School: Cnoc na Manach, An Mhainistir Bhán, Cionn tSáile (roll number 1391)
- Location:
- Knocknamanagh, Co. Cork
- Teacher: Dáithí de Barra
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0321, Page 188
Image and data © National Folklore Collection, UCD.
See copyright details.
DownloadOpen data
Available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Note: We will soon deprecate our XML Application Programming Interface and a new, comprehensive JSON API will be made available. Keep an eye on our website for further details.
On this page
- If you have not eaten turkey roasted on a spit you have yet to enjoy roast turkey.
A staple or other fastening is fixed to the wall above the mantel-piece. Several strands of woollen thread, such as is used in stocking making, are twisted together. From memory I should say about a dozen strands.
This is fastened to the staple, to the other end is attached an affair like a stillars (used in weighing) The turkey is hooked on to this so as to hang down right in front of the fire which has previously been banked up with red coals. In order to have the turkey at the proper distance from the fire a piece of board wider than the mantel piece is placed thereon. A large dish is placed underneath the turkey and a large iron spoon is used for basting the turkey. As it twists backwards and forwards the melted fat is poured over it. Now and then a big blister rises out on its breast. A spoonful of fat is poured over the spot and immediately the blister disappears. Then a red cinder sizzles into the dish and is immediately removed with the spoon. By now a few blisters appear here and there; in haste a few spoons of fat are poured over the affected parts and as if by magic they disappear as quickly as they came.
This process continues for hours with now and then a touch of the spoon to keep the turkey in motion
The stillars referred to above has no dial and could(continues on next page)
- Collector
- David B. Barry
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Tubbrid, Co. Cork
