Joshua Morse of Vermont’s Fish & Wildlife Department had only to mention crispy, bear fat-fried wild turkey schnitzel and oregano-and-orange-juice-braised turkey legs. I was instantly ready to join a hunter hitting the woods in search of the native wild bird.
As I learned during my two tag-along hunting experiences in late October, landing a wild turkey (or any game) is not guaranteed. But if you are lucky enough to successfully shoot a wild turkey, or have access to the meat through friends or family, it can also be a little tricky to cook right.
First of all, advised Bella Kline, a former chef who now works as a state game warden, forget everything you know about the classic Thanksgiving farm-raised bird. The wild turkey is a lean, muscular survivor of the forest.
Once you, or your hunter friend, has the bird in hand, skip the time-consuming process of plucking the bird, according to the hunters I interviewed. Simply peel back the skin to cut out the breast and legs. (There are plenty of helpful how-to videos on the internet.)
The breast is closest to the meat of a domestic turkey. Season it well, and cook it quickly. For schnitzel or its Italian American equivalent, chicken Parmesan, some cooks, such as my friend Shane Rogers, pound it to make it thinner and tenderize it. Ron Lafreniere, the Bolton hunter I went out with, likes to cut breast meat in strips, marinate it with a store-bought marinade and grill it.
But even avid hunters sometimes struggle with the drumsticks and thighs, Kline said. “They can be a tougher cut of meat and have connective tissue and tendons,” she acknowledged. “They’re gonna take a little bit more care to do well.”
Here’s Kline’s step-by-step method for those cuts, which may be finished in the oven, on the stove or in a slow cooker. The resulting meat, pulled from the bone, can be used in soups, stews, tacos and pulled sandwiches.
- Depending on the size of the bird and your cooking pot, you can leave the legs whole, with a thigh and drumstick attached, or separate them. Season them very well with a generous amount of salt and pepper, and let the meat sit out for 30 minutes to come to room temperature.
- If you’re going to use your oven to finish the cooking, set it to 300 degrees.
- Coat a large Dutch oven or other oven-safe, heavy-bottomed pan with a neutral oil with a high smoke point and set it over medium-high heat. Sear the turkey pieces on all sides until browned, and remove them to a plate.
- Adjust the heat to medium and add diced vegetables, such as onion, carrot and celery, with a good pinch of salt to the pan, and work up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan into the vegetables as they cook.
- When the vegetables have started to soften and turn golden, stir in a tablespoonful of tomato paste and let that cook into the vegetables for a few minutes. Deglaze the pan with a cup or so of white or red wine or beer, and scrape up all the good stuff from the bottom of the pan. Raise the heat to medium-high, and simmer the mixture for a couple of minutes.
- If continuing on the stovetop or using your oven, return the browned meat pieces to the pot, cover with your choice of stock and then a lid, and cook for 3 to 4 hours in the oven or at a low simmer on the stovetop until the meat is tender.
- If using a slow cooker, scrape the vegetable mixture into a slow cooker, add the browned pieces of meat, cover with stock and cook on low for up to 8 hours until the meat is tender.
This article appears in Nov 6-12, 2024.
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