Ontario Bolerama 2007 "Retro Rally"

[Luc P]

Hmmm... sounds good... I have a propane fryer.... what else is needed aside from the bird?

I may have to ok this with Luc though... he does the packing, I just organize in advance.

I am looking forward to this meet.

yup, I'm the one stopping you from bringing the "just in case" stuff.

the propane fryer is OK but you can forget about the lawn mower "just-in-case" the grass is too long ! LOL


Humm fried turkeys with a 5 gallons batch of gravy

People with diesel cars/truck will be able to drive their way back home burning all the resulting waste veggie oil (I miss my vw TDI)

[Alf S.]

Hi: If there are two Turkey Friars Does that mean you need two Chip Monks??? Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Kathy & Doug Roach]

Luc makes a good point about the oil. While we strain and save ours to use another day, it could just as well power certain vehicles all the way home from Emily. Anybody want my oil?

If you've got a fryer, Tina, all you need is a pot big enough to handle your turkey completely submerged in boiling oil, a lid for that, about an hour's worth of fuel, 4 or 5 gallons of some type of vegetable oil, an injector and some sort of marinade (this can be done the night before), a thermometer, some heavy gloves, and either a basket or chain/plate mechanism to get the bird into and more importantly, out of the oil.
You think Luc can find space for all that?

Here's a link to a site that has a pretty fair description of what's involved. (I don't recommend using peanut oil as this site advocates.) It's actually quite a simple procedure once the turkey is prepared. (Heck, if I can do it, it's GOTTA be simple.)

This is what our cooker looks like:


At 350 degrees, the gloves and extraordinary care are both required!


This shows our basket/lifter thing and the end result.


If you try this once, you'll always consider a turkey prepared any other way to be somewhat inferior.

Have at it!

(DANG! I shouldn't have pulled up that picture... now I'm drooling all over my keyboard!)

Doug
Still stuck in Miami... anyone want to buy my house?

[Tina]

Doug, thanks for the pictures, I understand fully now. Thankfully I am full from supper...lol

Ok, so I have the whole get up like you described.. Luc had an idea of maybe we could make french fries.. being from Quebec and all.... (Homemade fries that is)

Anyhow, we`ll bring our fryer along and decide closer to then what we`ll place in it.

As for the recycled fuel... Luc has lots of friends who use used veggie oil in their cars... it will make for some interesting convos at the campfire.

Happy bolering all!

[Kathy & Doug Roach]

Doug, thanks for the pictures, I understand fully now. Thankfully I am full from supper...lol

Ok, so I have the whole get up like you described.. Luc had an idea of maybe we could make french fries.. being from Quebec and all.... (Homemade fries that is)

Actually, slicing up some baking potatos and some yams is what we usually do after the turkey is removed. The turkey needs to sit a bit after frying to finish cooking inside and that interval is perfect for doing up some vegetables. The veggies soak up a lot of the stuff that we'd have to skim out before putting the oil back in the jugs for use later and they're particularly tasty when done in "turkey oil".
Last time we were at Emily we also had a bag of fresh Vidalias we'd picked up in Geogia on the trip up and tried to do some "Blooming Onions" like that Aussie steakhouse does. Unfortunately, the batter we tried just gooed up the oil and they were kind of a bust. Next time: no batter!
You live and learn.

Doug
Someone buy my house or the cute little dog gets it!!

[Tina]

"Blooming Onions" like that Aussie steakhouse does. Unfortunately, the batter we tried just gooed up the oil and they were kind of a bust. Next time: no batter!

I have made these and with the batter I use they come out well.... I will pack the ingredients to make it.

So I will also bring our potato french fry maker for industrial portions... and we`ll likely use our fryer along with some salads for the potluck. (gotta have something aside from grease... )

Now to brainstorm ideas for the retro decor. We still have a few items to change on the Boler before then... new curtains and stainless steel backsplash and fridge plate. The snow is almost gone now and we are already wanting to take the boler out... problem is the back yard may still be too soft to try to get it out this early.

