How to Prepare a Wild Turkey

Turkeys are usually plentiful in most places in Texas, so why not take advantage of the opportunity this holiday season? Wild turkeys might be a little smaller than their farm-raised cousins, but the satisfaction you will get from harvesting and eating your own game meat for Thanksgiving this year is well worth the effort!

Field Dressing Turkey

Hunting and harvesting a turkey is one thing, but how do you actually clean and prepare one for a Thanksgiving feast? Luckily there are many different ways to field dress a wild turkey. One of the best ways is to place the turkey on its back and start cutting down the center of the breast. Go slow and be careful to only cut the skin as you work your way down the bird. Pulling the skin back should start to expose the breastbone and meat.

The breast should then come out in two separate pieces, so select a side and cut along the breastbone. Get as close as possible to this bone so as not to waste any meat. Once finished, go back and remove the other side. From here, you should have two large sections of breast meat, easily the best meat on a wild turkey.

But for Thanksgiving, you may want to cook up the entire bird in a traditional fashion. If that’s the case, simply skin out the entire turkey without cutting out the breast. After skinning the turkey, cut off its head and feet and clean out the internal sections. After some cleaning, it is now ready for the oven or a fryer!

Proper Storage

After field-dressing a turkey, you will probably not want to cook it right away. After all, it’s not Thanksgiving quite yet! In that case, you will want to store it properly. This storage will also have an effect on the flavor of the turkey when you do cook it. Unless you want to cook it within a few days, it is best to freeze the turkey until ready to cook.

The best method of freezing a turkey is vacuum sealing the meat, but this could be difficult with an entire turkey. If you cut out the breast meat, use vacuum-sealed bags or freezer-quality ziplock bags with as much air out as possible. If you have an entire bird, you still have a few options as well. A quick and easy method is to completely clean and dry the turkey and then wrap it up in two different garbage bags. Get as much air out of them as possible, and place them in the freezer until a few days before Thanksgiving for thawing.

What About the Gamey Flavor

One of the best things about wild turkeys is that they have a very mild flavor compared to farm-raised birds. Unlike elk or deer, which have a very gamey flavor to them, wild turkeys taste relatively the same as regular turkeys. But, if you have sensitive taste buds and can still get a hint of that gamey flavor, there are still a few things you can do in order to get rid of or mask it.

Most people prefer to soak the meat in ice water for a few minutes. After draining, refill the bowl with hot water and let the meat soak for another couple of minutes. Repeat this process four or five times, and you should be able to get your desired results. This process forces out any remaining blood or fluid in the meat, helping to get rid of the gamey flavor.

Another favorite method is soaking the turkey in cold milk for a few hours. This accomplishes the same thing as replacing blood in the meat with milk, making the meat taste better and become more tender. No matter what method you choose, just make sure you properly dry the meat before going on to cooking it!

Cooking Wild Turkey

You can cook wild turkeys in many of the same ways that you would prepare a traditional turkey. You can slather on your favorite sauce and slow-bake it in an oven like your regular Thanksgiving Day bird. If you decide to go this route, do your best to keep the turkey covered with tinfoil throughout most of the process, or use an oven bag. This will ensure it keeps as much juice and moisture as possible.

Many people, however, prefer to deep fry wild turkeys. This does an excellent job of helping remove some of the gamey flavors. You will want to brine it first, however. Add a cup of brown sugar and a cup of salt to a boiling gallon of water. Add a gallon of cold water and let the brine cool. Soak the turkey in this brine and refrigerate the entire setup for 24 hours. After brining, rinse it off, pat it dry, and let it fry!

No matter what method you choose, it is a good idea to marinate or inject the turkey with a marinade a few hours before cooking it. Not only will this help add to the flavor, but it will help to keep the meat tender and full of juice. A common complaint about wild turkeys is how tough and dry they can be, but with the right steps, it can turn out even better than a turkey bought from the supermarket!

Final Thoughts

With wild turkeys being so plentiful and fun to hunt, it only makes sense to take full advantage of your land and prepare a delicious Thanksgiving meal from this resource. While it’s true that a store-bought turkey might be a little bigger, there is no better feeling than eating a wild turkey that you prepared from the very start to finish!