RaP wrote:
As a follow-up to the posts on this blog about the decline in relations between Israel's traditional ally Turkey, there have been increasing reports highlighting the fact that Israel has struck up a huge new relationship with India, known as "Hodu" in Hebrew. Interestingly, "tarnegol HODU" is also the colloquial name in modern Hebrew for "turkey" the big tasty kosher bird. The new strategic alliance between Israel and India is even begrudgingly noted by China (see article below) a traditional rival of India (that also does lots of business with Israel!)
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/12/content_12436763.htm
Indian-Israeli relationship of convenience
www.chinaview.cn
JERUSALEM, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- India and Israel have reportedly finalized the details of a 1.1-billion-U.S. dollar deal for the supply to New Delhi of the Israeli-made Barak-8 tactical air-defense system. The contract was set up earlier this year, but was sealed this week with the visit to Israel of India's army head, Deepak Kapoor. The agreement is the latest in a series in recent years that makes Israel India's largest military supplier. India is now also Israel's largest customer. The sale of weapons systems to New Delhi is only part of the story. The countries share intelligence in the war on terror and have blooming ties in the agricultural sector.
Google "Hindu Terrorism".
ReplyDeletehttp://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-36546420081117
There is no basis in Torah Judaism to prefer an alliance with idolators over monotheists.
Any standard of "good" and "evil" that is different than that of our Torah is a foreign service.
I will, thank you, stick with the religion of my parents and grandparents.
And BTW, How DO you cook a turkey to make it taste good?
ReplyDeleteNo one in my family has ever done it. It just comes out like a dry, tasteless, tough old chicken.
In our family, to show our gratitude to Hashem for all of His Bountiful Blessings (we make Thanksgiving every Friday night), we eat lamb, especially stewed with fruit (tagine).
When parnassa is not so good we have kibbe (meatballs) from lamb and chicken.
Anyway, if anyone has ever cooked a turkey to be at least as moist and flavorful as a chicken, I would appreciate the sharing. When the kosher turkeys go on sale this year right after Thanksgiving, I would like to take advantage and save some money.
(I have a smoker, but will not go so far as to deep fry, that is just TOO unhealthy!).
Of course there are opinions that turkey / tarnegol hodu is not kosher, either because there is insufficient mesorah or because it is doraiss like birds of prey.
ReplyDelete"And BTW, How DO you cook a turkey to make it taste good?"
ReplyDeleteMy mother used to make a delicious turkey soup using chunks of turkey meat and turkey bones, with the same ingredients as a regular chicken soup, and as kids we loved it. The meat was juicy and the soup delicious although a drop more pungent than chicken soup, but who knew the difference then?
Nowadays, the new generation looks with horror upon the notion of turkey soup. Everyone has been brainwashed into the one-size fits all of chicken soup preferably with kneidalch (matzo balls).
My kids like the commercially packed and wrapped turkey slices every Shabbos. Empire brand is the best tasting, it has a Breuers KAJ and OU hashgocha. There are also very good brands coming out of Israel available everywhere spiced in alal sorts of ways and very tasty. Israelis seem to be more partial and like turkey while Americans like chicken and hamburgers. The companies add moisture to the packed turkey recipes as they pack them so there is no problem with dryness.
For me it is an expensive honor to have real turkey breast for Sukkot and Pesach. White (breast) turkey meat is really expensive so it must remain a Yom Tov treat for now. I try to avoid cooking a whole turkey because the kids only enjoy the white meat, while I like all parst of it.
Turkey drumsticks are much cheaper and can be baked like baked chicked. Because dark meat (bottoms) has more fat in it than white meat (tops), therefore when the drak meat turkey bottoms or drumsticks (pulkas) are baked or roasted they are VERY tasty and very filling. But again, while Israelis like turkey, Americans think it's too "gamey" for them and when it's ever served in yeshivas, the boys don't like it, since Americans now love all sorts of pastas, pizza and now sushi over any type of meats. But yes, you can't go wrong with chicken, which by the way can also become dry when over-cooked or re-heated which is often the case.
Most Ashkenazim do not eat or like lamb or goat meat, they don't even like veal, but they will tolerate turkey over any of those. Of course chicken is universally liked as are beef and a variety of roasts. The latter are very expensive and most families will only serve meat on Yom Tov or put a slice of cheaper beef (like beef chuck) when making their chollent for Shabbos.
My own recipe with turkey breast to keep it moist and tasty is as follows:
ReplyDeletePut a layer of thick tin foil at the across the entire bottom of the pan so that the turkey gravy will not stick to it.
Take a double (joined) turkey breast (or just a single if you want less, or even a whole turkey) and place it in the baking pan.
Put the fresh turkey into the pan. Peel three of four raw large ONIONS and place them in the corners of the pan.
Pour about three cups (tea cup size) of WATER into the pan.
Then, sprinkle a liberal amount of soup CONSOMME powder all over the turkey (Osem brands are the best) -- if you like a slightly stronger flavor you can use onion soup mix or even mushroom flavor soup mix instead.
Do NOT add salt (kasherd meat has plenty of it already and the consomme also has plenty flavorings).
If you like spicy flavors, as I do, add a light sprinkle of WHITE PEPPER over the turkey.
If you like stuffing (I don't, I prefer fresh salad) then have someone in your house, make it and put it into the center hole of the turkey (if it's double breasted), or under it, if it's a single breasted piece.
Now here's the trick to creating a moist turkey: Take along thick piece of tin foil and wrap it over the pan that has the turkey in it.
Make sure that the tin foil reaches over all sides of the pan, and then fold over every single part of the overflapping tin foil on the sides of the pan to create an "airtight" cover that seals the turkey inside the pan that will not let steam escape.
Place into an oven and bake at 350 degrees farenheit for about two hours. Depending on the size of the turkey you are cooking it may take less or more time, so when it's approaching the two hour mark of cooking, carefully take out the hot pan and carefully unwrap a corner of the tin foil and probe the turkey with a fork to see if the meat is soft and cooked enough, if not seal it back and put it back into the oven for another half hour or so. Do NOT tear the foil when checking, even when the turkey comes out the oven it should be covered to preserve moisture.
If you like a "rare" taste, with little red lines of juice, cook for less time.
Then take out the turkey and enjoy, it should slice easily and be moist and tender.
Serve with fresh salad or with the stuffing or other salads of your choice.
Have fresh challa, usually water challa, with turkey adds to its enjoyment. It should taste delicious.
Water is injected into poultry to give it more weight so that the producers can make more money.
ReplyDeleteMany producers also put all kinds of garbage into poultry cold cuts. Machines are used to mechanically scrape every iota of fat, sinew & cartilage to be ground into cold cuts.
Rubashkin was caught injecting 300% the legal limit of sodium. Suspicions were aroused after his turkeys won taste tests so the turkeys were submitted for lab testing. Very high sodium levels bring higher than normal taste.
"I will, thank you, stick with the religion of my parents and grandparents."
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a very burdensome religion you sought to get rid of as a teenager...
What prompted your change of mind? The fact that you are now in a position to bully your children with the religious stuff you yourself hated when you were a child?