Congrats! You finally did it. You roasted a gorgeous golden, scrumptious, succulent turkey. You spent hours finding and adjusting the perfect recipe.  You’re fully convinced just from the smell, that this year your turkey is for sure the best-tasting turkey in the neighborhood.… and then all of a sudden you’re stuck.  How do you get from gorgeously whole to perfectly carved?

 

Although it might seem harder than carving a chicken, it’s really not.

We’ve got your back.

All you need is a Kosher turkey, sharp knife, clean kitchen counter (sorry if we’re asking for too much) and our detailed instructions. Oh, and bonus points for using a cutting board with a juice groove.

Here goes nothing….

1. Set up that carving station. Trust us when we say productivity skyrockets when it comes to having a clean kitchen counter with only needed utensils lying out.  Mind you, those drying dishes on the counter will not stay clean once the juices of your turkey escape that cutting board.
2. Remove the leg and thigh from one side. Position the turkey facing you. (Once you get used to a turkey lying in front of you, you’ll start seeing the art in it.) The leg and thigh should now be closest to you. Use that sharp knife you so readily prepared to slice through the skin between the breast and thigh so you can see the inside. Grab the thigh with no caution and push down until the thigh joint releases and pops out. To finish it off, guide your knife carefully and cut the remaining thigh and leg off.
3. Remove the breast. Still concentrating on the same side, it’s time for the breast to come off. Carefully slice through that crispy skin on the top of the turkey along the breastbone directly from the neck joint. Continue through the breast meat, along with the rib bone, removing as much meat as possible.
4. Remove the wing. Time for some wing action. Pull the wings back, and cut at the joint. It should release pretty quickly. Least work for the yummiest part – ironic, no?
5. Repeat on the other side. You’re probably a pro by now at locating the right area of the turkey in a jiffy. Turn the turkey so the neck is now facing you.  Remove the thigh and leg first, followed by the breast and wings.
   
6. Slicing & Plating. The complicated parts are officially over!!  Now for the presentation bit. The meat on the thighs should be easy to cut off from the bone. For decent pieces, slice the breast crosswise at a slight angle into quarter-inch-thick slices.

And just like that not only does your turkey smell and taste like heaven, but it also looks like you actually know what you’re doing with a sharp knife. Cutting skills on point.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Written by Lubicom for Kosher.com

By Menachem Lubinsky, Lubicom CEO

 

We all know Bimbo Bakery products; we all love Bimbo Bakery Products, so what is going on and why are there so many rumors?

You know their brands: Thomas, Levy’s, Arnold’s, Sara Lee and Freihofer, among others.

The announcement in November that the kosher certification would be dropped on all Bimbo bread products created quite a firestorm in the kosher community. Like with most issues in 2018, people took to social media with hundreds of comments online, heated discussion on Facebook, and people demanding answers from the rabbis.

I had the same thoughts. Isn’t it ironic that in the year 2018 when approximately 2,000 new kosher certifications were awarded, that a company with a long-standing tradition of kosher certification should be one of the few companies in the last two decades to remove their kosher certification? This lack of sensitivity to an extremely loyal base is unprecedented.

When reviewing the complaints, I discovered that many protests were coming from customers who rely on the special low calorie and whole-grain breads. Others were upset customers who live in smaller markets where breads like Arnold’s are their only option for kosher bread.

Rabbi Moshe Elefant, COO of the Kashrus Division of the Orthodox Union, was optimistic that the OU kosher certification would continue on most products. He said that the company was undergoing some internal reviews of its baking sources and that the OU was working with them to adapt to some of these changes.

What most people don’t know is that in a few days, officials of Bimbo Bakeries and the Orthodox Union (OU) will meet once again to discuss the kosher status of many of the brands that Bimbo owns. Following the first meeting, Bimbo and the OU issued the following statement: “Bimbo Bakeries USA & the Orthodox Union had a productive meeting on December 13, 2018. We are confident that working together we can meet the bread and buns needs of kosher consumers.  Bimbo Bakeries and the OU have identified several possible solutions and aim to finalize a plan in January 2019. Bimbo Bakeries continues to offer kosher certified breakfast and sweet baked goods products under the Thomas’ and Entenmann’s brands.”

The US story of Bimbo Bakeries began in 1994 when Grupo Bimbo – Mexico’s largest baking company with operations in 21 countries – purchased La Hacienda, a California-based tortilla company. Bimbo Bakeries USA then entered the U.S. bread market in 1997. It now owns most of the baking brands in the US including Entenmann’s, Thomas’ and Boboli. In 2009, Grupo Bimbo purchased the remaining U.S. fresh baked goods business of George Weston Ltd., adding brands such as Arnold, Brown Berry, Freihofer’s and Stroehmann. It also owns Sara Lee’s bread business.

Written by Lubicom for Kosher.com