I just got my first turkey on Friday and am wondering the best way to cook the breasts. They are cut off the bird and in the freezer now. I gave the legs to my buddy. I do hAve access to a smoker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eilDt7juqAM
My only advice is to remove as much silverskin as possible. It's worth the extra effort I assure you.
Thanks!!!
Strips or nuggets / all good!
X2 on strips or nuggets. We use JR madds magic fish batter and I like dipping them into honey after I got em all cooked up
I started grinding mine up a few years ago and never looked back. I make them into patties, freeze them in individual baggies.....turkey burgers on the grill year around. Delicious.
I cut mine up into 1 inch chunks and marinated them in Italian dressing over night. Wrap them in bacon, use either a tooth pick or uncooked spaghetti to hold the bacon in and grill them.
If you have any deer backstrap left you can do the same thing
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Small cubes for deep fried nuggets. Marinated nuggets wrapped in bacon & cooked on the charcoal grill. Sliced into thin cutlets and pounded with a meat hammer, for weinerschnitzel, chicken fried steak, or turkey parmagiana. Do your best to get all the silverskin off, it does make a difference.
Sorry to hijack this thread a bit but I'm looking for suggestions on how to cook leg/thigh meat. I've never kept the leg meat in prior years but decided to keep it from this year's bird. I have chunks of leg/thigh meat that I cut off the bone and cleaned up real well. Any good suggestions out there? Thx
Quote from: eddie234 on May 22, 2018, 07:20:06 AM
I cut mine up into 1 inch chunks and marinated them in Italian dressing over night. Wrap them in bacon, use either a tooth pick or uncooked spaghetti to hold the bacon in and grill them.
If you have any deer backstrap left you can do the same thing
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I like this one, I can't have breading or most batter on my diet so this would be the cat's meow. Thanks. Now I just have to shoot a turkey.
There are a ton of recipes on the forum here as well in case you did not know. http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/board,28.0.html I have to check some of them out myself to see if there are others I can have on my diet.
Quote from: slwayne on May 22, 2018, 08:39:10 AM
Sorry to hijack this thread a bit but I'm looking for suggestions on how to cook leg/thigh meat. I've never kept the leg meat in prior years but decided to keep it from this year's bird. I have chunks of leg/thigh meat that I cut off the bone and cleaned up real well. Any good suggestions out there? Thx
I like to smoke them then make soup with any leftovers the smoked dark meat has excellent flavor. I brine mine for 24hrs season and wrap in bacon smoke until 165 wrap in foil and place in cooler for 30+ min.
If it's boneless I would just throw in a tin pan and lay the bacon on top but do the brine and smoke just the same.
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I like to open the breast like a book, pound flat, stuff with blue cheese, mushrooms, some sage and from the garden then roll it back up and wrap in bacon weave. More a method than a recipe o guess. Pics explain it better
Firstly, Any way you prepare turkey is a winner. I braise legs and wings and they are fabulous. All the above make my mouth water, lol. Recently I have been smoking my breast meat and it is better than any deli meat I have ever had. I need to go toast my lunch, Turkey bacon Monterey jack pannini with ranch bbq dipping sauce. :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool:
Quote from: slwayne on May 22, 2018, 08:39:10 AM
Sorry to hijack this thread a bit but I'm looking for suggestions on how to cook leg/thigh meat. I've never kept the leg meat in prior years but decided to keep it from this year's bird. I have chunks of leg/thigh meat that I cut off the bone and cleaned up real well. Any good suggestions out there? Thx
throw them in the slow cooker with beef broth until I near tender then add pottstos carrots onions and what ever you like .once all us tender thicken and enjoy
Wild turkey makes excellent Jerky.
Cube them,soak in Italian dressing for a couple days then grill on bamboo skewers. Makes a great spiedie sandwich.
We usually only do one breast at a time for our family of four.
I cut the breast into strips. Then I make up my own seasoned flour. Put a cup and a half or so of flour in a plastic bowl with a tight fitting lid(cool-whip bowl) Add a tablespoon of each of these: garlic pepper, onion salt, paprika. Add a teaspoon of ground mustard and cumin. Once in while I add a teaspoon of red cayenne pepper. Put lid on and shake it up and mix it all really well. Add turkey strips and shake again coating them really good. Place the strips in a hot cast iron pan with either olive oil or coconut oil. Fry'em up and enjoy. Delicious.
Quote from: slwayne on May 22, 2018, 08:39:10 AM
Sorry to hijack this thread a bit but I'm looking for suggestions on how to cook leg/thigh meat. I've never kept the leg meat in prior years but decided to keep it from this year's bird. I have chunks of leg/thigh meat that I cut off the bone and cleaned up real well. Any good suggestions out there? Thx
We did up some legs / thighs this year at camp - parboiled and then pulled, and sauteed with butter & garlic. Very tasty.
