"To locate the wishbone in your Thanksgiving turkey, we'll need a little anatomy lesson. While we commonly refer to it as the wishbone, the bone is formally known as the furcula, which means "little fork" in Latin. The bone rests between the turkey's breasts and neck, and is actually two collarbones fused together. The furcula isn't exclusive to turkeys, most birds have one, including ducks and chickens."
"You can choose to either remove the wishbone before or after the turkey is roasted. Many argue that the wishbone should be removed while the turkey's raw so you can easily remove the breasts from the bone, as the furcula connects them together. Position the turkey so that it's laying breast-side up, with the legs facing you. Then, with a sharp knife, gently slice away some of the skin at the upper center of the breast, where the two sides meet."
"While some Thanksgiving traditions have been forgotten over time, the ceremonial snapping of the wishbone has endured through the ages. The exact origins are dubious, but perhaps the strongest theory starts with the Etruscans. Around 2,400 years ago, this ancient group that lived in what is now Italy believed that birds were prophetic fortune tellers. So, when fowl were killed, the Etruscans preserved the furcula and left it out to cure out the sun."
The wishbone, formally known as the furcula meaning 'little fork' in Latin, sits between a turkey's breasts and neck and consists of two fused collarbones. Most birds, including ducks and chickens, have a furcula. The bone can be removed before or after roasting; removing it raw can make breast removal easier. To retrieve it, lay the turkey breast-side up, slice skin at the upper center of the breast, and carefully extract the bone by hand without breaking it. The ritual of snapping the wishbone dates to the Etruscans, who preserved furculae and cured them in the sun believing birds foretold the future.
Read at Tasting Table
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]