Tachino - Italian Turkey

A turkey is either of two species of large birds in the genus native to North America. Turkeys are now considered by most authorities to be of their own family. Turkeys have a distinctive fleshy wattle that hangs from the underside of the beak, and a fleshy protuberance that hangs from the top of its beak called a snood. As with many galliform species, the female (the hen) is smaller than the male (the tom), and much less colorful. With wingspans of 1.5–1.8 meters (almost 6 feet), the turkeys are by far the largest birds in the open forests in which they live, and are rarely mistaken for any other species.

There is one town in the Abruzzo Region of Italy called Canzano that serves a special turkey dish called “Tachino Cantanese”. The turkey is cooked in its entirety for several hours during which time a gelatinous substance renders out. In days past this served as a method of preserving the turkey during the warm summer months.

Visitors to the town of Valle San Giovanni near Teramo have been known to make a visit to Canzano to taste this culinary delight. The owners of the Italian Kitchen in Pennsville, NJ along with the Roman Pantry in Penns Grove, NJ have been known to make this dish for family members who come to visit from Valle Soprana.

Casale