Anyone else getting the camping bug?

[Ann B]

camping bug is biting here
snow is melting fast but not fast enough!!!!!!
we plan to get out as soon as the Prov. Parks open --middle of May

If we need another fryer SIL & DD have one We did a turkey in it- camping last Thanksgiving(lick lips here)
we did the spuds after too!!!
--in another life I was a chef---if I remember 15-18lb turkey should feed 50 people
I will make to add to our table(s) homemade cranberry sauce!!!!!!!
does anyone want dressing?

turkey dinner is kind of a retro meal -- only this one will have a modren twist!!!!

[Alf S.]

Hi: I know some "PILGRIMS" from S.W.Ontario that are going to be there Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Nicole M.]

We'll be stopping in on our way back from the Maritimes....And stopping in bit Quebec for a few days....Not sure what we should bring......

I'm sure we could bring some fresh cheese curds!......Mmmmmmm...the squeaky kind......Anyone in for some real, Quebec poutine??? With St Hubert gravey?

We won't have a deep fryer, though...do they sell fries on the campsite?

[Kathy & Doug Roach]

Stand by one....

Nicole has pointed up a particular deficiency in this entire discussion. Proposing St. Hubert gravy and squeaky curds (?) may possibly be a bit premature. While I responded to folks that commented on what we did two years ago and hoped to steer some to the PROPER way to prepare a turkey, in NO WAY did I mean to suggest that this pot-luck supper that we have so enjoyed in the past will in fact be revisited this July, so neither Nicole nor anyone should simply presume it will happen.

Fred and Rick are the folks to go to for information on what is being planned and even IF there will be a pot-luck this year. While I PRESUME that'll happen, it's incumbent upon all here who will be attending this summers Emily event to visit the site Fred has put up and send along an email mentioning intentions and getting the REAL skinny on what the plans are for this year's Retro get-together.

But all that said, I'll be bringing my fryer regardless.

Doug
Miami... a house... an opportunity... think about it.

[Nicole M.]

The site mentioned there there was a Saturday night pot luck, so I guess I assumed...

But I was not in any way hinting or assuming to partake in the deep-fired turkey and inviting ourselves... I am very curious to see how it is done, though.

The gravey and the squeaky curds (cheese curds squeak when they are fresh and moist) go on top of fries, and is called a "poutine"....Mmmmmmm. If there is going to be a Pot Luck, then we can make some poutine but need to know if they sell fries at the campsite.

A while back I emailed the individual whose name is on the site, but it wasn't Fred.

Who is Fred?

[Kathy & Doug Roach]

My bad... and my apologies.
I didn't read through the same page that I suggested be visited.

Of COURSE squeaky curds are welcome and will likely be a huge hit among the faithful.
Since Rick & Fred have posted that the Saturday night repast will indeed be revisited then any discussion of what to bring is not only NOT premature as I said, but may in fact generate even more interest in attendees.

The plan calls for a theme of 'Retro' this year. I'm curious how that can be applied to deep-fried turkey. Perhaps I should use oil as old as my Trillium?


Doug
Buy our Retro-House in Miami. Built in 1977 and has held up nearly as well as our trailer.

[Kathy & Doug Roach]

If someone doesn't buy our house in Miami soon Doug and I will have to get our own MFROG identities.

In the meantime bear with us.

Once the turkeys are done frying we usually fry up sliced potatoes. Will those work with the gravy and squeaky curds?

Kathy


I am sure that someone must have a friend that wants to move to Miami

[Alf S.]

Hi: Miami...isn't that near CUBA ??? Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Kathy & Doug Roach]

Hi: Miami...isn't that near CUBA ??? Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

We here prefer to think of it the other way 'round... Cuba is near Miami. (Actually, truth be told, we're preparing for a major celebratory melt down here if that clown you-know-who ever just up & dies. Morbid, I know, but here in the tropics, we celebrate anything.)

Doug
Buy my house... have ocean-front property about 2030 or so. (Current elevation: 9 feet.)

[Alf S.]

