Braised Wild Turkey

This coaxes even a tough old gobbler into something tender, moist and flavorful. This works best with legs and thighs, but also very well with breast.
Print Recipe
Braised Wild Turkey Yum
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings
lb
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings
lb
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Trim meat and coat with olive oil. Apply rub liberally.
  2. Vacuum seal or wrap in cellophane and refrigerate overnight in something that will hold leaks.
  3. Preheat oven to 400­°F
  4. Unwrap and place directly on the bottom of a greased roasting pan (no rack or grate). Use a pan that is not too big for the amount of meat or you'll need way too much braising liquid.
  5. Drizzle a little more olive oil over meat and add mirepoix (onion/celery/carrot).
  6. Place in oven, uncovered. Turn occasionally until evenly browned (45 minutes or so).
  7. Add braising liquid to about 1 inch depth. No need to be precise, but two things you should NOT do: completely cover the meat, or run out of liquid while cooking.
  8. Lower oven to 300­°F. Cover pan tightly with a lid or aluminum foil.
  9. After 2 hours check every half hour for consistency, and to see there is at least half an inch of liquid left (add more if needed). When it is fork tender, it's done. 4 hours should be plenty.
  10. Set the meat aside covered in foil.
  11. Strain the braising liquid. If there's much visible fat (there won't be with wild turkey), ladle it off.
  12. Mix cornstarch well with a like amount of cold water to make a slurry.
  13. Thicken the braising liquid into a gravy by whisking in the cornstarch slurry. Then simmer a couple of minutes to reduce. Season to taste.
  14. For drumsticks, use a fork to pull the meat from all those fussy bones.
  15. Return meat to oven covered, to bring it back up to serving temp if needed. The gravy can be served spooned over carved slices, on the side, or added/tossed with shredded meat.
  16. Best served right away. It refrigerates and freezes fine, but if reheating without sauce use a moist method and maybe add some water or stock. It can be a bit dry.
Recipe Notes

Alternative: After browning in the oven (step 6), move the whole show to a slow-cooker/crockpot. Other possible ingredients: tomato paste, minced garlic, fresh ground black pepper.

View online at KillerNoms.com/braisedturkeybreast

Share this Recipe
Powered by WP Ultimate Recipe

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.