Hunting Down and Burying the Thanksgiving Turkey

When we were invited to join our friends for a traditional Thanksgiving meal we were really excited. We had immensely enjoyed Thanksgiving with them last year, and this year was no different in that regard. What was different is that last year, their church had raised a few turkeys so it was not a problem to get the main course, whereas this year, there was no clear way to find the meat.

Loren, our host and friend, and I began the hunt. We made phone calls. We searched the web. We talked to friends. We queried others in Uganda on Facebook. We even wandered through the neighborhood chasing down birds when we heard the classic "gobble gobble" call of the elusive beasts - literally! What we discovered was that the birds we heard were already sold. The local shop sold frozen ones for 33,000 shillings a kilo. At that rate, a 22 pound bird would be $131, and we had over twenty people to feed.

Finally, we ended up buying a live female from the market in a town near ours, negotiating the price down to $30 for bird that definitely didn't tip the 10 pound point. The turkey was joined by 2 of Loren's chickens who were refusing to lay eggs, and Loren's husband and sons "dispatched" them.

The kids and I had been studying the original Thanksgiving celebration from early American history this term, so our hunt for a live bird felt a bit more authentic. Just to add more flavor (literally and figuratively) to the birds, our friends buried them. No, not permanently, but over hot coals, surrounded by hot bricks, and wrapped in banana leaves and foil a few feet under the ground for several hours! The guys dug them up as the guests eagerly watched, sniffing the air appreciatively.

I found it ironic that in order to keep the meat tidy and clean, the entire underground poultry package was wrapped in chicken wire!

Everyone recognized that all that effort was worth it the minute the final layer of banana leaves was opened, and we saw the glory and smelled the roasted aroma of what was to be the main attraction of a delicious feast.

Our hard-earned birds were joined by local white sweet potatoes, stuffing with herbs from Loren's garden, butternut squash from her garden, mashed "Irish" - what white potatoes are called in Uganda, gravy, crescent rolls, cranberry sauce from a can (a nice find here), pumpkin pie, and ice cream - ALL of it homemade except for the cranberry sauce. And when I say "homemade" I mean everything from cooking an actual pumpkin to mixing cream, sugar, vanilla, and milk for amazing ice cream!

Loren and I had a few scares with the electricity popping on and off throughout the day, but we managed to get the whole happy affair on the table and served. When the electricity went out again for the night right before dessert was served, we sat back and relaxed, enjoying the candlelight and company, extremely thankful for the good Lord's provision of tasty local food, the energy to make it all, and the blessing of sharing it with good friends who are our on-the-field family.

That being said, I think we might have a simple Christmas dinner. I'm thinking...sandwiches?