Any parboil / crock pot / smoker will aid in retaining moisture and making tender. The common theme among all responses here: think outside the box. If you plan on roasting a wild bird like a butterball - you may be very disappointed. Wild birds are much leaner than domestic, and will dry quickly.
Breast meat - cut in strips and fry, smoke, grill, kabobs, bacon wrapped poppers, grind......the possibilities are endless. A simple brine works wonders regardless of how you prepare it.
Legs/thighs - I like to grind them and make breakfast sausage, or pressure cook the meat off the bone, pull/chop and make bbq. I also do a similar technique to make pulled taco meat using a variation of Hank Shaw's recipe for venison barbacoa.
They're delicious in so many variations, though I'll admit I'm a sucker for them fried in Cajun seasoning.
Ate 5 meals off of my SD bird. Bacon wrapped, coffee rubbed and grilled half the breast at the cabin. The other half back home. Cooked the legs, thighs and upper wings in a crock pot. Pulled the meat and made salad with some of the meat and enchiladas with the rest.
Coffee rubbed doves
About 30 dove breasts
1 Pound cheap bacon
15 round toothpicks
4 TBS ground coffee
2 TBS paprika
2 TBS light brown sugar
2 TBS ground mustard
2 TSP granulated garlic
2 TSP course sea salt
1 TBS ground black pepper
Mix all rub ingredients in a plastic bowl with a tight fitting lid. Use the back of a spoon to crush lumps of brown sugar and make sure the rub is mixed well. Set aside.
Break the toothpicks in half and cut the bacon stripes in half. Wrap each breast with a half strip, secure with a half toothpick.
Place 6 breasts in the rub bowl and toss to coat. Repeat until all are coated with the rub.
Place bone side down on medium coals, cover grill and cook for about 30 minutes. Turn and cook just until the bacon is crisp, no more than 10 minutes. Do not overcook.
Just cut the turkey breast meat into chunks about 3" X 4" everything else is the same.
I just ground mine up with the leg meat and made a great meatloaf. First time I ever tried it and all the guys I had it with said that it was a great idea and really enjoyed it. I also got the most out of the bird as there was no waste that way. Threw it all in.
my ex father in law who used to own resturants, told me to cook in a crok pot for 8 hrs or so add 1 box of
chicken broth and a few seasonings and they just fall off the bone and are super tender, i also make a box of
stuffing and a small batch of mash potatoes, thanksgiving in the spring time, i almost like the thighs and legs
more than the breast ? just another idea, russ
Debone and leave whole. Inject each breast with 2 oz of olive oil. Apply rub of choice. Place in an aluminum pans and smoke at 200 until internal temp is 165.
I enforce a weekly "Wild Game Wednesday" in the house and the kid's favorite is nuggets or strips and my wife's favorite is the legs and thighs in a sawmill gravy over waffles or biscuits. Hard to beat any culinary application when it comes to the Wild Turkey.
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If you plan on roasting a wild bird like a butterball - you may be very disappointed. Wild birds are much leaner than domestic, and will dry quickly.
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I would agree on a spring gobbler that has been chasing hens, even a jake can be tough this time of year.
But a fall bird (hen or poult) that has been eating grain, beechnuts, & acorns can be very good roasted, I cook them in an oven bag, put a 1/4 onion & 1/4 apple in the cavity, and drape a couple pieces of bacon over the breast, I pluck the birds & leave the skin on. Granted, they are still drier than a commercial bird, but the liquid at the bottom of the bag makes an excellent gravy. :turkey:
breasts get smoked or grilled. legs, thighs and wings go into crock pot, pulled, put in food processor and turned into turkey salad with miracle whip, onions, celery and salt and pepper.
Quote from: spursRus on May 24, 2018, 08:49:05 AM
breasts get smoked or grilled. legs, thighs and wings go into crock pot, pulled, put in food processor and turned into turkey salad with miracle whip, onions, celery and salt and pepper.
Same here. Boobs go in the smoker and legs/thighs go in the crock pot and shredded. Made taquitos with the pulled legs/thighs last year, they were excellent.
Inject the entire turkey with a stick of melted butter mixed with creole seasoning. Cold smoke whole for 4 hours. Take it out, debone the whole bird and dredge in flour., and fry in Butterbean more creole. Time consuming but delicious. The brown meat is just as good as the breast. I am gonna fix one one sat.
I mentioned this in my earlier post, but if you are looking for something good to do with the legs and thighs, try this recipe substituting the venison with turkey. I make it all the time with both venison and turkey, and it never disappoints.
https://honest-food.net/barbacoa-recipe-venison/
I do it crockpot style and the breasts come out so moist they fall apart with your fork. The menu calls for a turkey breast but I just put in 3 lbs in the pot along with these ingredients.
