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.
Category: Wild Turkey
Basic Brown Stock
This is a basic recipe for brown stock, using bones and meat from just about any seafood, game, or livestock. Click here for a detailed treatise on stock.
Poultry Brine
Brining improves flavor, reduces toughness, and adds moisture. Most meats benefit – but lean, tough meats (like game) benefit most of all.For wild birds brining opens up vast cooking options that otherwise may produce dry, tough meat.
Wild Turkey Bratwurst
This is a great generic bratwurst recipe, and wild turkey meat is a fine base for sausage. But wild turkey is as lean as meat gets, so fat is a critical factor.
Pan Seared Wild Turkey Breast
This is an adaptation of a great chicken breast recipe. It involves slicing a boneless wild turkey breast into roughly half pound pieces, about the size and thickness of a chicken breast, each perfect for one serving. It is fast, easy, and delicious.
Poultry Stock
Of course this works best with wild birds like turkey, pheasant — or even a big mess of quail. Don’t just “breast ’em out” and toss the rest — all those bones and meat are the ticket to great stock!
Poultry Noodle Soup
Can be made with pretty much any gallinaceous bird (pheasant, grouse, chicken, etc.). Turkey and quail might pose challenges due to size, but would be a worthy experiment.
But whenever anyone I know is starting to get a cold I go all Jewish mother and within minutes I’m sliding sideways into a parking space at the grocery store, running in to grab a chicken and whatever else I need for this recipe. As soon as possible they have a nice serving of this in hand and their cold is gone in record time.
It looks like a lot of steps but it goes quick. You will not regret it. If using wild birds you’ll be forgiven should you choose to skin rather than pluck them.
Preparing Poultry for Stock
With chickens, the whole weight will equate to about 52% boneless meat, 20% skin and 28% bones.
Game birds will be different but not dramatically so – except that they will have much less fat.
So, for instance, to get 12 lbs of bones you may need over 40lbs of poultry.
Regardless, save the skins! Tremendous flavor there – even from store-bought critters. Of course with game that means you need to do a thorough plucking job… which can be a big hassle!