Sometimes failure is inevitable.

Legume

thetrim

Scottie, did you call the Butterball hotline?

thetrim

I would just say that it allowed you more time to enjoy the fried squirrel nuts and donkey anus you prepared for the day

DoubleEgger

thetrim said:

Scottie, did you call the Butterball hotline?

Actually not a bad idea 

Mattman3969

@sgh - I’m guessing  that your particular Turkey was a severe heroin addict and each raw spot were needle injection spots that had tainted the meat to the point of petrification.  

Sorry you got a junk bird.  

SGH

Mattman3969 said:

Sorry you got a junk bird.  

That right there is my dilemma. I know the bird was bad but I can not figure out what was wrong. I am going to share something that most of you do not know about me. I am very anal. It really eats at me when I can not figure something out. I can not let things go. I am still fuming about it. 

ColtsFan

Definitely sounds like a schitt happens scenario...I got nothing 

littlerascal56

I am exactly the same way.  I’m still pissed over ruining a batch of “cold smoked cheese” I made in 2017!  Can smell that nasty stuff every time I think of it.

Matt86m

This will forever be known as The Great Bird Mystery of 2019

SGH

Matt86m said:

This will forever be known as The Great Bird Mystery of 2019

Not forever my friend. Whatever it takes I am going to come with an answer. But I agree, it is definitely a mystery. 

lousubcap

@SGH Just as no one can explain what you experienced, no one will be able to challenge your answer so make it a great one. 

Gulfcoastguy

Someone swapped the turkey for a buzzard in mid fry? It was a trial Impossible Turkey? Only the Shadow knows?

RRP

I haven't studied all the replies so maybe this has already been ruled out...what about the oil itself? If rancid to start with I'm sure you would have gagged at the beginning, but could the oil have been on the verge of going bad and therefore suddenly go rancid as it started to heat or mix with the turkey grease?

JohnInCarolina

@SGH - the parts that weren’t done, were they cold to the touch?  

WeberWho

Has anyone blamed the Muhle R41 yet? That's my only logical guess.

WeberWho

Also sorry to hear about the bird. Hopefully still got to spend some quality time with friends and family.

SGH

RRP said:

I haven't studied all the replies so maybe this has already been ruled out...what about the oil itself? If rancid to start with I'm sure you would have gagged at the beginning, but could the oil have been on the verge of going bad and therefore suddenly go rancid as it started to heat or mix with the turkey grease?

Ron the oil was brand new right out of the jug. Never used. Crystal clear LouAnn peanut oil. 

SGH

JohnInCarolina said:

@SGH - the parts that weren’t done, were they cold to the touch?  

No sir. The absolute coldest part of the bird was 50 degrees. It averaged 55 degrees. I am absolutely certain of this. 

SGH

WeberWho said:

Has anyone blamed the Muhle R41 yet? That's my only logical guess.

In hind site, I should of just shaved and called it a day 👍

JohnInCarolina

SGH said:

JohnInCarolina said:

@SGH - the parts that weren’t done, were they cold to the touch?  

No sir. The absolute coldest part of the bird was 50 degrees. It averaged 55 degrees. I am absolutely certain of this. 

I meant after it came out of the fry, not before.

SGH

JohnInCarolina said:

SGH said:

JohnInCarolina said:

@SGH - the parts that weren’t done, were they cold to the touch?  

No sir. The absolute coldest part of the bird was 50 degrees. It averaged 55 degrees. I am absolutely certain of this. 

I meant after it came out of the fry, not before.

John when it came out I did my usual routine. I temped both thighs, both legs and both sides of the breast near the bone. 

The dark meat was consistent at 189. The breast 158. That is actually 3 degrees higher than I normally take them. 

JohnInCarolina

SGH said:

JohnInCarolina said:

SGH said:

JohnInCarolina said:

@SGH - the parts that weren’t done, were they cold to the touch?  

No sir. The absolute coldest part of the bird was 50 degrees. It averaged 55 degrees. I am absolutely certain of this. 

I meant after it came out of the fry, not before.

John when it came out I did my usual routine. I temped both thighs, both legs and both sides of the breast near the bone. 

The dark meat was consistent at 189. The breast 158. That is actually 3 degrees higher than I normally take them. 

I understand.  But you started to slice it open, and then noticed whole regions that were undercooked, right?  My question is whether or not you felt those sections at that point or not, and had a chance to see if they were actually a little cold still.  

Botch

Gulfcoastguy said:

Someone swapped the turkey for a buzzard in mid fry? 

Buzzard Trivia!  
Buzzards have a pretty good sense of smell, unlike almost all other birds, which helps them locate carrion on the ground.  
Their heads are bald, for the same reason; it allows them to dive into a rotting carrion, to get the good parts underneath, without "mussing their hair".  
 
This program has been sponsored by Purina Buzzard Chow.  

SGH

@JohnInCarolina
In hind sight I should of took pictures. With that said at that time posting about it was not on my mind. I will try to explain what i am talking about. 

If you have ever done any bird, squirrel or rabbit hunting this will make it very clear. The spots was roughly the size of #6 birdshot. It was not hundreds of them but just taking a guess I would say there was 20 give or take a few either way. What makes it even more strange is that they were at various depths. That is simply unheard of my friend but I saw it with my own 4 eyes. 

I have talked to several people that are sure enough experts and they say the same thing. Never seen or heard of anything like it. There is no question that something was off with the bird (disease, genetic deformities, etc etc) but that’s what is eating at me. I can’t crack the code and pin it down. 

SGH

Thanks to everyone who offered their thoughts and opinions. By all means, if anyone has seen this before please offer your input. I welcome it my friends. 

thetrim

SGH

Botch said:

Gulfcoastguy said:

Someone swapped the turkey for a buzzard in mid fry? 

Buzzard Trivia!  
Buzzards have a pretty good sense of smell, unlike almost all other birds, which helps them locate carrion on the ground.  
Their heads are bald, for the same reason; it allows them to dive into a rotting carrion, to get the good parts underneath, without "mussing their hair".  
 
This program has been sponsored by Purina Buzzard Chow.  

On a very serious note, and all jokes aside, my Uncle Frank Hamilton made the best Buzzard Stew that you have ever had. It was second to none. 

wardo

@sgh really?!

What does properly prepared buzzard taste like?  The weirdest flying thing I've ever knowingly eaten is bat, so this I'm curious about.

SGH

wardo said:

@sgh really?!

What does properly prepared buzzard taste like?  The weirdest flying thing I've ever knowingly eaten is bat, so this I'm curious about.

In all honesty it reminds you of a cross between raccoon and beaver meat. My uncle would trap the buzzards and feed them out on table scraps for several weeks. It removed the off taste that they have. He would stew them down in gravy and onions and it was quite good. Again it reminded you of beaver or coon meat.  

caliking

This sounds stupid, but how big was the bird and what size was the pot? Could this have been caused by too big of a bird in a not big enough pot?

lastly, was the thermo calibrated?

That’s all I’ve got. Having fried a grand total of 3 turkeys in my life.