Dreaming of Thanksgiving Dinner in May
It may be May, but Sasquatch is already dreaming of Thanksgiving dinner.
The turkey has long been the centerpiece of any respectable American Thanksgiving dinner. And this year, Sasquatch intends to rear, harvest, and give thanks to God over a heritage Spanish Black turkey raised wild in the Wallows . . . possibly cooked wrapped in bacon . . .
Of course, if you are going to raise your own turkey to eat in November, you have to start planning dinner in the spring. So Sasquatch ordered and received two dozen Spanish Black turkeys in early May.
The Spanish Black is considered a rare breed of turkey, a heritage turkey. This breed can be traced back to the Spanish explorers of the 1500’s. The Spanish explorers took Aztec turkeys from Mexico back to Europe. Black colored turkeys became popular in Spain where they were known as “Black Spanish”, and in England, especially in the Norfolk region where they were known as “Norfolk Blacks.” After being selected for meat production for more than two centuries, the Black Spanish turkey made the voyage back to the Americas with early European colonists. Once here, the variety was crossed with Eastern wild turkeys, which formed the basis for the Black turkey variety in America.
The plumage of this variety is a lustrous, metallic black with a greenish sheen on top and a dull black undercolor. Skin of the Black turkey is usually white, as in all turkey varieties, but some writers speak of a yellow tinge to the skin that is not seen in other varieties. This may be influenced by diet, as turkeys on range with access to green feed and corn tend to have a more yellow cast to the skin.
Today the Black turkey breed is raised mainly for meat production. Their meat has superior flavor and has captured consumer interest.
The Spanish Black is listed as Threatened by The Livestock Conservancy. You can learn more HERE.
If you have been paying attention, you know that Sasquatch doesn’t do things like other farms. Sasquatch has no intention of these birds being around the farm house and yard.
Instead, Sasquatch plans on releasing his turkey flock in the creek bottoms. He’ll do the best to protect them from predators, but these turkeys will hopefully establish a reproducing wild flock in the Wallows.
Come late October or November, we’ll start to hunt these birds to put on our Thanksgiving dinner tables. See Hunting at Sasquatch Wallows.