Plucking the Pavo

​ ​Thanksgiving definitely ranks high on my list of top American holidays. Besides the fact that there is an abundance of delicious food to be eaten, this holiday is a time when family and friends get together and give thanks for all that they have. I became super excited when some of my friends from CIEE started mentioning ideas for a Thanksgiving celebration. I offered to host a dinner and to cook the turkey at my flat because it’s spacious and could accommodate 15 or so guests rather comfortably. After a facebook page was created, the invites sent out, and el pavo (the turkey) was on order, things started coming together. I was lucky enough to have one of my co-workers, Nancy, help me with the Thanksgiving process, especially since this was my first time hosting a Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, the first time I’d be cooking my very own turkey would be in Spain.

So November 28^th came and my co-workers and I just finished up with our workweek! We headed over to the supermarket and were waiting in line at the butcher for my pavo. Nancy was giving me tips on how to cook the turkey and was telling me the ingredients I should use for a delicious Spanish-style stuffing. As if I wasn’t already nervous enough to cook this massive bird for the very first time she then mentions, “oh and just so you know the turkey may still have some feathers on it, because, you know….it’s fresh from the farm.”

The first thing I thought was oh my god, they are going to hand me a turkey that looks like this…
                                    

…but Nancy quickly assured me after my eyes widened and I expressed sheer terror on my face, that the feathers were very small and that only a few would be left. Well this is what the little guy looked like when I took him out of the bag at home.

…Not terribly scary. As you can see in the photo above, the feathers were in fact very small. Nevertheless, I spent a good 30 minutes defeathering the pavo and that was with the help of Johnny, who was visiting my roommate, Laura, for the weekend. After about 20 minutes of plucking the feathers out of the pavo, I decided it may be easier if I used my tweezers rather than doing it by hand. The last 10 minutes were a breeze as you can see from my excitement below.

After the turkey, which we ended up naming Pablo, was defeathered and smooth, it was time to give him a bath.

After washing under his arms and behind his legs, Pablo’s bath was finished and Johnny and I buttered him up, added spices, stuffed him, and then plopped him in the oven. Pablo cooked rather nicely even though the pan he was cooking in was a little small for him and his legs hung over. After cooking him for about three hours and 45 minutes, basting him about 15 times, and a photo shoot later; Pablo was a golden brown and ready to be eaten by all my guests.

While this year was strange not being home in Florida with my family at the dinner table, I spent Thanksgiving with about 10 friends, made a couple of new ones, and honestly, it couldn’t have been better. It was a night of many “1^st’s”: it was my first Thanksgiving in a country other than the United States, it was my first time hosting a massive dinner, and it was my first time cooking a pavo (turkey), which I’m proud to say was quite delicious.

A special thanks to Nancy and Youtube for the turkey-cooking advice. See some pictures from the fiesta below. Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays to all!