Dirt Turkey

This Thanksgiving at the desert we cooked our turkey in the ground.  It tasted great and we didn't even have to carve it!  It was so tender, I just scooped the meat out with tongs. 

Steps:
1. I defrosted and brined it at home.  I had to find a food safe container that would fit and be portable--I wanted to line the cooler with a slow cooker/oven bag but couldn't find one big enough.  For transport, I partially drained the cooler and lined it with press'n seal cling wrap for the bumpy drive. 

2.  We arrived on Wednesday and had to start digging right away to have time to prep the hole before dark.  Chris was prepared with the jackhammer to speed up the hole digging so kids could help scoop out dirt with their plastic beach shovels.  The kids had fun being a part of it.

3. Wed. night I wrapped it in like 10 layers of foil to keep it clean, then put in burlap, and Chris wrapped it in wire to make a hook for removal when hot.  We filled the hole with wood from the bonfire and then set the package on the hot wood coals.  

4.  Thursday early afternoon (there was a # of hours per lb, we approximated), we dug carefully and Chris lifted it out.  Amazing the dirt stayed out of it.  It was interesting unwrapping it carefully with our hands getting dirty along the way.  

 
The kids filled the hole back up so no one would fall in.  It would be good idea to reuse the hole another night after all that work!