Empty one can of cream of mushroom soup into crock pot.
(Because of the additional meat I used, I also added another 3/4 can of cream of mushroom)
Fill 3/4 can with heavy cream, add to crock pot and stir
(Again, used a little more heavy cream to account for the additional meat)
8 oz. pack of sliced mushrooms
One teaspoon of paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook for 8 hours on low
Serve with mashed potatoes and gravy, stovetop stuffing, vegetable of choice and crescent or dinner rolls and enjoy!
Usually I pluck the bird, and roast it in a baking bag, stuffed with apples, or onions.I don't freeze birds, unless I have to.They will keep in the fridge for 3 or 4 days. I cook mashed potatos, stuffing, basically a thanksgiving meal.Thats what I do.
I'll be deep frying a 9lbs breast for the family this afternoon. I pluck my birds, separate legs, thighs, wings, back and breast. For the breast I inject it 24 hours before cooking with my homemade marinade of oil, water, worschestire sauce, salt, pepper, dry bay leaf, sage, thyme and dash of cayenne. Put all the dry ingredients in s coffee grinder until pulverized and finely ground. Add to water, oil and worschestire in small sauce pan. Bring to simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool and inject into the breast at various spots and put in fridge over night.
Bring breast to room temp while oil heats up in fryer. When oil hits 325-350 degrees, put breast into fryer. Cook 3.5 minutes per pound . When done, let it rests for 15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy moist, juicy wild turkey! I like to serve with corn bread stuffing, spicey maple syrup mashed sweet potatoes, grilled veggies and biscuits. Sip bourbon while cooking and prepping the meal. :blob10:
I brine mine overnight, put a rub on them the next morning, and cook them that night on my pellet grill. Slice into thin strips with a little bbq sauce if you like. Really tasty and my wife and daughter love it.
Quote from: Divenut2 on May 28, 2018, 02:12:44 PM
I'll be deep frying a 9lbs breast for the family this afternoon. I pluck my birds, separate legs, thighs, wings, back and breast. For the breast I inject it 24 hours before cooking with my homemade marinade of oil, water, worschestire sauce, salt, pepper, dry bay leaf, sage, thyme and dash of cayenne. Put all the dry ingredients in s coffee grinder until pulverized and finely ground. Add to water, oil and worschestire in small sauce pan. Bring to simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool and inject into the breast at various spots and put in fridge over night.
Bring breast to room temp while oil heats up in fryer. When oil hits 325-350 degrees, put breast into fryer. Cook 3.5 minutes per pound . When done, let it rests for 15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy moist, juicy wild turkey! I like to serve with corn bread stuffing, spicey maple syrup mashed sweet potatoes, grilled veggies and biscuits. Sip bourbon while cooking and prepping the meal. :blob10:
That is a solid offering right there :drool:
I smoke the breast meat by trussing it like a roast and smoking at 200. Use a cherry or apple wood and baste with honey every 30-45 minutes. Takes about 3.5-4 hours but it can be eaten warm then sliced for sandwiches for the week. Also do a brine for at least 24 hours prior to smoking. It is by far my favorite way to eat turkey now.
I'll still fry some up from time to time with fixins but that usually makes for a party.
Quote from: Life of Riley on May 21, 2018, 09:51:22 PM
I just got my first turkey on Friday and am wondering the best way to cook the breasts. They are cut off the bird and in the freezer now. I gave the legs to my buddy. I do hAve access to a smoker.
I cut them onto 4 or so pieces and grill them with bbq sauce
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So many ways. Some favorites in my house; Stir fry turkey, turkey tacos, fried turkey nuggets, grilled after Italian dressing marinade (sometimes wrapped in bacon), turkey pasta with vodka sauce, turkey poppers (jalepeno/cream cheese/wrapped in bacon), pulled turkey bbq in the crock pot... Or what's become a favorite...
Turkey breast in the crock pot.. 2 blocks of cream cheese, a bunch of ranch dressing and a bunch of Frank's red hot. Cook til the turkey pulls apart... I like it on a Martin's roll, my wife prefers it as a dip with tortilla chips. Good both ways!
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Like most others I like it grilled and fried. For grilling though instead of marinating in Italian dressing for 24-48 hours I just season it with Italian dressing dry mix packs. It seems to have better flavor like that to me and it don't require the time to marinade it.
For legs and thighs I like them cooked in a pressure cooker with onions, garlic, chicken broth, celery, salt and pepper. Shred the meat and it can be used several different ways. I like to make turkey and rice with some of it.
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Cut in 1" cubes, marinated in Allegro, wrapped in bacon with cream cheese. Held in place with a toothpick or two.
Grill at 300-350 until bacon is crisp.
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Good stuff