# Wild Turkey Pupusas



## Kwalk3 (Jun 21, 2012)

Let me just start by saying I'm not a breast guy.......
.....when it comes to wild turkeys.

I've found that a lot of my buddies just breast out turkeys and toss the legs and thighs saying that the wild turkey legs are too tough and the tendons render them inedible. For me, the meat from the legs, thighs and wings is my favorite part of the bird. For this reason I end up with an assortment of legs, thighs and wings from the birds my buddies shoot, as well as my own. This year was no exception.

I love the shredded meat from the thighs as carnitas, bbq pulled turkey sliders, and tamales. But I think my favorite use is a dish from El Salvador called Pupusas. They are basically thick stuffed tortillas. Meaty, cheesy, Central American style grilled cheese.










*Filling*:
*Legs, wings and thighs from 1 wild turkey.
32 oz chicken/turkey/vegetable broth
1/2 yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
2 tsp cumin

Oaxaca or Mozzarella cheese,grated*

*Topping:*

*Curtido(Recipe in below Post)
Sour Cream
Mild Red Salsa*

*To braise and shred the meat/filling*:

I started with the skinned legs, thighs, and wings from 3 turkeys, but have scaled the recipe down to 1 bird(I also made tamales and sliders from the rest of the shredded meat.) I generally separate the thighs from the legs by cutting through the joint so everything fits in a pot or slow cooker easily.

I always salt the turkey limbs with kosher salt, then quickly brown on all sides in oil in a pan or Dutch oven.

Add the turkey to a slow cooker or dutch oven, or other lidded pot. Cover most of the way with turkey/chicken/vegetable stock. Cut an onion in half and crush 2-3 cloves of garlic. Add to the pot.(Save the other half of the onion for the coleslaw). Add 5 bay leaves as well.

If you're going to make tacos, tamales or in this case pupusas I also like to add 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano and 2 tsp cumin to the braising liquid.

Braise the legs and thighs in stock for 4-8 hours in a slow cooker(depending on age of bird.) The meat from the legs and thighs just falls off the bones and the tendons pull out with ease. This leaves you with boneless meat that you can shred with a fork or with your fingers after it cools. Depending on how much fat was on the bird, I often add some olive or avocado oil to the meat at this point when I'm shredding it. Helps add and keep moisture in the lean wild turkey.

Set aside

*Dough:
4 cups masa(corn flour)
3 cups warm water
3 tsp kosher salt*

*To make the dough:*

Mix the masa with the water and the salt. Throw it in a kitchen aid or mix it by hand until the dough is smooth, but not overly sticky.

Take pieces and roll into 2 inch balls of dough. Set on a baking sheet. If not stuffing immediately, cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.










Next, take your thumb and press into the center of the ball and hollow it out by gently pressing the dough around the edges. Do this for all of the dough.










Place cooled, shredded turkey meat inside each cup of dough followed by a healthy pinch of grated cheese. If you run out of turkey meat, you can just stuff the leftover dough balls with cheese and they still taste awesome.










Taking care not to get too thin anywhere, use your fingers to pinch the dough closed over the top of the filling. Smooth out any rough spots and flatten the stuffed dough ball between your two palms.










Heat a skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add a little oil to prevent sticking. Once the pan is pre-heated cook 2-3 pupusas at a time until browned slightly. Flip them over and cook the other side.

Serve with curtido(traditional Salvadoran coleslaw), mild salsa roja, and good crema/sour cream.










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Kwalk3 (Jun 21, 2012)

Curtido Recipe(This is the coleslaw looking stuff you serve on top of the pupusas)

1/2 head green cabbage shredded
1/2 yellow onion sliced thin
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 large carrots, peeled and shredded
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar(Rice vinegar, or White Vinegar are OK too.)
1 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
kosher salt to taste.

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Cover it and let it sit for a few hours. Gives it a quick-pickle and gives everything a nice tangy taste. 

Serve on top of the Pupusas with mild red salsa and sour cream.


----------



## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

Kwalk3 just turned UWN into Masterchef. I’m impressed!! That looks amazing! Now if I can just kill me a **** turkey. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Wow!! 

Great post and recipe.


----------



## ns450f (Aug 28, 2018)

This sounds great. I have only harvested one Turkey and the breasts were the worst tasting meat I have ever tried. I smoked the rest until it was fall off the bone, than pulled it and added bbq sauce and it was amazing. If I can get a bird this fall I will have to try this recipe because it sounds really good.


----------



## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

Looks really good !


----------



## pollo70 (Aug 15, 2016)

I love Pupusas! they look tasty! the traditional ones are usually stuffed with cheese, bean, mixed chicharon & beans, cheese & zucchini which are my favorite but to think of stuffing them with turkey that is new, now that has me thinking what other wild game meat you can use, I have some Salvadorian friends that I buy them from next time I get some wild game I am going to see if they can hook it up! there is a similar Mexican food my mom makes they are called Gorditas that she stuffs with spicy taco meat or shredded beef, if I harvest a Buck this year I am going to have her make some stuffed with venison, time to tweak! the menu .. thanks for sharing


----------

