this. I'm not particularly fond of turkey (or chicken) skin, but the rest of the fam loves it.

What a whole heap of extra effort loaded onto the shoulders of one person!

If it's for health reasons, maybe someone should point out that it might be a better idea to remove the skin before it's cooked?

I'm thinking, though, that when hubby and his siblings (assuming he has some!) were little, they didn't like chewing on the tough skin, so maybe mum started removing it before serving. And it grew from there.

Never heard of that one, though!

Good Lord!
Who gives away good fat???!?!!!

StephanieFox said:

They peel the turkey before they serve it. They throw the skin away, unless I get to it first.

Has anyone ever heard of this? I think it's very strange. If it's for health reasons, each person could remove the tiny rim of turkey skin from their own piece. Why d

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Perhaps I might ask for a contract on their discarded turkey skin?

Seriously, though, it is easier to carve the breast meat with the skin removed. Maybe that's why they do it? I'll take the skin off one side, remove the breast meat and carve it on a cutting board. Then I'll slice the skin up and stick that on the plate too, so anyone who want some can help him/herself.

You want dark meat (and I do) deal with it.

My turkey is usually so moist the skin and the meat falls right off. I've never purposely skinned the turkey but no one likes to eat it either, so it usually gets left behind in the pan to get thrown away with the stuff I stuffed the turkey with.

It's like the story of the woman whose mother used to always cut a slice of her meatloaf off before baking it. Years later, when making meatloaf for her own family, she asked her mother why she did that?

"We didn't have a pan big enough for the entire loaf."

Not everyone has the same taste for stomach as you do, Derek. Some people prefer the OUTSIDE of the animal.

dpaterso said:

Ah huvnae the stomach for stomach! Haggis* gies me the boak!**

* the traditional Scottish delicacy, not the Horror forum moderator. No, wait...
** (transl.) makes me throw up

-Derek

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I may be mistaken, but some Indians (Hindu) consider the chicken skin to be unclean and remove it before cooking.

Perhaps the same goes for turkeys or other poultry.

ElaraSophia said:

I didn't realise people ever discarded the skin. I thought that was the best bit, especially if you've stuffed herbs or something under it before cooking. Do people discard the skin on chicken, too? Here I'd always assumed that everyone thought the skin was the tastiest bit of poultry. The world is not as I thought! I haz learned something.

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I hate the skin, on fried chicken I pick off the breaded skin. I love chicken fingers.

We take the skin off, mostly because no one really eats it, but we don't throw it away. It goes into the pot with the bones, and gets boiled into broth.

If it's for health reasons, wouldn't you remove the skin BEFORE cooking it so the fat isn't absorbed into the flesh?

And I'm sorry, that's just weird. What sort of freak doesn't like turkey skin?

Oh, sorry, didn't see you there jenn.

Skin: the new white meat.

I knew there was something wrong with this thread before entering. Just knew it.

Excuse me while I go get the Tums. Yick.

The skin is great for holding in the seasonings. I just can't really eat it even when crispy and brown. I don't think the peeling is too weird, I mean, I always skin my deer, cows, and other assorted animals before eating.

A huge part of Thanksgiving festivities is the meal, and the pomp and fanfare of bringing out a beautiful, big, golden brown turkey for the family to ooh and ah over. Hauling out a flabby, pale turkey stripped of it's skin, is really anti-climactic. There is no drama in that meal - just food.

My family has always wrapped the bird in bacon and then covered it in a bag.

After a few hours, the skin is so lovely and juicy that it would be A SIN (one of those Moses dropped in the third tablet, I'm sure) to get rid of it!

However, its served all cut up on two plates (white and dark) as the "voila" presentation moment wasn't possible in my grandparents eat-in kitchen and despite the feast having traveled to other hosts, that hasn't changed.

Alphabeter said:

My family has always wrapped the bird in bacon

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If only I could get away with it...

I LOVE the skin. Not all of it, just the bit around the breast meat that's sliced off at the same time.

Cooking the bird with the skin holds in the juices, not necessarily the fat. It also adds more flavour to the drippings when you make the gravy.

If you don't want it, you can peel it off your piece before you eat it, although I can't imagine doing that with a drumstick.

Everyone in my family fights over the skin. I just make sure it's golden and crispy, not dark brown and tough.

MUST



HAVE



SKIN!!





Who would throw away that lovely tastey skin?

For shame!




.