This Is How You Slaughter A Turkey For Thanksgiving

Today, we are going to share with you what slaughtering turkeys is all about. In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving, and the millions of birds that will be slaughtered for this occasion, we felt the timing was appropriate. This here is not a tale of "look how awful the slaughtering of turkeys is." And it is definitely not a look at the horrors of factory-farmed birds. Rather, this is an unbiased look at what it means to slaughter a turkey on a small farm.

The series of photographs below is presented in an attempt to connect us, the consumers of turkey on Thanksgiving, to the meat we are going to eat through an understanding of how that food got from the farm to our plates. The photos and information presented below are on the gruesome side -- if you have a weak stomach and don't like the sight of blood, this is not for you -- but the photos are not meant to shock, just educate.

The photos and video presented below are courtesy of Kristeva Dowling from The Howling Duck Ranch.

The turkey is put into position.

Kristeva Dowling

Some small processing operations will have what are called killing cones that will hold the turkey snugly upside down. (It looks like an inverted cone with a hole at the bottom to pass the turkey's head through.) Another option is to hang the birds by their feet as this small farm did. Those who have access to shockers will use them to stun the birds before slitting their throats.

The jugular is cut.

Kristeva Dowling

The jugular is located and cut in one swift motion, being careful not to remove the entire head.

The bird is bled.

Kristeva Dowling

This is the step that usually upsets most people, but it happens a lot quicker than you'd imagine. The birds take just a minute or two to drain all their blood.

The feathers are loosened.

Kristeva Dowling

Once the blood has been entirely drained from the birds, the turkey gets placed for 10-15 seconds in hot water (roughly 180 degrees) to loosen the feathers. This makes the job of plucking the birds significantly easier.

The feathers are removed.

Kristeva Dowling

Some processing set ups come equipped with automatic pluckers which are essentially a barrel with rubber fingers in it that loosen the feathers from the bird. If this is not available, the feathers are plucked by hand as is pictured above.

The top part of the bird is cleaned.

Kristeva Dowling

Cleaning the top part of the turkey involves careful incisions and finger work to remove the head, neck, aorta, windpipe and stomach. The head is removed from the neck, which is often saved because the meat from the neck can be used.

The lower legs are removed.

Kristeva Dowling

A cut between the joint severs the cartilage and makes removing the lower legs easy.

The bottom half of the bird is cleaned.

Kristeva Dowling

First the oil sack is removed which is located at the base of the tail. Next, the anus is removed. In order to carefully remove the anus (and not cut the colon), an incision is made around it.

The innards are removed.

Kristeva Dowling

The innards are loosened from the chest cavity by hand and pulled out of the bird. This includes the heart, liver and gizzards.

The turkeys are cleaned in a cold bath.

Kristeva Dowling

Once the turkeys have been slaughtered and eviscerated, they must be kept at 40 degrees so that they remain safe for consumption. The cold water bath makes that possible.

The turkeys are now ready for cooking.

Happy Thanksgiving.

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