This Thanksgiving, Cowboy Cantos takes a detour from the dusty trail into the kitchen. Jason Curtman shares the tale of a ranch hand asked to carve the holiday turkey — only to discover that carving a bird can be wilder than breaking a bronc. From ragged slabs to sideways drumsticks, this cowboy’s first cut at Thanksgiving turns into a family tradition no one will forget.
Drumsticks And Disaster
© 2025 Jason Curtman
They asked me to carve the turkey,Like it was some noble chore,But I’d only carved a stick or two.And never nothing more.I set that bird before me,Like a bronc I had to ride,Sharpened up my pocketknife,And poked it in the side.The breast came off in ragged slabs,The wings were hacked in two,I trimmed the drumstick sidewaysAnd the grease began to spew.The family sat there starin’,Like I’d branded Grandma’s cat,But I just smiled and weakly said,“Folks, this is a first for me,I swear that that’s a fact.”Now every year at Thanksgivin’,They don’t hand me any blade,They just point me toward the counterWhere I pour the lemonade.
