Fightin' Irish Turkey!

Yesterday I had one of my turkeys 'done'. It was his time.He dressed out at 50 LBS!!!! That's right~~ 50 LBS!! and full of fightin' bruises! He was from the McCue side of the family- a bunch of fightin' Irish!I brought him home from the Old Order Mennoite butcher,the best~~ (and worth the hour drive).He couldn't fit the turkey in the turkey cone to butcher him. He had trouble fitting such a big boy. A lady, who had just had her chickens butchered,pulled her husband out of the pickup truck and yelled,"Get in here & look at this turkey!! It's the biggest friggin' turkey I've ever seen!!" So,this fellow sees a huge turkey balancing over the top of the turkey cone (where they chop off the turkey's head- flip & it's done).He said" Holy smoke!!. Then, we all waited for the turkey to be defeathered & he sailed down the stainless steel table ready for the finishing touches.The chicken husband said"Wow!! I never seen such a big turkey!! What'ja feed him?" ~ the answer was simple & obvious.I said" PIZZA!" When I took this fellow home, we had him cut in half lengthwise. 25 lbs each half! I soaked each half in salt water then bagged it up for cooling. Each half filled a roastpan.Jammed packed!
Now, this was no ordinary boy! He had bruises from fighting on his chest and wings.You would not want to get hit with one of these wings! You'd get tossed to the curb!
I wanted to let him live.Hang out on the farm~ but I knew it wasn't meant to be. Broadbreasted whites & bronzes are ill-fated to an early end. If they live to be a year old, they're VERY lucky! They are hybrids and grow faster than nature intended.So, they either are killed by other livestock or self-smother .Their chest meat is so huge they easily compress their lungs and smother.But, I would have liked to keep him around.Snow white feathers & a powder blue head~~ such a pretty boy! May I see you in heaven,Alfred!!