Is it necessary to age wild turkeys

[scotrobe]

Wondering what you all do. Do you age your wild turkeys? I’m new to this (only been hunting 2 years) and so far I haven’t been doing so. The birds I’ve been cooking have all been tough and I’m wondering if it’s because I’m not aging them.


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[jackelope]

My gut says they're tough because they're wild turkeys. They're all muscle because they use their muscles, unlike the butterballs.

[Dan-o]

I don't know of any way to make wild turkey not tough.........   or anywhere near tender.

Even jakes are tough and stringy, in my experience.

They sure aren't anything like Butterballs......   But they are fun to hunt.

we've taken to making turkey jerky, as it's the best use we can come up with for them.

[scotrobe]

Thanks. I keep reading posts online (e.g., Rinella, Haugen and others) saying, when cooked right, wild turkey breast meat is tender. I saw another post in this forum where someone marinated in soy and brown sugar then smoked it and it came out tender. So, it seems possible. I just haven’t been able to do it. Maybe I just suck as a cook. :-)


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[jackelope]

Deep fry it maybe?
Moisture is the key I'd say.
@merkaba93  ?

[scotrobe]

Deep fry it maybe?
Moisture is the key I'd say.
@merkaba93  ?

Not a bad idea. I’ll try it.


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[merkaba93]

Lots of people age upland birds and wild turkey. But for me it's not worth the effort.

But I'd brine the bird first...here is my recipe for turkey. I'm not saying it's healthy.

Dissolve 12 oz kosher salt and 12 oz brown sugar in 2 quarts water over med heat. Add 4 quarts cold water to a large food bin or gatorade cooler and add salt/sugar water. Add 2 onions, 1 bulb garlic, 2 sprigs rosemary, 5 sprigs thyme and about 10 black pepper corns. Add 2 lbs ice. Place turkey in cooler and brine for 5-6 hrs. Remove and let skin dry for at least 30 min. Then melt 1/2 lb of unsalted butter and add 1 tbs crushed garlic and inject into turkey meat. Create your own dry rub and rub the bird (do not use salt in this spice rub after brining the bird will be salty enough). Cook turkey for 3.5 min per pound in fryer at about 325.

[bradslam]

I don't bother trying to roast the birds like you would a store-bought turkey.  I use the meat for enchiladas, stir fry, etc.

[scotrobe]

Lots of people age upland birds and wild turkey. But for me it's not worth the effort.

But I'd brine the bird first...here is my recipe for turkey. I'm not saying it's healthy.

Dissolve 12 oz kosher salt and 12 oz brown sugar in 2 quarts water over med heat. Add 4 quarts cold water to a large food bin or gatorade cooler and add salt/sugar water. Add 2 onions, 1 bulb garlic, 2 sprigs rosemary, 5 sprigs thyme and about 10 black pepper corns. Add 2 lbs ice. Place turkey in cooler and brine for 5-6 hrs. Remove and let skin dry for at least 30 min. Then melt 1/2 lb of unsalted butter and add 1 tbs crushed garlic and inject into turkey meat. Create your own dry rub and rub the bird (do not use salt in this spice rub after brining the bird will be salty enough). Cook turkey for 3.5 min per pound in fryer at about 325.

Thanks! I don’t care if it’s healthy, btw, as long as it tastes good. :-)


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[scotrobe]

I don't bother trying to roast the birds like you would a store-bought turkey.  I use the meat for enchiladas, stir fry, etc.

I tried stir fry. It was dry and tough. I think I cooked it too long, though


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[Cab]

I've shot Toms and Jakes and there was no difference to me. make sure you brine your bird and other then the breast meat slow and low is a good way to go cooking wise.

[CedarPants]

Stuff it full of sliced apples and onions, wrap it with thick sliced bacon, and smoke it at a low temp for several hours (or bake in the oven if you don't have a smoker).  Even the dark leg meat will come out tender and tasty.

You can also combine with pork fat and make any number of different kinds of sausage.

[mburrows]

I tenderize mine big time, dip them in egg, then bread crumbs and fry them up in olive oil and finish them with seasoning of your choice and it tastes great.

