Got my first turkey, and a question

BenL · May 9, 2016

He's a good bird, too. 21 lbs, 10.1" beard, 1" spurs. He actually walked in with two other toms in tow.

Question for experienced turkey hunters: When I was processing him, the whole upper portion of his breast was fat; is that normal? I've always been told that these birds are very lean, but he was surprisingly fatty (lots of yellow fat...)

.

outrider58 · May 9, 2016

That's outer fat(I usually cut it off). The meat is very lean. I've tried smoking wild turkey with so-so results, even covering it wit bacon. Still turned out on the dry side. I prefer to grill the breasts. They turn out juicy and full of flavor.

iH8DemLibz · May 9, 2016

Beautiful Bird.

Congrats.

Neot · May 9, 2016

Congrats!

engineerbrian · May 9, 2016

Nice bird!

K31 · May 9, 2016

YOU SHOT CECIL! He was the pet turkey of the elementary school, that's why he ate so well!

md_rick_o · May 9, 2016

Congrats dude, looks great

thomfantomas · May 9, 2016

Poor turkey.....he was guilty for being a turkey :/

DC-W · May 9, 2016

thomfantomas said:
Poor turkey.....he was guilty of being delicious

FTFY

joppaj · May 9, 2016

That's a very fine looking turkey Sir. Nicely done.

platoonDaddy · May 9, 2016

dang nice. Congratulations.

Cut the fat and grill.

BenL · May 10, 2016

Thanks, everyone. I'm really happy about it. For the fall, I'm going to try to take one with a bow.

outrider58 said:
That's outer fat(I usually cut it off). The meat is very lean. I've tried smoking wild turkey with so-so results, even covering it wit bacon. Still turned out on the dry side. I prefer to grill the breasts. They turn out juicy and full of flavor.

Ah, ok. I started cutting it away, and it looked like I was cutting away the whole top half of the turkey.

When you grill the breasts, do you keep the legs and thighs, or just toss them?

Have you ever tried an injectable marinade?

I've already gone to the trouble of plucking it, but don't want my first turkey to be poorly prepared.

Sportstud4891 · May 10, 2016

That yellow fat you can pull away by hand almost but you definitely want it off the meat before cooking.

I marinade overnight in a mixture of 1 cup dry white wine and 1 cup Italian dressing. Then I season with a mixture of lemon pepper and Cajun seasoning. Place the turkey breast in smaller (9" or so) casserole dish. Pour a mixture of olive oil and butter (about a half cup of each) around the breast (lift it slightly so it gets under it also). Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for about an hour and 20 minutes depending on size. Love it that way.

Nice bird by the way.

BenL · May 10, 2016

Sportstud4891 said:
That yellow fat you can pull away by hand almost but you definitely want it off the meat before cooking.

I marinade overnight in a mixture of 1 cup dry white wine and 1 cup Italian dressing. Then I season with a mixture of lemon pepper and Cajun seasoning. Place the turkey breast in smaller (9" or so) casserole dish. Pour a mixture of olive oil and butter (about a half cup of each) around the breast (lift it slightly so it gets under it also). Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for about an hour and 20 minutes depending on size. Love it that way.

Nice bird by the way.

Thanks.

That sounds pretty good. What internal temp? 160F?

chesapeakeIRON · May 10, 2016

Nice Bird! My wife and I had big plans to get out this season but have not had the opportunity to go yet

outrider58 · May 10, 2016

BenL said:
Thanks, everyone. I'm really happy about it. For the fall, I'm going to try to take one with a bow.

Ah, ok. I started cutting it away, and it looked like I was cutting away the whole top half of the turkey.

When you grill the breasts, do you keep the legs and thighs, or just toss them?

Have you ever tried an injectable marinade?

I've already gone to the trouble of plucking it, but don't want my first turkey to be poorly prepared.

I toss the legs and thighs. Not much meat. I use my own "bird rub" on the breast and baste while grilling with viegarette type salad dressing.

Sportstud4891 · May 10, 2016

BenL said:
Thanks.

That sounds pretty good. What internal temp? 160F?

165, although 160 is probably ok I never like to chance it.

I'll add that I slice it almost as soon as I pull it out and lay it back in the juices before serving.

fabsroman · May 11, 2016

Very nice turkey. As already mentioned, there is a difference between fat on the exterior of the meat and fat marbling within the meat. I have killed deer, geese, ducks, etc. that have a ton of fat between the hide/skin and the actual meat, but the meat itself is very lean. That bird must have been eating well.

I had planned on taking my son out on youth day at a buddy's 20 acre place where he has seen tons of birds, but things like baseball and lacrosse were on the calendar. My buddy called me about coming up to hunt, and I excitedly told my wife about it. Her response, "how are you ever going to get to do that with baseball and lacrosse on the weekend and school during the week." Thought about asking to take him out of school for a day, but I already knew what that answer would be.

One day, I'll get him his first turkey, deer, etc.

wilcam47 · May 11, 2016

BenL said:
He's a good bird, too. 21 lbs, 10.1" beard, 1" spurs. He actually walked in with two other toms in tow.

Question for experienced turkey hunters: When I was processing him, the whole upper portion of his breast was fat; is that normal? I've always been told that these birds are very lean, but he was surprisingly fatty (lots of yellow fat...)

.

Nice bird!

gtodave · May 11, 2016

You might want to check the settings on your camera....it's transposing the image, making it appear that your ejection port is on the wrong side of your gun :innocent0

Got my first turkey, and a question

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