# Cooking Turkeys?



## wfm (Feb 17, 2008)

I shot my first Turkey this morning and was wondering whats the best way to cook these birds?


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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

*wild* *turkey* *recipes* Look at these, also do the google search for the forum on wild turkeys. (Top right hand corner.)


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Breast it out. Smoke the breasts for a couple hours and finish off on a George Foreman or your regular grill. The legs are way to tough to just cook...throw'em in a soup or some slow cook method. The gizzard is to be frozen and sent to me for disposal.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

BPturkeys said:


> Breast it out. Smoke the breasts for a couple hours and finish off on a George Foreman or your regular grill. The legs are way to tough to just cook...throw'em in a soup or some slow cook method. The gizzard is to be frozen and sent to me for disposal.


Don't forget the wings, thighs, and the rest of the bones also goes into the soup pot. It will be some of the best soup that you have had.


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

If your gonna smoke the turkey/breasts...brine it.


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## gpskid (Jul 24, 2012)

Congrats on harvesting a bird
My favorite is this recipe, Sanpete County style
First fillet the breast off and slice into 1/2 inch steaks, then marinate in:
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1 can Sprite or 7 up
add 2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon onion powder

Place in fridge 24 to 48 hours, then turn grill on high and BBQ 3-4 minutes each side
This is the best I've found, done this to the last 30 plus birds taken
Sandwiches with left overs is yummy, slice the cooked turkey, place on roll with mayo and romaine lettuce
Many have told me they didn't believe it was turkey, let alone wild turkey.
Legs and other parts send to BP
You'll love it


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## SCtransplant (Jul 31, 2015)

Brine in pickle juice and deep fry. Tastes like strips from Chikfila. 

Turkey stew is pretty good as well.


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## Kwalk3 (Jun 21, 2012)

As noted above, make sure you braise the legs, wings, etc. I know guys that don't like them because of all the tendons and how tough they are, but I braised my turkey legs thighs and wings last year and turned the shredded meat into carnitas. I liked it better than the breast.


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## Idratherbehunting (Jul 17, 2013)

I made the legs and thighs into jerky last fall. It was super good. Schnitzel is good too out of the breast.


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## A12GaugeGirl (Jan 10, 2015)

I like to do several things with wild turkey. My ABSOLUTE favorite is turkey and dumplings! Hands down my favorite thing to do, especially since it uses the legs of the turkey. So you can get two GIANT pots of soup from one bird. I have a recipe here: http://huntingandcooking.com/soups-on-wild-turkey-and-dumplins/. I also like to ground the breasts up and do meatballs of varying styles. Congrats on getting a turkey!


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## wfm (Feb 17, 2008)

Thanks for all the advise on cooking this bird up!


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

They really do make pretty dang good jerkey. 
Have used the breast when we have gotten multiple birds.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Critter said:


> Don't forget the wings, thighs, and the rest of the bones also goes into the soup pot. It will be some of the best soup that you have had.


I'll take the liver, thanks.

.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Idratherbehunting said:


> I made the legs and thighs into jerky last fall. It was super good. Schnitzel is good too out of the breast.


Hey, how about a recipe?

.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

wfm said:


> I shot my first Turkey this morning and was wondering whats the best way to cook these birds?


Congratulations, any pictures?

.


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## greatness1987 (Jun 6, 2020)

Some of my tips for cooking a turkey: Butter Rubs This is the simplest way to moisten a bird. You can use unsalted butter alone or, to flavor the meat and the pan drippings (which will go into the gravy), mix in herbs, lemon, white wine, or even maple syrup. Coat the entire raw turkey generously, including under the wings and thighs and underneath the bird.

If you want, you can also rub the butter mixture underneath the skin, directly onto the meat. This will particularly help with moistening the breast meat, as the butter will penetrate directly into the flesh and insulate it against overcooking. To do this, before you rub butter over the outside of the turkey, gently lift the skin and stuff as much butter as you can manage between it and the flesh. You may have to break through a fine membrane that connects the skin to the flesh. When you're done, press the skin back to the flesh and coat the entire turkey on the outside with the same mixture.

Flavor Injections This method moistens the meat by injecting a fat directly into it. It's basically the equivalent of the self-basting turkeys you can buy, but instead of a mystery mix of flavorings and preservatives injected so far ahead of cooking that it turns the meat to mush, you're mixing up your own all-natural basting solution and injecting it at home.

Poultry injectors, which look like fat, plastic hypodermic needles, are sold at the kitchen and home stores for about $10 to $15. Once you've loaded the injector, use it to inject extra-virgin olive oil or butter into the breast and thighs of the turkey just before roasting. Or, for a subtle note of flavor, mix in lemon- or garlic-infused olive oil, walnut or hazelnut oil, white wine, or chicken stock simmered with fresh rosemary and thyme. To store the oil easily I use an oil sprayer, which I found after reading the article https://www.cookwarestuffs.com/best-olive-oil-sprayers/.


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## CrayDad (Feb 20, 2020)

BBQ Pit Boys Apple Cider Turkey


Also, for the Sanpete marinade I've seen people use horseradish and it came out really good


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