A turkey clothing recipe which contains unpopped popcorn and also is done when “the popcorn blows the ass off the turkey” is genuine.
Tired of the usual Thanksgiving supper? Here’s something certain to spruce up your vacation: roast turkey with popcorn stuffing. A visitor passed this viral recipe along to Snopes throughFacebook Like it states in the directions, you’ll recognize it’s time to consume when the popcorn “blows the ass off the turkey.” This is the meme:
(Facebook)
NEW TURKEY DRESSING
- 4 c. smashed completely dry bread
- 1/2 c. raw popcorn
- 1/2 c. sage
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 c. onions
- 1/2 c. celery
- 5 c. brew
Mix well; things turkey. Cook 5 hrs at 300 levels or up until
popcorn impacts the butt off the turkey.
People generally ask 2 inquiries regarding this recipe: First, is it genuine? Second, would certainly the popcorn as a matter of fact strike the butt off the turkey when it’s done?
As to the initial inquiry, the solution is no, it’s unreal. It’s instead clearly a cooking joke, and also a relatively old one at that. The earliest version we have actually discovered to day was released in 1970. Here it is, straight from the Jackson Hole News,Nov 19, 1970:
Jackson Hole NewsNov 19, 1970. (Newspapers com)
We discovered a couple of even more versions, however a lot of them were mild rewordings targeted at staying clear of words “ass” (e.g., “blow the tail off the turkey,” “blow the turkey out of the oven,” and so on). Before the arrival of the web, one may have ventured to state that nobody would certainly be ridiculous adequate to in fact try this recipe. We stay in various times.
Some individuals have actually revealed apprehension that, offered the physics of popcorn, the bits would certainly also stand out under the problems defined in the recipe, a lot less create a stuffing surge. According to Scientific American, raw popcorn generally requires to get to a temperature level of 355 levels F (180 levels C) prior to the vapor stress inside the bits triggers them to ruptured:
The reason that popcorn stands out is the water entraped inside its bit. If the bit is heated up to a high adequate temperature level, this water will certainly change right into vapor. Due to the difficult and also primarily impermeable covering, the vapor has no place to go, causing an accumulation of stress inside the bit. Once the stress obtains high adequate and also the temperature level gets to regarding 180 levels Celsius (355 levels Fahrenheit), the bit hull ruptureds and also the popcorn is transformed within out. The particular popcorn uniformity and also white-yellowish sudsy look arises from the starch inside the popcorn bit. With heats, the starch gelatinizes and afterwards increases with the quick ruptured of the bit. Once it cools, the strengthened flake we understand as popcorn is developed.
Given that a turkey is thought about done when its interior temperature level gets to 170 to 180 levels F, the turkey itself would certainly be done long prior to the popcorn inside it fumes sufficient to stand out. Even it were baked in a stove evaluated a greater temperature level, state 400 levels F, the turkey would certainly be overcooked (otherwise charred) previous redemption prior to a substantial percent of the bits stood out.
We quickly thought about performing this experiment ourselves, however thankfully a Google search led us to a person that had actually currently done it and also released the outcomes (with photos!). For his Substack e-newsletter, Food Is Stupid, Chicago food author Dennis Lee attempted a customized variation of the viral recipe utilizing Stove Top stuffing mix and also a poultry rather than a turkey. Long tale short, the experiment came a cropper, however do not take our word for it. Lee’s detailed account of his popcorn stuffing ill fortune is well-documented, detailed, and also downright humorous. Give it a read
Sources:
Fischer,Mark “Top Rail-Lery.” Jackson Hole News, 19Nov 1970, p. 12. newspapers.com,
“How to Check a Turkey for Doneness.” Butterball, 20Sept 2022,
Lee,Dennis “Let’s Stuff Popcorn up a Chicken’s Ass and See What Happens.” Food Is Stupid, 17Nov 2020,
Lohner, Science Buddies,Svenja “Explore the ‘POP’ in Popcorn.” Scientific American, Accessed 11Nov 2022.