Wild Turkey Recipes

blueKYstream

5 year old buck +
I've made wild turkey several different ways over the years. I figured I'd share a couple good recipes! I think the next time I make it I will try smoking it to see how it compares. I like both of these ways though:


 
We just smoked one on the pellet grill, and it was very good!
 
We just smoked one on the pellet grill, and it was very good!
I recently heard from someone else that did that as well. They had good things to say too, so I'm definitely interested in giving that a try!
 
I haven't been able to hunt them as often as I'd like recently but I did make it to NC during the season this year. I'm a big fan of white bean chili with diced wild turkey breast. I usually use the leg and thigh meat for shredded tacos.

White bean chili

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My wife just roasts mine like any other turkey with a few minor changes. She always uses a roasting bag with a wild turkey to help keep the juices in. Second, rather than stuffing the turkey, she removes the legs and puts them in the body cavity. I actually like to eat the legs directly but most folks think they are too tough. After slicing all the breast meat, she uses the wings and the rest to make soup.

Thanks,

Jack
 
I make mine into turkey cordon blue:
One wild turkey breast fillet it in half thickness wise the pound it flat. Lay ham slices on top of the flat breast, the your favorite cheese slices(I like pepperjack) on that. Roll the breast into a roast and tie it up with bakers twine. Brown all sides in shallow pan with olive oil. Then cook in oven at 400 degrees for 40 minutes until internal temp reaches 150 degrees.

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I think wild turkey breast is among one of the only game animals that tastes like its domestic relative.

Here’s my wild sea duck recipe.

Stuff an old tire with sea ducks.
Put it on a fire to smoke for a bit.
Remove the tire, toss the ducks, eat the tire.

Recipe excludes woodies, mallards, teal and most puddle ducks.
 
Sea ducks are terrible ^^^^^^^^^^ so I don't shoot them or Buffies , Goldeneyes or Mergies...if I don't want to eat them I'm not going to shoot them plenty of better ducks around that I like to eat.


We do the fried turkey bites/tenders usually when we get a bird...which is normally every two to three years around here. I completely bone out everything and cook every bit of meat I can get off them.
 
We pressure cook the legs, thighs, and wings. With the breasts, we chunk them up for turkey nuggets, smoke the breast occasionally, and we also grind a lot of it. Turkey burger is one of my favorite ways.
 
Wild turkey burger - that's something I've never tried before!
 
We just smoked one on the pellet grill, and it was very good!

Best turkey I have ever had was slowly smoked in one of those cabinet smokers. Juicy and delicious.
 
Sea ducks are terrible ^^^^^^^^^^ so I don't shoot them or Buffies , Goldeneyes or Mergies...if I don't want to eat them I'm not going to shoot them plenty of better ducks around that I like to eat.

Around here we eat sea birds. Sea ducks and cormorants are most pupular, but I have eaten seagulls when nothing else is in season. I've had good results by getting the breast filets out immediately after it's killed, removing ALL fat, and cooking in butter.
 
Around here we eat sea birds. Sea ducks and cormorants are most pupular, but I have eaten seagulls when nothing else is in season. I've had good results by getting the breast filets out immediately after it's killed, removing ALL fat, and cooking in butter.

I'm lucky that I live in an area with lots of waterfowl moving through so I can be choosey on what I shoot. I stay away from the snail and clam eating ducks because I don't like the taste of them. I do shoot a lot of divers, a lot of people don't like the taste of them but if they have been on wild rice or other decent plants they can taste pretty good. We probably eat waterfowl two to three meals a week at our house from September through late spring...like you said, how it is treated in the field and kitchen has a lot to do with how it tastes on the plate.
 
I'm lucky that I live in an area with lots of waterfowl moving through so I can be choosey on what I shoot

That's my dream.

There are actually waterfowl all over the place where I live. We're on the coast, and there are endless ducks all year. The problem is that they hang out where hunting is illegal. And it's illegal to scare them off.

I made dinner for my wife and myself with the mallard i shot last year, and it was delicious. Made stock with the carcass too, which was the base for a wild mushroom soup.
 
That's my dream.

There are actually waterfowl all over the place where I live. We're on the coast, and there are endless ducks all year. The problem is that they hang out where hunting is illegal. And it's illegal to scare them off.

I made dinner for my wife and myself with the mallard i shot last year, and it was delicious. Made stock with the carcass too, which was the base for a wild mushroom soup.

You let me know when your in the area next fall/winter and we will see if we can get you on some good ducks&geese.
 
Awesome! I'll take you up on that.
 
she removes the legs and puts them in the body cavity

You might like the legs/thighs as a confit.
 
Wild turkey recipe ... 2 fingers worth in a glass, add 2 large ice cubes ... find a comfortable chair with a view ... :emoji_wink:
 
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