How to cook Tammy Tepesquet

I don't know what a Tammy Tepesquet is?

Is that one of those endangered California Condors I keep hearing about?

Hmmm?
Suppose it could also be a turkey maybe?
Is turkey season open in California now??

rc

Deep fat fried in one of those turkey cookers is most excellent.

It is an expensive proposition getting the gas fired cooker & enough cooking oil to fill it.

But boy do they come out good!

rc

deep frying a wild turkey is a waste of oil and propane...all for 2 breasts? no thanks

I brined and smoked the last thunder chicken i shot and it was awesome

What?
You don't eat the drum sticks & wings or something?

rc

Deep frying combined with a good Cajun seasoning, its a meal of legendary proportions!

Pigeon Under Glass?.....

What?
You don't eat the drum sticks & wings or something?

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theres more meat on a frog leg than on a wild turkey leg lol

I had a Sgt. who would occassionally deep fry a wild turkey. If you were not there when he cut it up, you did not get any. No matter how good of friends you had, you got none. I was about 5 minutes late for one and all that was left were shinny bones. I can think of no better method for cooking a turkey. Just get to the head of the serving line.

How does the taste of wild turkey compare to a Butterball?

I'm trying to decide if I want to get into hunting them, but I only want to if they are at least as tasty as farm raised. These would be FL birds.

rodensouth said:

How does the taste of wild turkey compare to a Butterball?

I'm trying to decide if I want to get into hunting them, but I only want to if they are at least as tasty as farm raised. These would be FL birds.

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I've found wild birds to be not quite as tender as farm birds (the wild ones walk around and fly), but the flavor of wild birds is better, i.e., they have some.

Try it, you'll like it.

Yeah, you need to remember that wild turkeys walk a long way every day on those legs. Not like the domestic birds that may only walk a few feet daily. I've yet to find anyone that could come up with a use for them (the legs) in the dining room.

theres more meat on a frog leg than on a wild turkey leg lol

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Your turkeys aren't eating very well. Never fried one, but I've eaten a few; the thinner parts like the legs do tend to get over done. If you smoke him, shove a pack of bacon up his (you know) and lay some bacon across him too. The fat really makes them tasty. If broiling, you can do the traditional 'Thanksgiving style' or I like rubbing them down with olive oil and covering them with a mixture of Italian seasoning and minced garlic. If you do the Italian style, add some seasoned croutons to the stuffing. I would also add some sliced olives, but I’m weird like that!

I brined and smoked the last thunder chicken i shot and it was awesome

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A good salt brine soak will improve the tast smoked or broiled. I use a cooler to soak them and add ice to keep it cold.

Thanks natman, I will give it a try!

If you grill him, keep an eye on the smaller pieces; they'll get done before the breasts. You may need to separate the drumsticks from the thighs because the thighs will take awhile to cook also. You’ll get best results if your grill is large enough to keep the meat away from direct heat (gas or coals hot on one side, no gas or coals under the bird). You could place a pan of beer over the direct heat (you could also use pineapple juice, apple juice, …) If grilling, I would combine some store bought BBQ seasoning with brown sugar and use that as a dry rub. Most of the store BBQ seasonings have salt, so I wouldn’t add any additional salt. Off memory, I think poultry is supposed to be cooked to 170, but I would remove the breast a little earlier than that (it will continue to cook a little after being removed). A little before removing from the grill, I would baste it with a sauce. An easy sauce is combining a ½ cup brown sugar, small bottle of Kraft Original BBQ sauce, about a tbl spoon spicy mustard and enough apple cider vinegar to make it thin. Baste and turn several times prior to removing. I would be looking for a glaze of sauce, not a coating. If removing smaller pieces earlier than the rest of the bird, wrap them in tin foil and keep them in a warm (not hot) oven.

Edit: Did you skin him or pluck him? If you skinned him, I would try to cook him with some bacon on it. That will help add some fat and keep him from drying out. If you plucked him, I would add some bacon anyway, but that how we do things in the South!

When it comes to wild turkey I basically strip the skin down low enough to fillet out the two breast halves then close the bird back up and bury the rest of it. Young bird like that would have so many nasty pin feathers that plucking would be more bother than it worth. I too have yet to find any use for the legs and thighs of a wild turkey as they are so full of tendons and sinew they don't even make good soup broth. Once the breasts are filleted out we either slow bake 'em with cream of chicken soup over rice or will slice the beasts in to strips, marinate them over night and grill/broil 'em. The secret is not to over cook them either way.

That bird kinda looks like the size of the one Troy shot last night on "Swampsgiving"!

Never had the chance

to cook a wild turkey, but the legs, feet (yes, feet) wings, etc. with too little meat to fuss wuth should make great stock. Including the feet and lower legs with alll their tendons gives teh stock a wonderful silkiness.
Good luck.

wild turkey and dumplings

skin the turkey, cut up and add to pot of water. onion, carrot,celery,bay leaf, salt. Boil until tender. Take the turkey out and pick the meat from the bones after it cools. Pour the broth thru a seave and add the turkey meat back, and one can of cream of mushroom soup. Simmer for awhile. Cut up flour tortillas into strips about 1" long and simmer for awhile. Serve. Excellent!

well here in mo we have plenty of meat on the drum sticks. my vote is for home made turkey pot pie slow cook the drums in a crock pot, strain the pieces out, and put it all back in some veggies, cream of chicken soup. cover the whole thing in biscuits or mash potatoes.......mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

BTW: Did you know Kellogs is moving from Battle Creek, MI out to CA? That's because its where all the fruits, nuts, and flakes are...
Yes, that joke was made up out here...

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Not sure about the turkey, but chicken and quail are both great dipped in melted butter and rolled in crushed Corn Flakes, then broiled in the oven.