Every year, this family offer to cook other people’s turkeys and hams in a massive underground pit for 23 hours, for free. They cook hundreds over the course of Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Here are some pics of the process.
Wrapping all the hams and turkeys in parchment paper and chicken wire.
Starting the fire to make an ash bed. Just regular logs, no fancy wood.
Temperature of the fire as it was burning. It was at about 900 F when we put the meat in.
Had the city bring a back hoe in to break up the frozen dirt.
62 hams and 35 turkeys. Turkeys go on bottom because they are raw and need to be cooked thoroughly. The hams sit right above.
A local company always bring their boom truck and lifts the meat up to be dropped in the pit.
Carefully lowering the meat down into the pit.
Lid goes on, then a layer of dirt.
Then a layer of insulation
Then a tarp over everything. Now we wait 23 hours exactly.
Digging the lid up
People lining up to get their food
Using hooks we take each individual turkey and ham out.
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