Good Morning
Yesterday morning I woke up to Mr Chiots telling me he had gotten a turkey. He woke up at 4:30 and decided he may as well go out hunting. This spring he tried to get a turkey but didn’t end up with one. Not wanting to let the tag go to waste, he was going to spend a few days trying this fall.
Naturally, we took the opportunity to do a photo shoot for Mechanix, the glove company I take photos for. Mr Chiots makes it easy, he’s one good looking fellow (of course I’m biased).
Luckily he got one on his first morning out, not that he minds going out multiple days, he really enjoys hunting. We dry plucked the turkey and it’s resting in the fridge. I’ve never had wild turkey and must admit regular turkey isn’t my favorite. Luckily, I have the cookbook Afield: A Chef’s Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish which has a few recipes that sound great, unless of course any of you have any great recipes for wild turkey you’d like to share?
Susy, do you know Hank Shaw’s blog Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook? He’s got a whole section of wild game recipes. He even makes me want to learn how to hunt.
to Karen's comment
Yes, I frequent his site. I was actually reading yesterday about how to hang & age turkeys and pheasants. Next turkey Brian gets we’ll age it to see what that does for the flavor.
to Susy's comment
That’s a nice looking bird! Nice work.
to Henry's comment
An old turkey hunter, now deceased, from Searsmont brought a 25# wild turkey to me a few years ago. He didn’t believe in plucking but instead skinning. I slow roasted that boy in a foil tent. He wasn’t very tender but oh so delicious. The hunter brought me a Tom and a Jake the next year. The Jake was pretty tender but the Tom was an older guy. I froze him and that process plus stewing him created an incredible wild turkey stew.
I find the wild turkey meat to be very rich and filling. Home grown heritage birds are close but still not the same as a good wild bird.
to Jennifer Fisk's comment
Tell Mr. Chiots to ask his turkey hunting friends the name of the best turkey hunter in all of Waldo County. Chances are the older guys will give the name initials HK, my friend who died of a heart attack just after shooting a turkey.
to Jennifer Fisk's comment
Hey, congratulations, Brian! Good on ya, getting one on your first time out! My dad was about 50% successful with his attempts to get a fresh wild turkey every fall – I remember his glee when he did.
to DebbieB's comment
Susy, Congrats to Brian. Are you allowed more than one turkey per tag? I assume the turkey was taken on your own property. I have mentioned many times the fact that turkeys wander through my big Terra Nova Gardens all the time. I often have thought about maybe trying to eat one but they have become pets of the neighborhood and it probably wouldn’t be taken well if the folks found out I was harvesting the neighborhood pets. So I continue to buy my Thanksgiving dinner in a box from the local food store. :0) The hens which I see every time I work there are not real big. Before dressing out they might hit seven or eight pounds. I haven’t eaten wild turkey or any wild fowl that I know of. I’m not a hunter. Now fish that’s a different story for another time.
Have a wonderful wild game day.
to Nebraska Dave's comment
I could get another tag but I think I will pass this fall. Getting geared up for deer season in Maine. Residents only day is the first Saturday in November.
to Mr. Chiots's comment
Congratulations!
We’ll be able to take two turkeys on the spring and fall tags without paying the additional fee next year. I think they turkeys in my backyard read the law book and know they’re safe (no fall hunt here). They’re here often.
to Robin's comment
I stumbled upon your site the other day and am enjoying looking through your archives. This post made me smile–we moved to MA a year ago and we’ve had the pleasure of watching at least two gangs of turkeys come through our yard nearly every day this time of year. No real hunting necessary here! My children don’t like the taste of turkey, so we’ve never been tempted to take one for eating; however, my youngest son did follow them around the yard one day and got close enough to pet a young one! He was so excited to tell me “it feels like silk, Mommy.” Interestingly, they all disappeared for two weeks around Thanksgiving last year, and then reappeared when the coast was clear; I’m watching to see if they do the same this year.
to Lorna's comment
They are super soft, we were commenting on how soft the feathers were while we were plucking it.
to Susy's comment
Congrats Brian! I don’t remember having wild turkey as a kid but many other animals. Are you going to save the feathers and display them?
to amy svob's comment
I saved a few of the feathers, but not all of them. We did save some for a friend who does fly tying.
to Susy's comment
I always brine them overnight before roasting for the best flavor and to moisten the meat which can be on the dry side. Many recipes are on the web.
to Erika Keller's comment
Congrats on the Turkey! I love see them in the wild as they forage or cross our back country roads. I often wonder how they taste since our homegrown ones taste so good.
Erika
to Erika's comment
I love this. I think there’s no better wild game than fresh turkey. My husband killed one this spring, and I used it for all the recipes in my Afield cookbook-which I know you also have. The braised turkey legs were awesome.
to Jennelle's comment
Congratulations~Brian! Beautiful bird! My father has been an avid hunter my entire life….at present he is somewhere up north grouse hunting. If you like to read about such things you might enjoy Robert Ruark’s, The Old Man and the Boy…..a classic. As much as you two love food you will love the book for this reason as well.
to amy's comment
Thanks for the book recommendation, I’ll make sure to put it on my winter reading list.
to Susy's comment
Don’t know anything about cooking wild turkey, but I wanted to say congrats, and great pictures! Mr. Chiots is looking very GQ in a camo sort of way ;)
to Wendy's comment
Don’t forget to make bone broth from the turkey bones. It is incredible.
to Annette's comment
We never let the bones go to waste!
to Susy's comment
We always pressure can our wild turkeys. I know you prefer to avoid preserving that way but I’m throwing the idea in here anyway. Cut the meat in chunks, drop them in jars with a bit of salt and pressure can according to the directions. The otherwise-rather-tough meat is very tender and great for sandwiches or salads. Since we discovered how well this worked for us, we don’t do anything else with our wild turkey meat.
to KimP's comment