[Jonathan_S]

Equal parts sugar and salt in water for a couple days.  Then I slice into steaks, tenderize and pan fry usually unbreaded.  Tastes good and barely chewy at all

[scotrobe]

These are all awesome suggestions. Thanks!

This past weekend, I threw 4 turkey legs and thighs in the grinder along with bacon and made some of the best tasting burgers I’ve ever had. Better than most beef burgers, IMO. I’ll try some of the ideas for cooking the breast meat.


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[Eric M]

So a couple years ago I got my first turkey and he was a nice big tom. I soaked the breasts in salted water for a few days, same as I do with wild rabbits. When I cooked it, I cut it into pieces, rolled it in flour, and seasoned it. That meat was tender! Soaking in salted water seems to help with certain wild game in my experience. Also I've never heard of anyone having a good experience trying to cook them like a Thanksgiving dinner. They come out too dry.

[Rainier10]

Cooked my daughters in a crock pot with cream of mushroom soup. Tender moist and delicious.

[cem3434]

My best recipe is to find some unsuspecting sucker at work and give the meat away. I have tried to cook it every way possible and there is just nothing that can make them edible to me personally and I hate stringy meat.

[Big game archer]

I honestly don't get the turkey hate. I've never eaten a wild turkey that tasted bad and iv'e eaten a lot of them. You just gotta cook them the right way and in my experience they are even more tender and tasty than a store bought turkey.

Iv'e found that braising the drums and thighs is a necessity in order to get them tender (sometimes it takes up to 5-6 hours)

[Jonathan_S]

I've definitely had a couple that I didn't enjoy eating

[300rum]

I like grinding mine.  I partially freeze it in strips big enough to get it through the grinder and then put it through, one pass only.

[quadrafire]

For me Breast is done on the grill with only Olive oil, Salt, Pepper. Medium Rare. Thighs/legs into the crock pot for turkey and dumplings.

[kevinlisa06]

Deep fry it maybe?
Moisture is the key I'd say.
@merkaba93  ?

Not a bad idea. I’ll try it.


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Deep fried is great!


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[lokidog]

Quarter and crockpot or brine and smoke, both delicious! I've done the deep fried turkey and the breast turns out good, very tasty, but the legs tend to overcook, and then you have gallons of oil to deal with....

If you crockpot, you can just skin it, no plucking necessary, a plus. 

[chrissmith002]

I pounded out the breasts in small chunks, dipped in egg batter, coated with panko, johnnys, pepper, and fried it for a minute or two on each side. Had no leftovers.

[KNOPHISH]

I pounded out the breasts in small chunks, dipped in egg batter, coated with panko, johnnys, pepper, and fried it for a minute or two on each side. Had no leftovers.

This is what I do but fillet the breasts into thin slabs, pound, batter & fry. Just like chicken fried steak, delish. I slow cook the legs then shred for sammichs, tacos. They are too stringy for much else.

[northwesthunter84]

I parted out my bird this year.  The breasts were brined in apple cider, sea salt and spices for 24 hrs and then I wrapped one with prosciutto and one without.  I smoked them with mesquite and alder.  They turned out awesome, very tender.  I am going to grind the leg meat for sausages (thinking apple and cheese).

[Dhoey07]

I grind mine with bacon and make turkey burgers, but reading through here and hearing people say tough and stringy....I may have just had a revelation 

Has anybody corned and/or pastrami-ed a full turkey breast???

[Karl Blanchard]

I pounded out the breasts in small chunks, dipped in egg batter, coated with panko, johnnys, pepper, and fried it for a minute or two on each side. Had no leftovers.

This is what I do but fillet the breasts into thin slabs, pound, batter & fry. Just like chicken fried steak, delish. I slow cook the legs then shred for sammichs, tacos. They are too stringy for much else.

  same.  Cut the breast into 1" thick steaks then pound flat.  HOT grease! As for the rest of the bird. ..I bone it out and grind it into sausage.  I've tried a bunch of different ways and never found one that I'm a huge fan of.  Edible but not amazing.  Definitely stringy

[Karl Blanchard]

I've definitely had a couple that I didn't enjoy eating

 

[Pinetar]

I do the same. I age for 4 days in fridge, not sure it matters. Cut breasts into 1in strips then roll in crushed Ritz cracker crumbs and cook hot in olive oil.

