How To Roast Wild Turkey

Wild turkey tends to be drier than a farm raised turkey because they are much leaner and also because they do not come with the added chemicals and water. So it is a good idea to take a few extra steps prior to roasting to help your wild bird turn out nice a juicy.

1. Brining Your Bird

Many cooks are familiar with brining and have used this process on traditional turkeys and on chickens. For wild turkey, it is basically the same process and any good brining recipe will do. Here is one yoou might like:

Brine:
5 quarts water
1/2 C. salt
1/4 C. brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp soy sauce

Mix brine ingredients. In a large, clean bucket (or any clean, non-reactive container you have), immerse turkey in brining mixture for 24 hours. Drain and dry very thoroughly. Set out one additional hour to dry completely.

2. Inject Your Bird

Another common technique that also works well on wild turkey is to inject a basting sauce into the wild turkey with a large needle. Your favorite sauce for farm raised birds will also work well for a wild turkey.

3. Cooking directions for domestic turkeys apply to wild turkeys. These are some good estimates on cooking times.

If the weight is 8 pounds, unstuffed will take 2.5 hours and stuffed will be about 2.75 hours.
If the weight is 10 pounds, unstuffed will take 2.75 hours and stuffed will be about 3 hoours.
If the weight is 12 pounds, unstuffed will take 3 hours and stuffed will be about 3.5 hours.
If the weight is 14 pounds, unstuffed will take 3.5 hours and stuffed will be about 4 hours.

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound medium shrimp - shelled and deveined
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced carrot
4 serrano chiles - de-ribbed, seeded and minced
6 cloves garlic - minced
1/4 cup choppedchayote (optional)
1/4 cup bourbon whiskey
1 teaspoon minced thyme
1 teaspoon minced sage
2 teaspoons chopped cilantro
8 cups coarsely crumbledblue corn bread
1/2 cup chicken stock or turkey stock
1 to 2 teaspoons salt

1 wild turkey - 8 to 10 pounds
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
unsalted butter - at room temperature

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F.

To make the stuffing, heat the vegetable oil in a skillet and sauté the shrimp over medium heat until cooked through, about 1 minute. Let cool, dice, and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt the butter and sauté the onions, celery, carrot, serranos, garlic and chayote over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Deglaze the vegetables with the bourbon and continue cooking over high heat for 1 minute or until the liquid evaporates. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the thyme, sage, cilantro, shrimp, and crumbled blue corn sticks. Moisten with the stock and season with salt. Stir to combine.

Wash the turkey well and season the cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey and truss with a needle and string. Rub the turkey generously with the softened butter and season the outside of the turkey with more salt and pepper.

Place the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan, cover tightly with foil, and roast in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. Baste well with butter periodically Remove the foil in the last hour of cooking to allow the turkey to brown. When done, transfer the turkey to a platter and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving. Remove the string and serve the turkey with the stuffing and a gravy made from the giblets.

Via: http://www.epicurious.com

INGREDIENTS

1 wild turkey (approximately 10-12 lbs)
4 garlic cloves, finely minced or crushed
2 tbsp seasoned salt
1/2 C. butter
2 (12 oz) cans cola (Coke works well)
1 apple
1 onion
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Using hickory wood (or your favorite), preheat smoker to 225 to 250 degrees F according to manufacturer's directions.

Remove neck and giblets from turkey. Rinse turkey inside and out with cold water, pat dry with paper towels. Rub the crushed garlic into the skin of the turkey. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. Place turkey in an aluminum roasting pan (the disposable kind).

Cut onion and apple into quarters. Fill cavity of turkey with butter, Coke, garlic powder, apple, onion, salt, and pepper. Don't worry if some of the mixture leaks out when turkey is set back down. Cover roasting pan loosely with foil.

Smoke turkey for approximately ten hours, basting every hour or two with juices from the bottom of the roasting pan. Wild turkey is ready to eat when internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F in the thickest part of the thigh.

Via: http://www.divinedinnerparty.com/wild-turkey-recipe.html

Unlike thier farm raised cousins, wild turkeys' legs and thighs are not very meaty. Their breasts are smaller but that is where most of the meal is found. Considering the amount of work involved, you may want to skip roasting the entire turkey and focus instead on the breast meat.

But don't toss those other parts! Use his legs and other parts for soup stock or hash.

INGREDIENTS

1 wild turkey breast half
8 oz bottled Italian salad dressing
8 oz white wine
Creole seasoning, to taste
lemon pepper, to taste
salt, to taste
1/2 C. butter, melted
2/3 C olive oil
1 small oven roasting bag

DIRECTIONS

Combine Italian dressing and white wine. Place turkey breast into large Ziploc bag. Pour mixture over. Marinate overnight in refrigerator, turning occasionally.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Discard marinade. Season wild turkey breast with Creole seasoning, lemon pepper, and salt. Place breast into oven roasting bag.

Mix melted butter and olive oil. Pour over breast. Place turkey breast (in bag) in a loaf pan or other small-sized pan. Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.

Via: http://www.divinedinnerparty.com/wild-turkey-recipe.html

INCREDIENTS

1 wild turkey breast (approx 1-1/2 pounds), split in half (bone-in)
1 8 oz bottle honey Dijon salad dressing

DIRECTIONS

Combine wild turkey breast and dressing in a large plastic bag. Mix to coat. Marinate overnight in refrigerator, turning occasionally.

Discard marinade. Grill turkey breast, covered, over indirect medium-heat fire 45-55 minutes, or until juice runs clear and internal temperature reads 170 degrees F.

Via http://www.divinedinnerparty.com/wild-turkey-recipe.html