I must say - this was probably the most organized Thanksgiving turkey dinner I've cooked. Thank goodness. My oven behaved - probably because I took care to tuck in the wings this time - so that the dripping grease wouldn't drop down onto the burners causing a bit of a "flare-up" which My oven is prone to do if something boils over. Anyway, I cooked the bird as I usually do - upside down on the "X" shaped rack that has been a stand-by for such an event each turkey day. The bird is then slow cooked at 250 degrees - not basting until the skin hardens a bit. This seals in the juices, making the bird more moist. About half way through after the underside is nicely browned, I turn the bird over, to brown and cook the breast. When the breast reaches 180 degrees internally, we grab the carvers and that beautiful creation soon becomes a mess. Everything turned out quite well - expect perhaps for the marshmallows that were put on the sweet potato/pineapple dish - they refused to melt and perhaps the toasting oven was a bit too toasty. Ahem. So - now for making the pies. I liked my scheme last year - freezing the turkey, dressing and gravy in a pie pan shaped container. Then it is ready for use - either put in a pie shell - adding frozen peas, and top crust and baking. Or - just heating it up for another plain meal. Either way, lots of good left-over eating in store. As luck would have it - I had lots of volunteer help with clean up - and yours truly was ready for early retirement. Hope you had a nice holiday. Soooo - on to the next big bash - right. What are you planning on eating for X-mas - another turkey perhaps/or? Oh yes - about the dressing - it was a bit moist - will add less moisture next time, but tasty nevertheless. Some sage would have been nice tho. Just my 2 c's. Bejay

Peter2K, that's what I'm going to do, fill the whole bin with cardboard chips. I'm beginning to wonder if the only problem really IS water though. The bin was definitely anaerobic, but not that much worse than the previous 4 months. It could be that the harvest and sitting on a plastic bag started a cascade of bad, as you suggested. I also put in an "organic freshener" which had baking soda in it, right before the harvest. That was dumb of me, I was thinking 'hey, carbonate should be good", and forgot that sodium is Not so good. I saved a bunch of baggies of scraps and have them in the freezer, gonna thaw one out and put it in a corner with regular bedding before I fill with cardboard chips. 3DinAz, that was fascinating, I've printed your post out and am going to give it a try when I have more time to re-read. I'm betting the process reeks though! Lactobac is a very odd genus, they keep reclassifying species in and out of it and making whole new groupings. When I took plant pathology I think they said there were over 300 different species in the genus and it was difficult to even tell you had Lactobac because there are so many lactic-acid forming bacteria. I believe they are all anaerobic, in that they don't use oxygen to drive their metabolism, but are "air-tolerant" in that it won't kill them.

LOL John; actually, the poultry industry practices a huge amount of gender discrimination. All the chickens you buy in the stores are female (with the exception of capons, which are neutered males). One of the higher paid positions at a poultry production facility is the chicken sexer. Yup, it's just what it sounds like. Within a few days of hatching, a highly trained specialist looks at the chicken's nether portions and determines if it is a female--in which case it goes on to get fed and grows up into a chicken--or a male, in which case it is killed. A very few males are allowed to live to propagate the species, but most of them are destroyed. In some places they might let a few males live to become caponized, but if you're a chicken with a Y chromosome, chances are your life span is measured in hours. The chicken sexer is important to the profitability of the operation. You don't want to needlessly destroy any tender female chickens, and don't want to waste food on any males. Ladies, don't get any ideas.

My husband got into this trip of deep-frying a turkey every Thanksgiving. The only way to season one of those is to use an injector. Otherwise, all seasoning boils off or out, even if you stuff it between the breast and the skin. So, yes, I use an injector and I inject a mixture of oil and spices. Honestly? I've had better luck with the disposable injectors that come with marinades than with the metal injector. The problem is that you are disposing of a "sharp" if you throw them away. You need to take precautions to tape the needle. Ham probably won't work as the meat is too dense. (And I roast two other turkeys for those who don't care for the deep-fried ones.)