11.01.2013

Cajun Turkey Cheese..Er...Loaf...Er Pate'; Delicious Stuff

Peggy and I picked up a couple turkeys and made what us Cajuns call "cheese" out of them.  We enjoy making it and at a li'l less than $2. a lb. Not only is it delicious, but very economical.  They sell it in stores around here for over $6 a lb.  We like the fact that when we make it ourselves, we control the ingredients.  Nowadays, the stuff ya buy is full of chemicals; ya cant pronounce the fillers.  We know ours is healthy and delicious.  Here's how we do it:
We cut the turkey up like ya cut a chicken.
For this batch we used my Dad's old pot known as Gumbo Jr.
We added onions and bell pepper,
then came Cajun seasoning, "Woo" sauce, hot sauce, and liquid crab boil, then we covered the stuff with water.
Fired up the burner out on the patio.
Then let it boil for right at 2 hours at a gentle boil. 


Once that was done we took the meat out of the pot and put it in a couple dishpans to cool.
After the meat cooled we took it off the bone and strained the broth through a colander to make sure we got out all the little bones.  I should mention we did not boil the livers 'cause they are too strong flavored.  We saved the giblets for future stuffings or rice dressings.
Once it was all ground up we added the broth back, slowly bringing it to a pudding-like consistency
We weighed the finished cheese.

When it was done, we ended up with 7 loaf pans of this delicious Cajun delicacy.  It needs to sit in the fridge so it "sets".  It freezes well, makes good sandwiches, is good cubed as Hor D'Oeuvres on game day, on a cracker or straight up. It's nice to know what ya eating and its satisfying to know ya made it.  Here is the recipe we used, but feel free to adapt it and make it your own.
 
1 fresh turkey around 20 lbs
 
3 lbs. yellow onions, quartered
1 large bell  pepper, rough cut
1/2 cup Cajun seasoning, to taste
2 Tablespoons hot sauce, to taste
2 Tablespoons Worstershire sauce
2 Tablespoons liquid Crab boil
1 gallon of water
 
Follow the steps we gave you above. Enjoy!
 

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