Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Cooking Wild Turkey

Just killed my first wild turkey this morning. 9 inch beard! I was going to skin it but it plucked so easily we plucked and gutted it. It weighs 16 lbs dresses. Wife can’t make up her mind how to cook it. Thinking of roasting for 15 minutes and then to the pressure cooker. Any professional gobbler chefs out there?. HELP

I brined (per the brine recipe on morton kosher salt box) and then smoked my boys breast filets, then sliced thin. Made great sandwiches. The thin ends dried out, I'll treat them different next time.

The legs and thighs I slow cooked in beef stock (what we had on hand) for 12 hours, meat pulled off bone with zero effort. Going to use that for turkey and noodles, turkey pot pie, turkey salad sandwiches.

more details and pics in the food forum-

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...4/smoked-wild-turkey-breast#Post15967984

Baking in a Reynolds baking bag helps keep them from drying out.

I like to brine the whole breast in a trash bag and smoke it. The thighs and legs make great turkey and noodles of dumplings.

I've always just taken the breasts and upper thigh meat, cubed it all into mouth sized cubes, dunk it in Cajun fish batter and deep fried them.

I cut mine into chunks and make speidies out of it. Only way I can eat them. They ain't gonna eat like a butterball regardless.

This.

I thought Wild Turkey was for drinkin'

I only eat the breasts, I'm not interested in converting the legs/wings of a working bird into something edible. But that's just me.

I am the same way. I breast them, cut into strips which I wrap around a slice of hot pepper then wrap a thick cut piece of bacon around it all then hold with a toothpick and throw it on the grill. I have tried to cook the whole bird and it wasn't all that good. I have ground some of the lesser parts into burger which was OK.

Truth.

But do you add ice?

don't bother with the legs and wings. just put the carcass in a cooking bag with a little S&P and chicken broth and bake it. or you could do some sort of dish with the breast meat in chunks. i always use the bag.

Slice the breast to 3/8"-1/2" thick strips. Chicken fry in peanut oil or even better, real lard. This keeps a dry piece of meat moist. A good cream gravy for dipping is a must have. My dad would boil the legs in a chicken or beef broth with onions, peppers and assorted seasonings. When tender, he would chop finely and make a sandwich spread. Pecans, mayo, pimentos and some other things I can't remember. A lot of work I was never willing to do, but it was good.

BP...

Congratulations!!
Let's see a pic !
Did you get him with the .410?

Cheesy has it right above. I brine overnight. Then rinse and dry. Since you've gone to the trouble of plucking you'll want to roast that bird. I'd like to suggest something that maintains a lot of moisture in the cavity... Onions apple celery herbs, etc
I like to roast mine with the lid on and some wine in the bottom of the roasting pan. They are very lean so you'll need to add a bit of butter to the skin on top.

The legs and thighs are fantastic eating. After roasting them I either eat the rhighs or throw them and the cooked legs into a saucepan and simmer that very low overnight. All the meat will fall off the tendons and bone. This meat then you can spice with cumin etc and make the best tacos you've ever had.

My niece shot one on Sunday. Said they made tacos from the thighs and loved it. She is a super picky eater, but maybe less so if she kills it.

Last one I tried I was unsuccessful even after brining.

I use the bags too and use a thermometer. I put probes in breast and legs.
Don’t over cook

Crock pot

Fry a breast for nuggets.

Slice other into steaks and pound out. Olive oil and italian seasoning. Grill. Put on hoagie roll for a sammich.

Legs and thighs into the instapot for osso bucco. Recipe too complicated but a quick internet search will turn it up.

It is possible to just bake it, but that's the toughest way to do it.

I've found wild turkeys need to be broken down into pieces. Trying to cook them whole doesn't work well.

Breast- bone in, smoked. Or fried

Thighs and legs - braise in crockpot or oven. too many tendons for high heat applications. Pick meat off.