If it's ground up it shouldn't matter if it's tough. But then again, I have zero experience with old, tough, home-raised heirloom turkey.

You can go anywhere with it! Turkey pot pie? Noodles? Soup?

a "stewing hen" as opposed to a "spring chicken".

Reminds me of what my grandpa (the farmer) used to say.

Then make something divine with that broth (like a rich gumbo or just plain turkey noodle soup).

I don't think I kept any of it from my first adventure with a tough, old bird. I bought a 'gallatina" in our local market thinking it was just another word for chicken. It WAS chicken, but it was ridiculously tough. I've told the story before, but trying to cut into it was impossible, so I grabbed the skin at the neck and pulled and pulled and pulled....when all the skin came off (finally) it came off in one piece, inside out, and looked just like a chicken wet suit. It was still so tough I couldn't carve it into pieces. The meat was inedible, but the broth was like nothing I'd ever had before. Total heaven!

My mother would painstakingly pick all the pieces of meat out of the broth after boiling it for hours, but the meat was tough, tasteless and just not worth it, imo. FWIW, I find most poultry to be moving in that direction these days.

Except at the Whole Paycheck. Their chicken is divine and just like I remember it used to be.

I love fresh broth and will have it just with noodles or some rice. There is something primal about it that is very satisfying to me.

Too bad I didn't have a camera. I put it on the counter next to the chicken and it held its shape. Just looked like another bird on the counter. I have gotten excellent organic chicken at Costco. They taste so much better than supermarket birds!

you know of a good dog or two who might really enjoy gnawing on that tough old turkey?

The fishes, birds and seals get it.

And they love it.

and use the raw white meat in recipes that call for pork and the dark meat in ones that call for veal. It works remarkably well that way.

Cooked white meat goes into sandwiches and hot open faced turkey sandwiches (finally found gluten free bread that's not cardboard). Cooked dark meat goes into salads and stir fries.