(This is an easy, nutritious, and traditional New Year’s dish.)

• 1, 1-lb. bag of dried beans or blackeyed peas.
• Bone from 1 smoked picnic ham, preferably with some meat still attached.
• 2 quarts water
• Salt
• Pepper

Rinse beans and soak in 2 quarts water for 6-8 hours or overnight. Drain. Place ham bone and beans in a large saucepan or dutch oven and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook slowly for 1 hour ur until beans are tender. Salt and pepper to taste.

Download the brochure, Care of Your Smoked Turkey or Picnic Ham

(Some of our customers claim they enjoy the soup as much as the turkey. Here’s one recipe you can try.)

• 1 smoked turkey carcass
• 4 quarts water
• 6 small potatoes, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 4 large carrots, diced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1.5 cups shredded cabbage
• 1, 7.5 oz can tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup uncooked barley
• 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried parsley flakes
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp dried tyme

Bring turkey carcass and water to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 2 hours. Remove bones and pick all meat from bones. Return meat to broth. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 1 hour or until vegetables are tender.

Download the brochure, Care of Your Smoked Turkey or Ham.

Our club has carefully smoked your turkey or ham for about 8 hours using hickory and/or pecan wood. Here are some safety tips to make your holidays the best.

Keep it cool – If you are not going to eat the turkey or ham within 3 or 4 hours, cool it as quickly as possible. A good way to quickly cool it is to place it in the freezer overnight. In the morning, put the cooled meat in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat it.

Or keep it hot. Never leave your turkey or ham at room temperature for more than two hours. Either keep it hot, above 140º F, or refrigerated below 40º F.

Enjoy the leftovers. Leftovers kept in the refrigerator are best if used within four days.

Freeze the rest. Frozen leftovers may keep for several months. Food may be frozen longer and remains safe, but it tends to lose its flavor and become drier.

When reheating, bring the internal temperature up to 165º F.

Download the brochure, Care of Your Smoked Turkey or Ham.

The Saturday and Sunday before Thanksgiving is full of action. This is what happened in 2015.

Saturday, Nov. 21 – 9:00 AM

We had a crew cleaning up the facility, disinfecting all surfaces, and scraping the grills.

Don scraping the grill. Make sure he’s out before we light the fires!

9:00 PM

Fires were lit a few hours earlier. A big crew prepped the meat for the first batch and got them on the grills.
     

11:00 PM to 6:00 AM

A crew of Civitans remained overnight to keep the fires going and rotate and baste the meat.

Sunday, Nov. 22 – 6:00 AM

The first batch of turkeys and hams are taken off and packaged. The second batch is prepped and put on the grills. The overnight crew goes home to rest, a new crew stays during the day to maintain the fires and rotate & baste the meat.

12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM

Customers pickup their purchases. The second batch comes off around 2:00 PM. We’re handling credit card payments for the first time!