wild turkey question

Y

yoz's friend

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my nieghbor shot a wild turkey and he skinned it. i asked him why he didnt pluck it and he said they are to hard to pluck. doesnt it cause the turkey to be very dry if you cook it with out the skin?
 
On wild turkey's there isn't much to eat other than the breasts. A lot of hunters will simply cut out the breasts.

Depending on how you cook it you don't need the skin.

Not that I have tons of experience with wild turkey (read that as 0) but I do work with a bunch of turkey hunters and that is what they tell me.

Charlie
 
Plucking them is usually more trouble than it is worth. Yes, breast them out or just skin them. Adjust the way you cook them so the meat doesn't dry out. And don't expect a huge genetically modified white breast. Wild turkeys can be tough dark meated old birds so moist cooking is recomended.

Codger
 
Birds can be plucked easier when just killed. You can skin it but then it's best to baste with some type of fat [butter etc] while roasting.I've never braised a turkey but that's my normal way of cooking goose.
 
Your friend is correct, they are difficult to pluck. Wild turkey are really not much like a domestic turkey. They live a much harder life and don't have the same amount of fat or meat on them. Still, they taste very, very good. I've taken a ton of turkey with my bow and rarely do I pluck them. About the only time I do is if I get one a day or two prior to Thanksgiving. The skin on does make them a little tastier, but the breasts can be taken out and cooked wrapped in bacon and between beds of lettuce. This keeps it very moist.

Our family actually like the breast best cut up into strips or bite sized pieces, breaded and deep fried...turkey strips or nuggets if you will.

The legs are very sinewy; much like a pheasant's leg. There is a lot of meat there, but due to the sinew, it is tough to get to. If I pluck anything on a turkey regularly, it is the legs. It is fairly easy to do the legs and doesn't take a lot of time. I take them and cook them in a crock pot all day. The meat then falls off and the bone marrow and collagen from the skin and cartilage adds to the broth. I then add noodles, rice and spices for some great turkey and noodle soup.
 
When you kill a bird (I've never shot a turkey only chopped their heads off actually) the feathers are somewhat loose and relatively easy to remove.

When I raised turkeys I'd fill the tea kettle full and heat it up while I chopped the birds head off with a machete:thumbup:

Then I'd hang the bird and just pour the hot water down against the lay of the feathers and the feathers would pull right off.:D

However if you wait more than just a few minutes the feathers sort of tighten up and it's an absolute bitch to get the skin clean of feathers especially the pin feathers:thumbdn:

Most turkey hunters I know just skin them and use the plastic roasting bags to keep it moist. Works great.

Muscovy Ducks are hard to pluck even freshly killed, and we usually just skin them. Then we just put them in a roasting pan and cover it with lots of foil and oil and some water to keep it steamy inside and they taste great and are tender:thumbup:
 
I don't know of a tougher animal that the wild turkey... not tough eating... just down-right tough! It's no wonder Ben Franklin wanted that bird to be our National Symbol. I have a lot of respect for those birds. :thumbup:

The fact is... you will likely lose all your fingernails trying to pluck one. There are really 2 ways that I do it.

Method #1: Remove the breast intact and cook it with a lot of basting... add fat such as bacon (as mentioned by EJES) or butter. If you don't add fat it will be like eating newspaper, as the wild birds have very little natural fat and it will be very dry :thumbdn:.

Method #2: My favorite... simply fillet the meat from the breast, leaving the breast bone inside the turkey. Slice the breast meat into strips and bread it using your preferred breading and fry that sucker up! I like to add some Cajun seasoning... maybe Cavenders Greek Seasoning to the mix... gives it some kick! :thumbup:

Either way... wild turkey makes a fantastic meal. I'm glad Ol' Ben Franklin didn't get his way, Eagle would make a lousy meal for Thanksgiving! ;):)
 
kdstrick said:
I don't know of a tougher animal that the wild turkey... not tough eating... just down-right tough! It's no wonder Ben Franklin wanted that bird to be our National Symbol. I have a lot of respect for those birds. :thumbup:
;):)
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Same here kdstrick. They are my favorite quarry and, while not highly intelligent, they have incredible survival instincts and tools. As far as tough, they tear up my broadheads worse than anything else I've hunted. Basically, their feathers and quills act as armor and they are a bag of bones.

turkey-anatomy-rside4.jpg



If wild turkey were 6 foot tall, they'd rule the earth...:D

1stLongbowturkey.jpg
 
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What they said. No fat. NONE.

Olympians of the woods.

Even a turkey cooking bag doesn't soften the meat up. Best in small pieces..or I'm told..in some ground turkey dish.

I've gotten 7 or 8, two were relatively tender. Don't hunt them anymore.

Getting one with a bow takes some kind of patience. Congratulations.



Kis
enjoy every sandwich
 
Hey ejes, do you save the feathers and fletch your own arrows? I can't see the fletching on the arrow above.

Doc
 
No Doc, I don't. I just haven't gotten to that point yet. I'd love to do that, but I just haven't the time to go that far yet. I'd like to build my own longbow at some point as well. I have some great, fairly straight Osage growing out back for it.
 
i wondered why Ben Franklin thought they would be a good choice as the national bird as well. he was an extremely intelligent man and it seemed such an odd choice. then i spent time watching them in the woods and was fascinated by them. good flyers, wary, aggressive, beautifully painted and very majestic.

they would dominate the earth. they are a small velociraptor
 
Huh... I've always plucked wild turkeys I've shot. The first one was tough, took forever to pluck. I've got a good system down now and it takes about 10-15 minutes to pluck and finish cleaning up the dead bird (after heating the water).

I usually have my Mom cook them. The dark meat is very greasy and not too good off a wild bird, but the breasts are as good as any store bought turkey I've eaten, if not as big. I'll have to ask how she does it, but Mom does an amazing job of cooking the wild turkeys I bring home, I'll repeat, they're just as good as store bought ones.
 
rocketbomb said:
Huh... I've always plucked wild turkeys I've shot. The first one was tough, took forever to pluck. I've got a good system down now and it takes about 10-15 minutes to pluck and finish cleaning up the dead bird (after heating the water).

I usually have my Mom cook them. The dark meat is very greasy and not too good off a wild bird, but the breasts are as good as any store bought turkey I've eaten, if not as big. I'll have to ask how she does it, but Mom does an amazing job of cooking the wild turkeys I bring home, I'll repeat, they're just as good as store bought ones.
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PLEASE find out.

Be great to hunt food that wasn't punishment...of sorts.

Thanks.
 
ejes said:
I take them and cook them in a crock pot all day. The meat then falls off and the bone marrow and collagen from the skin and cartilage adds to the broth. I then add noodles, rice and spices for some great turkey and noodle soup.
Click to expand...

Oh so true, the crockpot is the way to go for any tough bird! :thumbup: I swear you could put a brick in a crockpot for 8 hours and come home to it being tender. By far the nicest way to make tough meat pleasant to eat!
 
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