In 1879 the Canadian parliament declared a national holiday for Thanksgiving.
During the last change of dates for our October holiday in 1957 the government said: “this is the day for general Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the Bountiful Harvests.”
We certainly have a lot to be thankful for in our wonderful country.
We are extremely fortunate to be living in a free country where the only obstacles we face are generally those which we create by ourselves.
We can go on with our daily lives here in Williams Lake and area and not have to worry much about being attacked by terrorists or having really extreme weather. I think we have it pretty good, folks, and for all of this I am truly thankful.
Any self-respecting turkey with a knowledge of North American human culture knows it’s a good time to be hiding in the bush or under a tractor.
For those birds who survive the Thanksgiving slaughter, they’ll have a few more months to live, until Christmas.
Such is the life of a turkey.
The bird who is indeed a part of our culture and tradition.
This is a different method of cooking a turkey and the taste will make the extra time in getting the bird to the table worthwhile.
Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey
• 1 turkey about 10 to 12 pounds
• 2 quarts apple juice
• 1 cup seasoned sea salt
• 4 cups brown sugar
• 4 ounces of fresh ginger, sliced thinly
• 12 whole cloves
• 8 crushed garlic cloves
• 5 bay leaves
• 3 oranges, cut up
• 6 bay leaves
• smoking chips (alder or hickory will work)
Mix together brown sugar, salt and apple juice.
Bring to a boil and heat until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
Put this in a five-gallon pot with the apple juice mixture, four quarts of water, ginger, cloves, bay leaves and garlic.
Place turkey in this brine mixture so it is covered and refrigerated for 24 hours.
After brining put wood chips on barbecue in a small foil pan, enough to provide a nice slow smoke.
Remove turkey from brine, put on a roasting rack and on the grill for about 2.5 to 3 hours.
Let sit for about 10 minutes before you carve this juicy gobbler. Enjoy. It’s different and very tasty.
Take some time this long holiday weekend to be thankful for that which we have in this province and country.
We are blessed.
I will be thankful, also, if we don’t get snow for a while. My garden still looks like summer.
Bye for now and Goood Cooking.
Ken Wilson is a freelance columnist with the Tribune/Weekend Advisor.
