Page 5 - NOV2020 BNM Digital Issue

bbq turkey season
It’s Turkey
Season, Pilgrims.
Give Thanks
Ardie Davis
aka Remus Powers BBQ Hall of Famer ardiedavis@kc.rr.com
Photo courtesy of Ardie Davis
recipes from BBQ Baron Chef Paul Kirk, BBQ Buddha Ray Sheehan and umpteen other talents—that I do fall off the salt and pepper truck now and then to try something different. Knowing DennyMike’s reputation and being a longtime fan of his other sea- sonings, I ordered some Turkey Lurkey for our Thanksgiving turkey, plus some extras to share with friends and family. As expected, Turkey Lurkey did not disappoint!
Here’s what happened. When my order promptly arrived via FexEx, I prepared to do a pre-Thanksgiving test run with Turkey Lurkey on a turkey breast. To my surprise, the meat department manager at our local supermarket that offers online ordering and free curbside delivery to our car trunk, said they wouldn’t have fresh whole turkey or parts until early November, past the deadline for this column. I settled for a whole chicken and some fresh ground turkey meat.
Everybody knows that the Thanksgiv- ing story we learned in childhood and have repeated with embellishments over the years is a mix of fact and fic- tion. We like to make it a feel-good story with an emphasis on unity, neighborliness, and bonding in a way that sharing food together, especially barbecue, does best.
We can be real, truthful and positive about Thanksgiving without being Pollyanna revisionists or all-out neg- ative. We are a work in progress, fully aware of our past. We are resolved to do better, not get stuck in our mis- takes, and move forward.
Thanksgiving 2020 is a special chal- lenge with COVID-19 still very much with us. Far too many families will be honoring loved ones who lost their life to the virus. With mournful hearts we’ll share good memories of them and give thanks for their continuing importance in our lives.
Practice run for Thanksgiving 2020. Since whole turkey wasn’t available yet at our local supermarket, I seasoned smoked chicken and ground turkey burgers with Turkey Lurkey and loved the results!
Our family, like many others, will forgo our traditional Thanksgiving feast together with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn casserole, roasted/glazed carrots, cranberry salad and pumpkin pie. Maybe we’ll have a vir- tual gathering or a conference call, but this year we’ll each stay home. Since it will be the two of us, Gretchen and I will feast on a turkey breast with traditional sides.
Just in time to answer my plan for something different this year, an ad from DennyMike’s Seasoning Blends for a Lim- ited Edition Turkey Lurkey Savory Seasoning Blend landed in my email box. Although my old standby barbecue sea- soning is salt and pepper, there are so many barbecue sea- sonings on the market today—plus a cornucopia of DIY
I lightly seasoned the chicken before and after smoking and the turkey burgers before and after grilling. We and our neighbors loved the results. The touch of fire that hit my taste buds before Turkey Lurkey did its magic as the meat cooked was mellowed with a sweet kiss of turbinado sugar finished with a special blend of flavors that did homage to the bird.
We are eagerly looking forward to smoked Turkey Lurkey turkey breast on Thanksgiving Day and beyond until our Limited Edition stash runs out!
Be Safe and Give Thanks. I’ll see you on the Barbecue Trail next year!
NOVEMBER 2020
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