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Make Your Turkey Tasty

How to properly plate this spring's turkey hunting success
Apr 29, 2016 #hunting #biggame 

I love to cook, and wild game is pretty much what we live on at our house. As an outfitter or a guide, I’m guessing there’s plenty of wild game to go around at your house or lodge, too. A hunting trip with friends, family and clients undoubtedly generates discussions on unique recipes and cooking techniques. The best thing to eat in turkey camp is a freshly harvested bird, and when we harvested three birds on the first day of a recent South Dakota turkey hunt, I knew we'd be in for some good eats.

As we cleaned the birds, I discussed using the legs and thighs and was surprised by the number of people who considered them inedible. I pride myself in using what I harvest—and I made the crew's mouth water when I described how I usually brine and smoke the legs and thighs.

Using nearly every part of a turkey is incredibly easy with a Hi Mountain brine kit, and I use my smoker to flavor them up and slowly cook them. The results are incredible and leave most taste-testers wondering how they can get their hands on some more turkey parts to smoke on their own. It’s that simple: A little pre-mixed brine and a smoker. The hardest part just might be killing the turkey.

The Smokeless Option

When I don’t have access to a smoker, I opt to put the Can Cooker to use. With the rack in the cooker, I layered a couple pairs of legs and thighs in the bottom, adding some spices to help develop different depths of flavor. I topped it off with 16 ounces of water and vegetables and attached the lid, before placing it on the stove. When steam started to jet out of the port hole on the lid, I turned the Cooker to simmer for an hour. Easy, right? Still think those turkey legs and thighs are unusable?

I let the Can Cooker cool before opening it and removing the lid, and the aroma filled camp with a tantalizing smell that made everyone ask what was for dinner. Once cooled, I removed the thighs, deboned them, and cut the meat into small cubes. We didn't have a full kitchen, so I used a cutting board to work on and kept my knife razor-sharp. A very sharp knife is key for working through all the small bones and tendons.

The Can Cooker's unique design basically pressure-cooks the meat, making it tender. At the same time, it helps create a rich broth from the turkey bones and meat. The 16 ounces of water I had added almost doubled with the natural liquid produced from the turkey meat and bones.

I put the cooked turkey, onion, carrots, celery and spices—along with the broth created—into a pot and let it simmer for another hour. With 20 minutes to go before eating, I added 2 cups of long-grained rice. The end result produced more than a gallon of delicious soup that only took the crew about 12 minutes to completely mop up. We had also made enough turkey nuggets from the breast meat for a small army to feast on.

The extra hearty and flavorful wild birds are hard to beat. It’s not difficult … it just takes the right tools. It was a meal fit for a king and left everyone asking if there were more turkey legs and thighs to make more soup for the next night.

Whether you’re preparing one bird for family and friends or a flock of birds for a big camp full of hungry turkey hunters, this option is inexpensive and easy—leaving you plenty of time to socialize and tell stories about the birds that are in the pot.

Author
Bryan Koontz
Bozeman, Montana
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