Or go with RadSav's recipe below. Only thing I did different was add Original Sweet Teriyaki to the mix because I didn't have the apple sauce. Sandwiches the next day are killer!

Well, last night I made a breakthrough.  The wife liked this so much she not only ate it for dinner, but had it fried for breakfast and nuked for lunch.  Looks like it is going to be a winner!  Wish I had taken better pictures before she wiped it out.  Maybe I will make it again in the next few weeks and post some better pictures then.

The idea started when Chase Fulcher sent me a gift package of Meacham peppered bacon.  I took two whole turkeys and ground all legs, breast and 1# of Chase's bacon together with a course grind.  Then I switched to a fine grind disk and ran it through the grinder again making sure to really mix the bacon, light and dark meat together evenly.  Kitchen Aide did a great job!

I then took half an onion that had been in the fridge for a week, chopped it fine and cooked it is some butter for about 10 minutes until it started to look translucent.  Next time I'll probably use a purple onion...just because I like them better with fowl.  Then it was all about mixing all the ingredients well and cooking in a 350 oven for 50 minutes.  The glaze went on after that and cooked for another ten minutes.  Probed internal temp was about 150-160F

1.5# of ground turkey (w/bacon)
1/2 cup half & half
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 onion (chopped fine and cooked to translucent in butter)
2 Tablespoons chopped Parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme (I would probably use more if I'd had fresh)
1-1/8 teaspoon Himalayan Pink salt (just because I hate white table salt)
1/8 + teaspoon freshly ground Tellicherry pepper (more flavor)
1/2 cup plain Progresso bread crumbs

I suppose if you wanted to you could add an egg or two.  However, I do not usually use egg in my meatloaf if I have added applesauce and half & half.  It was plenty firm last night and firm enough to make sandwiches after five hours in the fridge.  I was worried about the turkey maybe being too dry and not holding firm without the egg but I shouldn't have been.  IMO it was absolutely perfect without it!

I used the same glaze I use for all my meat loaves.  I found it almost 30 years ago in the same Better Homes & Garden cookbook as the Leak and Barley soup.

GLAZE:
1/4 cup catsup
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon Colman's dry mustard (the only dry mustard I will use)

[Russ McDonald]

Like any wild game you have to watch how long you cook them.   I have baked the breasts,  or did jalapeno turkey poppers on the Traeger.  Wife loves eating wild turkey hates butter balls ore site bought turkeys.

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[DOUBLELUNG]

The only bad wild turkey I've had was the one I roasted whole.  I didn't overcook so the breast was great but the legs, thighs and wings were incredibly tough.  A day in the crock pot fixed that.

Since then I've done at least a dozen that all came out great.  I cut off the breast meat, cut into 3/4-1" steaks, marinate overnight in 1 cup cider vinegar or wine, 1/2 cup olive oil, 4 cloves of garlic sliced, a thumb-sized piece of ginger sliced, 1 tbsp sea salt, 1 tsp black pepper and 1/4c brown sugar or honey.  2minutes per side on a very hot grill or in a greased smoking hot cast iron frying pan.  Tender and delicious.

Leg quarters go in a crock pot barely covered with water or stock on low for 12-24 hours.  Drain, pick out bones, cartilage, tendons etc.  Shred meat by hand or with a fork, add 16 oz of your favorite barbeque sauce, and back on low for at least 4 hours, no more than 8.  Serve on buns like a barbeque beef sandwich, also delicious.

[ian_padron]

Braise the legs and wings. Use the stock for soups.

Grind the breasts with fruit and spices and make breakfast sausage. Or deep fry into turkey nuggets.

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[rasbo]

Brine and smoke they come out great

[LipRipper!]

My wife is an extremely picky eater, especially when it comes to wild game.  I shot a big ol' tom and I divided the bird in two.  I made enchiladas out of one half and my wife made turkey pot pies out of the other half.  They were both outstanding, she even "gave me permission" to shoot more because she liked it so much.  We just cut them into small chunks and added them to our normal enchilada and pot pie recipes. Like other people have said, roasting a whole bird is not very good.