another thanksgiving extravaganza at our place

it was time for another trash talkin turkey bash at our place! the usual gang of suspects was present along with a few special guests! we had the pleasure of sharing the festivities with karen-jared's girlfriend, tanner-alix's boyfriend and linda & mike flew in from california to witness the debaucle first hand! a big round of applause to alix and linda for taking all of the photos-the thought honestly never crossed my mind...can you say pie overload?

also new to the festivities, two men in a boat. we added beer butt ducks to the menu. here they are with the appropriately placed beer cans in their aluminum boat waiting to go grilling.

the grill is heating up just for them

smoking the day away

the two men, all smoked and ready to rest before the carving

also new this year, wild mushrooms. our shiitakes made it into the stuffing but up the street, a neighbors tree was covered in oyster mushrooms. the gang hiked over and came back with these beauties.

a close up of the oysters

darry preparing them for the grill

mmm, yummy mushrooms

the turkey pit. we actually got the turkey going first and did all of the other stuff while it was roasting. the stake and the ground are foiled and ready to receive signals...

the bird is hung on the stake and a probe is inserted. the probe is insulated with foil and buried under the ground to prevent it from burning up

the trash can is placed over the bird

darry lights the fire

let the waiting begin...

luckily, the probe and the remote are working. we could keep track of the internal temp of the turkey without removing the trashcan. our 21 pound bird took about 3 hours to cook

so what to do whilst we wait? we toss a ball around

and around...

we talk a lot

we watch other people toss a ball around

we talk some more

we tend the fire

and before you know it, the alarm chimes out: your entree is ready! (in a creepy female robot voice)

and there it is, one trash can turkey!

the spread-the turkey was displayed in what else, the lid to the trash can, fitting! we had such a wonderful time. the weather wasn't great but at least it wasn't cold or raining(or snowing for that matter) and we had a chance to enjoy the company of some of our most favorite people for a truly delicious meal. hope you all make it down for next years bash, who knows what we will cook, but it will be fun!