We all know recycling is so in vogue that we are basically outcasts if we don’t do it.
You can wow your friends, neighbors, and even yourself when you go above and beyond traditional recycling and find uses for those gross turkey parts and disgusting by-products that most folks regard as junk.
If you’ve already disposed of these turkey parts this Thanksgiving, simply keep the helpful hints in mind for next year or any time you cook a large and slimy bird.
Turkey bone artwork
Anyone who wants to use turn those turkey bones into art and doesn’t mind getting fully grossed out in the process can engage in this enthralling project.
Get all the meat off the bones by boiling them for several hours on a heat high enough to automatically turn on your stove vents and melt the nearby plastic salt and pepper shakers.
Once the boiling is done, drill small holes in the bones so the marrow can escape and your artwork doesn’t rot. Wear protective goggles as the marrow stuff likes to spurt out of the drilled bone and invariably hit you in the face.
Proceed to further soak the bones for a day or so in hydrogen peroxide in a plastic container you don’t care if you wreck.
Allow the bones to dry out after a day of peroxide, cussing when you leave them too low on the table and Phoebe gets a hold of one.
Paint as desired, hook up with wire and hang in a doorway where visitors will inevitably knock into them with their heads.
My turkey bone RynMobile is a joy to behold. Please note, the turkey bone Ryn-MObile, hanging artwork, shan’t be confused with the Ryn-mobILE, or my decorated car.
Congealed turkey grease snow globes
Don’t clog up your sink or yard with congealed turkey grease. Turn them into snow globes. Take a clean jar and fill it with the grease, adding a few little plastic army guys or other small figurines for effect. Chuck in a small handful of glitter and shake.
Voila – fun for the whole family.
Gizzard and bone shard maracas
Nobody eats the gizzards, and you may be at a total loss with what to do with those bony and sickly turkey necks. Dry out the stuff by leaving it outside in the sunshine. Once the gizzards and neck parts are rock hard, smash them with something like a hammer or the base of an uncomfortably hard shoe.
Throw the little hardened pieces into an empty coconut shell you recycled from your last Hawaiian luau and you’ve got yourself an instant instrument.
What do you think?
Have you used other food parts to make instruments, snow globes or art? Please explain.
Do you realize I’m kidding about playing with congealed grease?
What fun stuff could you do with duck feet or that thing that dangles on the side of a chicken’s beak?
