I am in desperate need some more advise on my first Turkey. You all have been great so far, I hope I'm not wearing out my welcome.
I did search the archives reference Turkey fleshing, specifically how to get the jelly crap out of the crop / neck area.
Can anyone tell me the best way of getting rid of that stuff? I worked on that bird for seven hours Saturday removing all the meat from wings and legs, taking the tail off, etc. Everything went well but I'm having the worse time getting that jelly off. Is this normal? Did I skin it wrong?
I tried pressure washing (won't do that again) and the 3" wire wheel on a drill. There was crap flying all over the place. What a mess! I looked like I was in the St Valantines day massacre. Fortunately I did it outside as recommended by one of the previously submitted questions in the archives.
I finally just washed and rinsed it and re-froze it for another day.
I bought the Ed Thompson video but in his video the bird is already finished with the fleshing stage by the time he starts. I also bought those three back issues from Breakthrough. They're extremely helpful, but don't address the "how to" with the crop area.
Any secrets?
Thanks
Pat
PS: I may just stick to ducks!
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Freezing is going to help. Hopefully, you have the skin inverted with the feathers on the inside. Let it thaw for an hour or so. You can almost peel it off with your fingers. Once you've got most of the bulk off, you'll have to wire wheel it. YES, it's going to be very messy. That's why most people hate to fool with them. Once you start wire wheeling just keep putting the borax on that area. I just did an article for Taxidermy Today that covers fleshing in pretty good detail. I hope this helps.
Pat, try using scissors to remove the bulk of the sponge. Work along the feather tracts or slightly across and you can remove the bulk of the "gunk" with ease. Clean it up with a wire wheel and you're done.
Scissors take practice but once you get used to using them and your fingers get the necessary "callouses" your birds will come out much cleaner and so will you.
Paul Czarnecki
www.tristatetaxidermy.com
Thanks guys. Appreciate the advice. Looks like I'm on track. Still quite a bit of sponge to get off. I didn't try the scissor or the borax with the wheel. I used a sharp knife. That stuff is hard to grab and cut. Great tips!
Round two coming up.
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Hey Robbie, I didn't invert the bird. I wrapped it in two towels and then place inside three garbage can liners. Am I OK?
Pat
You can also use a regular wire brush with a wood handle it doesnt make as much of a mess just keep cleaning the bristles
Pat, you're OK. Of course you'll have to thaw it to invert it to work again. Once it's thawed enough to invert, do so and the bulk of the blubber/breast fat will still have ice in it. Like Paul said, use scissors and your fingers to get most of it off. Be careful with the scissors not to cut the tips of the quills off. In the breast area, the feathers are barely hanging on anyway. When you cut the quill tips off, you often have cut where they attach to the skin without realizing it. It takes practice. Oh yeah, use the borax sparingly until you get to the wire wheel part. It will dull your scalpel and scissors instantly. Best of luck.
If you are going to do any number of turkeys, get a good wheel, mounted in a housing that catches all that mess. Trust me, its alot simpler. I forget the name of mine, but its a real nice unit. Its basically a wooden box, with an open front and a plexiglass top. The motor is mounted on the back, and the wheel is inside. Just above the wheel is a guard to catch the majority of the goo.