Oops, hit a button before I meant to. My boyfriend is in Pennsylvania. When they get a turkey, they clean the whole bird and eat it. Around here, everyone I know only breast out the bird and pitch everything else. I hate that, so I always get the remainders and normally make a turkey & rice soup with it. Very tasty. I have tried cooking the legs and they are just too tough. I was curious if anyone else uses the whole bird and is there a way to cook the legs, etc where its not so tough? Does anyone here cook the breast without frying???
i soak the breast in italian dressing over night and then cut them up into smaller madallions wrapping them in bacon. put them on the grill careful not to overcook them.
I keep the thighs, legs and wings for grinding up for the most part. I have smoked & BBQ the legs and thighs and they do turn out a bit tough even with meat tenderizer. They still taste ok but tend to be a bit chewy. I would like to try it in soup. So if you do not mind could you please post your recipe for the soup. Thanks!
we pluck the whole bird and bake it like you would for thanks giving. it's delicious!! i just can't stand wasting that much meat!
I was afraid someone would ask for the recipe, I just kind of ........do it. Basically, I put the tough parts into a huge soup pan, sometimes I use my canning pot and let the meat and bones simmer. The meat just falls off the bone almost when its done cooking. I clean up the meat and stock and then either slice it or shred it and put it back into the soup pan. I add all my spices and vegetables (carrots, celery, onions) and let it cook some more. Then try the flavor. Sometimes I'll add some chicken bouillon (spelling?) if I want a more chicken flavor. Let it cool and skim off any fat that floats to the top and then reheat and serve. I don't get near fat when using wild turkey. Basically, if you've never made homemade from scratch chicken soup, look up a recipe and just use the wild turkey instead of the chicken. I hate wasting all that meat, so this is what I do. Most of the time, I have to shred the leg meat and then its fine or slice into tiny slices. The wing seems to be more tender and sometimes the back meat.
I always thinly slice the legs or else I grind them up for turkey burgers. Also good in turkey and noodles. The homemade kind of noodles though. Reames is the name I believe. These birds spend much of their time running so the legs ain't too great on them. Well for eatin' anyways. Jack
I was gonna say jack, they are drum sticks after all.. i mean how else are the band kids sposed to learn how to play the drums
There was a recipe in Turkey Call Magazine last year for legs. Put them in a crock pot with water and a chicken bouillon cube. Let it go for a long time and when it is done you can pull the meat off the bone and away from all the cartilige and gristle. It makes kind of shredded turkey that you can use for sandwiches or soup or whatever you need shredded turkey for.
I might have to try the crock pot idear. I make deer roast in a crock pot. I use peppercinis and the juice to make it a bit lively. Bet it would be good on turkey to.
