Question about Turkeys. (Not hunting related)

[Calvin45]

Seriously, it's all in the way you cook it. Fried is the only way I'll prepare it. Tender, juicy and no game taste in the breast. Outstanding flavor! Legs and thighs are a little gamey, and I fry those as well.

Oh man this is just reminding me of all the cooking techniques I've heard for snow geese. Supposedly they aren't as good to eat as Canada geese, and definitely not as big/much meat on them. I've eaten them tho, the reports of their inedibility are grossly exaggerated. A slow cooker, soup stock, and onions covers over many culinary sins haha. And it's very good, as with most meat, mixed with pork in sausages.

But anyway, old guy from church back in the day went on about how he found the best way to eat them…you wrap the bird completely in bacon, cook it in the oven, throw out the bird, and eat the bacon.

OR….even worse, a different old guy at a different church told me that it's like salmon, it's complimented nicely by the aromatics of cedarwood. he told me, straight face, that you need to cook it on a cedar plank low and slow all day, then throw the bird out AND EAT THE BOARD!!!!!

Finally, a former boss of mine simply said "coyotes gotta eat too" when I asked what he would do with snow geese….and he's not a guy who's fond of coyotes!!! Oh! Maybe that's why he'd offer them this kind of food!

 

[Capt Nag]

I have been told that wild turkey tastes totally different (gamey) from store bought. Is this true.
With all the stuff going on in this world, and the stuff going in and on our crops and feed ( GMO's, pesticides, anti-biotics, yada yada) and the way animals are raised, I was thinking about getting a turkey from a hunter for this years Thanksgiving.

I am sure it would be a much healthier option going the wild route but would it be a turn-off for my family?
The only wild game I have ever had is Deer and since you can't get (domesticated) Deer, I don't have anything to be able to judge the difference in them by.

Any info or advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

In a short response, yes wild Turkey is and tastes different from domestic birds. The meat is generally tougher, with the legs darn near inedible. We pressure cook the legs seperate, then pick off the meat. The breast gets cut into 1" "Chicken Finger Strips" or flattened into cutlets and coated, then quick fried in Peanut oil. Please remember that in your quest to eliminate chemicals, GMO's, etc from your diet, these days most wildlife are consuming and existing on GMO crops, etc.
High country Elk and Mule Deer might be the exception but Turkey Whitetail deer, Geese, Ducks Pheasant, etc are crop ground feeders.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but thems the facts

 

[Noobie]

In a short response, yes wild Turkey is and tastes different from domestic birds. The meat is generally tougher, with the legs darn near inedible. We pressure cook the legs seperate, then pick off the meat. The breast gets cut into 1" "Chicken Finger Strips" or flattened into cutlets and coated, then quick fried in Peanut oil. Please remember that in your quest to eliminate chemicals, GMO's, etc from your diet, these days most wildlife are consuming and existing on GMO crops, etc.
High country Elk and Mule Deer might be the exception but Turkey Whitetail deer, Geese, Ducks Pheasant, etc are crop ground feeders.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but thems the facts

Plenty of turkeys live where there are no crops, GMO or otherwise. There are different varieties of wild turkey in the US and the sizes are quite different.

 

[Noobie]

As a turkey hunter, if I had to sell you a turkey for what it cost me to harvest it, you'd happily go buy the Butterball.

Probably a bargain compared to bass fishing, minimum $20K on a boat just for openers, then throw the fish back.
My plan is to work Saturdays in a glass box, then plunk the money down at a restaurant to avoid all that cooking thang. Die of a heart attack at 50 or join a $gym and watch videos on a treadmill next to a dozen other sweaty guys. Decisions, decisions

 

[Capt Nag]

Plenty of turkeys live where there are no crops, GMO or otherwise. There are different varieties of wild turkey in the US and the sizes are quite different.

Of course, you are right about that. If you're lucky enough to be living in one of those areas, and your criteria is to avoid outside food influences, then by all means, go for it.

 

[FireFlyFishing]

You can buy an "organic" turkey at the store and they do taste way better than the cheap Waldo World turkeys. Get ready to spend a lot for those though.

Alternatively, you can find someone who raises all natural turkeys and purchase direct from them. Get ready to pay a lot for these as well.

Wild turkey is fantastic in my opinion and everyone has added great tips regarding them.

 

[victor3ranger]

Not gamie at all but much more lean.
Cooking a wild bird I prefer to totally seal it so not to lose any moisture.
I usually add butter, oranges and apples inside it

 

[Noidly1]

I wonder if the "Low and Slow" method would be of any benefit like anything else you would do it to.

The way I normally cook a store bought turkey is to marinade it for 3 days in a beer and Italian dressing mix then simmer it in a doubled turkey pan with the marinade in it covered with foil in the BBQ pit for a few hours then finish it off by smoking it uncovered for an hour with an occasional squirt of marinade all over it. Fall off the bone sloppy goodness fer shir...

 

[Montana'eer]

I wonder if the "Low and Slow" method would be of any benefit like anything else you would do it to.

The way I normally cook a store bought turkey is to marinade it for 3 days in a beer and Italian dressing mix then simmer it in a doubled turkey pan with the marinade in it covered with foil in the BBQ pit for a few hours then finish it off by smoking it uncovered for an hour with an occasional squirt of marinade all over it. Fall off the bone sloppy goodness fer shir...

This Thanksgiving we ate our first wild turkey. Without really trying I bagged a bird last Thanksgiving on my property with a crossbow and one of those propeller head chopper broadheads. Actually amazed myself- I whacked the bird at 40 yds and **** near sliced the whole head off, lol.

Any way I used the breasts, cut them into 1/3rd chunks, pounded them thin and then made turkey schnitzels with them. Seasoned flour then an egg wash and coating of panko. Fried them up and served with a jaeger gravy and they were fantastic. Not gamey at all.