Hi: In Real Estate there are only three rules... Elevation, Elevation and Elevation Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Kathy & Doug Roach]

The gravey and the squeaky curds (cheese curds squeak when they are fresh and moist) go on top of fries, and is called a "poutine"....Mmmmmmm. If there is going to be a Pot Luck, then we can make some poutine but need to know if they sell fries at the campsite.

Poutine must be one of those endemic northern dishes... no one in these climes puts gravy on fries. I have no clue why not, however, as gravy on baked potatoes is kinda required, right? Yet another reason to leave Miami!
Nicole if you bring a bag o' spuds, I'll provide enough hot oil to satisfy even the most poutine-deprived camper. You'll only have to wait long enough for the bird to get his due.
I don't believe anyone will be "selling" fries at the campsite. The only things for sale might be small, round fiberglass things with wheels or various acoutrements thereof. The way we worked the distribution of the turkey in the past was whomever brought the bird (Thanks DES & JOE) or whomever helped in the prep got first dibs. A Poutine platter certainly sounds like you qualify.

The curds, though, are on you. Cheese that's noisy just seems a bit incongruous to me.

Doug
Think tropics... swaying palms, white sand beaches, temps in the 80's both summer & winter (that's like 200 degrees Canadian....)

[Joe MacDonald]

Just got back from a week in Cuba, and had a great time, didn't see any eggs, but did see a few small motorhomes, think they were european.

Not so sure everybody in Cuba wants to see a major change in how the country is run.
By the way, did you know that the us embargo can only be lifted with a complete change in Cuban government, not just by changing the leader?

[Kathy & Doug Roach]

Just got back from a week in Cuba, and had a great time, didn't see any eggs, but did see a few small motorhomes, think they were european.

Not so sure everybody in Cuba wants to see a major change in how the country is run.
By the way, did you know that the us embargo can only be lifted with a complete change in Cuban government, not just by changing the leader?

All I've ever heard from our friends from Canada who have been there is that they had a great stay and it seems most folks on the island, while not affluent, are not exactly destitute and unhappy.
All I've ever heard from our friends here in Miami is the polar opposite... folks in Cuba are universally poor, hungry and abjectly miserable. I suspect that there is some truth in both views but I would tend to the Canadian angle as the overwhelming majority of the refugees we have coming to South Florida are uneducated and unskilled. They're leaving economic hardship and not political oppression. Ever since the early sixties, the middle class of Cuba has, it seems, chosen to stay in Cuba.
As for the lunacy of the American embargo, there are few examples in history of a policy more counterproductive and inanely pointless than that. Even the local firebrands are finally coming around, albeit reluctantly, to the conclusion that the way to open up a society is not to isolate it.
As for a change in government, it's commonly known that one of our local Congressmen, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, has always held aspirations to be president of Cuba. THAT would change the government there but I'm not so certain it would be an improvement.

But on another note... and to keep this topical, will we see you and herself at Emily this year?
And if so will you be bringing the pipes?

Regards,
Doug

What an opportunity... real estate only 200 miles from La Habana! (That's closer than Disney World.)

[Joe MacDonald]

while not affluent, are not exactly destitute and unhappy.
All I've ever heard from our friends here in Miami is the polar opposite... folks in Cuba are universally poor, hungry and abjectly miserable.

Doug

What an opportunity... real estate only 200 miles from La Habana! (That's closer than Disney World.)

The areas we went to; off the beaten tourist path, were some of the poorest I have seen in the northern hemisphere. The people really are dirt poor, but at the same time, they have full access to health care, just not the medicine supply. They have access to a university education if they please, (you must work it off), If you want to get ahead you can.
The tourist industry is the biggest employer in the country.
They are also friendlier than anywhere else I have been, and I think their crime rate is actually lower than anywhere else. single room block houses with no glass in the windows, just metal or wood shutters. but you own it and the land after paying 10 percent of about 20 years wages.

enough about Cuba. If I do get more practice in, and manage the time off (middle of summer plant shutdown) I will try to bring ma' pipes. Have a great summer.