thanksgiving dry run

This past weekend I had a Thanksgiving-themed potluck for the first-year med class, for which my classmate Leland prepared an 18-pound turkey for six hours in my kitchen.  Rather than do anything useful (trusting me with food prep is a risky move at best) I followed him around and documented the process.

Old bread ends from Take-It-Away, torn into chunks, for stuffing (add tarragon, scallions, celery, parsley, salt and pepper, and liberal amounts of butter).

Turkey heart (Leland was just as mesmerized as I was by the tiny but humanlike four-chambered heart).

Turkey gizzard set aside to flavor the gravy.  The gizzard is amazingly muscular and tough, used to grind up hard bits in the bird's diet.

The stuffing, pre-addition of the bread.  Dreamy amounts of butter.

The 2.5 pound log of butter purchased for the occasion.

Trussed with its own skin and ready for the oven.  I didn't manage to get any photos of the finished bird, but rest assured it was delicious--moist and flavorful.