Mesquite Roast Wild Turkey Recipes

ROASTED WILD TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place turkey on a rack in a roasting pan; place apples in turkey cavity. Place potatoes, carrots and onions around turkey. Pour water over vegetables. Combine seasoned salt, salt and pepper; rub over turkey. Combine remaining ingredients; spoon over the turkey. , Cover and bake until a thermometer reads 170°, 3-1/2 hours, basting occasionally if desired. Turkey may be uncovered for the last 30 minutes for additional browning if desired.

PERFECT ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the zest and juice of the lemon and 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves to the butter mixture. Set aside.
• Take the giblets out of the turkey and wash the turkey inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, halved lemon, quartered onion, and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey.
• Roast the turkey about 2 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil; let rest for 20 minutes.
• Slice the turkey and serve.

WILD TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Mix the dressing and wine.
• Pour into a 1 gallon size zip-lock bag.
• Add the turkey breast and marinate overnight, turning at least once.
• Drain off the marinade & discard.
• Sprinkle turkey breast with the seasonings.
• Place in oven roasting bag.
• Melt the butter in the olive oil and add to the turkey breast.
• Place the roasting bag & turkey breast in a 9"x5" loaf pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

MESQUITE ROAST WILD TURKEY

Steps:

• After bagging a wild turkey, I wet pick, clean, and freeze it whole with the giblets and neck tucked inside the carcass in a separate bag. Since wild turkeys are built a little differently than the vacuum-packed, store-bought variety, it takes a little extra work to fit one in a Dutch oven. I separate the hindquarters from the rest of the turkey, and then split them down the backbone. At this point I take a fillet knife and disjoint each leg from the backbone, getting as much meat off the backbone as I can. I cook the leg in one piece, but you can disjoint at the thigh if you choose. To remove the ribs from the front half of the bird, cut along each side of the backbone and work your knife along the outside of the ribs down each side to where they attach to the breast bone and grasping the neck pull backward. Save the two back pieces.After getting your bird cut up, put the giblets, neck, and back pieces to boil in a pot with 2 quarts water and season to taste. Dice up a medium onion and add to the broth. I like to add a couple of bay leaves and a pinch each of sage, oregano, and thyme. Wipe the turkey drumsticks and the breast with olive oil and season with cracked pepper or seasonings of your choice. I start 8-10 charcoal briquets in my Weber® grill. When they are ready, I scoot them to one side of the grill and place 2-3 chunks of mesquite wood on them. Once the mesquite starts smoking, I lay the breast and drumsticks on the opposite side of the grill. The intent is to flavor the meat and not cook it with direct heat. Let it smoke for no more than 15-20 minutes or it will dry out.Transfer the turkey to a deep 14-inch Dutch oven with a rack in the bottom. Take 2 cups of the broth from the pot the giblets are boiling in for a cooking liquid. Roast for 1 1/2-2 hours with 6-8 briquets underneath the Dutch and 16-18 on the lid. Make dressing and gravy with the broth. Add dressing to the turkey pieces about 50 minutes before serving.Spiced with More Tall Tales - Fish and Fowl