Fire on the Turkey

This latest Wattless Wednesday was a hoot. Let's just say all our grand plans didn't go so well. The plan was to cook bread in our solar oven, bbq a turkey and use no electricity.

Praise be to God it was a beautiful day. My car thermometer said it was 82. So at noon (the book said mid-day sun was the best) we set up our little solar cooker. While doing so we discovered a little frog and that distracted us for about a half hour til it finally hopped into the oven and we were able to catch it. Lets just say the chase was more fun than the actual having the frog in the jar, now what do we do with it since mom will not let us keep it, moment. We put our cast iron pan in the oven and left it. The book said it should cook in half the time it takes normally....well, not so much. At four that afternoon we gave up. Next time we are going to use a box lined with black and line our silver car shield with foil. We think its wrinkliness was a factor of it not working. So next week, we will try again.

The turkey was a riot. As per the Internet instructions, we put the briquettes on either side of the drip pan and put the turkey on and left it alone for 30 min. At that time we went to baste it and found that all but a few of the charcoals were out. So in our inventiveness we threw on some cotton balls and kindling to try to get them started. And they did. But there must have been some flying embers because all of a sudden little man comes running in saying the grease is on fire. I, knowing that he exaggerates a bit sent the oldest out to check what is going on. "Mom, I think you need to check this out!" So out I go and the turkey is a Phoenix! There are flames shooting a foot above this thing and the bottom is black! Now I know from past experience not to throw water on it so I send for the baking soda. How to get the baking soda under the turkey into the now melting aluminum drip pan was another challenge. With a lot of shrieking by little onlookers, we managed to lift the 23 lb turkey with the burger flipper and bbq tongs and put out the flames...and what was left of the coals. Now I have to get this thing cooked so that we don't die of salmonella. We had to break the no electricity rule and pull out the roaster. The blackened bird went in and 3 hours later was done. It was amazingly tasty. I thought it would be awful from all the flames, but it had a beautiful smokey flavor instead.

Meanwhile, back at the grill, those stupid coals come back to life! Can't let them go to waste so we put the pan of bread that never cooked but is nicely risen on and it bakes into a crusty goodness. Not an easy task with gluten free bread. The kids by this time are starving. Another praise God to pre-made burgers from the Cash and Carry and we once again break the no electricity rule and open the deep freeze and pull them out and onto the grill they go. We called them hors d'oeuvres.

We stayed out til 9pm, enjoying the sunshine and little flying creatures and then came in. I read to them from a Mercy the Pig library book and off to bed we went, another Wattless Wednesday under our belt. Now all I have to do is figure out how to get the melted aluminum off the bottom of the grill.