How does wild turkey taste?

[jjdavis2222]

 Never turkey hunted before but all this turkey talk has got me interested.

How does a wild turkey taste compared to a store bought demestic?  

[NRA4LIFE]

Taste is very similar to store bought, just a little drier.  The big toms can be a little on the tough side and a little gamier.  A big tom I shot in the fall in Missouri had his crop full of grasshoppers and walking sticks and he tasted like $hit.

[jackelope]

mostly dark meat...I wouldn't bother trying to eat the legs or maybe just use them for stew. Really good deep fried. Ithink thats probably the best way to do it and keep them juicy. They actually use their muscles to fly and what-not so they don't have the big fat juicy meat like a yard bird has.

[NWTFhunter]

I really do not know why people say wild turkey taste bad ??  I have had only 1 that turned out poorly, and that was because I over cooked it !!!!   As with any game meat, you have to take the care not to over cook, or dry it out from lack of moisture.
I just cooked up half a breast of my tom that I shot monday, and my girlfriend loved it.  It does not taste like a store bird at all !
I marinated mine in worchester, garlic, and crushed red pepper overnight in a ziplock.  Peeled carrots, potatoes and added onion, and red pepper in an ovenbag.  Cooked for 1.5 hours on 300 and it was soooooooooooo moist and tastey !

[jackelope]

the oven bag and the low temp for a longer period of time is what helped you out there...the oven bag mainly.
 

[boneaddict]

Not bad as long as you drink a fifth of the other wild turkey before hand.

[NWTFhunter]

Yes the oven bag is the secret ! You have to remember, wild turkeys are not pumped full of juice like domestic store birds before being sent to the market.

Bone, your a nut !  And you would have loved my recipe !!

[chrisb]

ANything you harvest will tasty exactly the same..... like victory

[boneaddict]

I'm sure I would love it.   I've had horrible and I have had finger lickin good, so I'd imagine its just like Venison.  60% prep, 20% what they eat, and %20 how you cook it.   Throw that fifth of wild turkey in there and its 100% who gives a damn.

[Jekemi]

Short answer: Wild Turkey is delicious. if you braise the leg/thigh in the pan that the breast and wings cook in they will be tender. Remove the leg/thigh from the turkey body using a very sharp knife. Season & brown the legs lightly in a large saute pan. Place them in the large roasting pan with the rest of the turkey body. Add a few cups of chicken stock to the pan so that the leg/thigh are almost summerged.
By the time the breast meat is cooked the leg/thigh will be tender, falling off the bone, and very flavorful. Wild turkey can be a little gammier but if you brine the bird overnight it removes most of the game taste. Make sure you take all that delicious turkey stock and make gravy out of it. It's the best part.

[Austrian Hunter]

I really do not know why people say wild turkey taste bad ??  I have had only 1 that turned out poorly, and that was because I over cooked it !!!!   As with any game meat, you have to take the care not to over cook, or dry it out from lack of moisture.
I just cooked up half a breast of my tom that I shot monday, and my girlfriend loved it.  It does not taste like a store bird at all !
I marinated mine in worchester, garlic, and crushed red pepper overnight in a ziplock.  Peeled carrots, potatoes and added onion, and red pepper in an ovenbag.  Cooked for 1.5 hours on 300 and it was soooooooooooo moist and tastey !

Thanks, I have to try this, hopefully next week!!

[NRA4LIFE]

I cook the legs in a slow cooker with some chicken stock, onions and garlic.  Very tasty.

[NWTFhunter]

No problem A.H.  Just use plenty of fluid such as worchester so that it is swimming in marinade.  You can also use cran juice, white grape, or chicken stock. Basically any liquid with a low citrus.

[Pathfinder101]

Another vote for Oven Bags.  Except for the legs, they taste like store-bought birds.

[NWTFhunter]

Another great way is to use a pressure cooker.  But I have not played with one at all, nor know anyone who has. So knowing how long would be the key !  You would lose NO moisture that way though.

[KimberRich]

I eat it because I shoot it and that's the right thing to do in my opinion but it's not my favorite.  I've tried deep fried, baked, broiled, bbq'd, and most every way and they are ok.  Would never say delicious..  But like everyone said they do not have a ton of extra moisture in them so slow cooking and adding broth or cooking in an oven bag is a must to keep from drying out..  If you don't it can easily get tough as a leather.  

[Curly]

I hear they taste like bald eagle......

[KimberRich]

I hear they taste like bald eagle......

More like Spotted Owl actually..   

[bow4elk]

Tastes Great!  I marinated 1/2 this bird in each gallon ziplock so we'd have two separate meals ready to go.  One bag went in the freezer, one marinated for 16 hours in zesty italian salad dressing, then was transfered to a vented oven roasting bag with a 1/4 cup of butter and 1 cup water.  Baked for 1 hour with a thermometer - perfect!

They don't come with much fat as you can see.  You need to keep moisture in while cooking, and a roasting bag helps dramatically.

(last pic was prior to adding the gravy!)

[NWTFhunter]

Hope those feathers in the first pic didnt make it into the last.....

[WCTaxidermy]

OK bowe4elk, i'm really hungry now.  That looked good.  I take the breasts and marinate them for 6-8 hours in a brine of cold water, 1/2 cup brown sugar and a seasoning of your likings like, Johnny's, all season etc.

Then right before your ready to cook them, inject the breast with a mixture of melted butter, garlic powder, and chicken/turkey broth mixed well.  Be sure to inject them very liberally.  Then wrap the breast with a wet cooking cheese cloth and put on your traeger BBQ. Marinate every 10 minutes with the remaining injection fluid.  Take the breast out and enjoy when it reaches 180 degrees.

John

[bow4elk]

Hope those feathers in the first pic didnt make it into the last.....

I knew I'd catch hell for that!  No, I rinsed it VERY well and picked off anything that wasn't meat 

[NWTFhunter]

 

WTC, yours sounds good as well and I will have to try that !

[turkeydancer]

You have to remember that the domestic was a wild subspecies captured in Mexico and taken back to Europe and domesticated (now extinct in the wild).

I inject marinade, sprinkle with Cajun seasoning and deep fat fry ... never had a bad one nor can taste any appreciable difference. Turkey is turkey ...
 

[EastWaViking]

Two words....Turkey burgers! 

[NWTFhunter]

I hear you EastWaViking !  Kim just ground up what was left of 1/2 breast I cooked and made a sandwich spread out of it.  Was good !

[bearpaw]

Really depends on who you talk to, it is definitely stronger flavored (especially the darker meat) and not for everyone. I personally like it, but can understand why some do not like it.

I really like cutting into small pieces like turkey McNuggests...   Then fry with lots of season salt.

[carpsniperg2]

a little on the strong side but still tasty