Turkey Tour ‘24
Recipes from the Field
Mount Lucas Ranch Casserole
Species: Rio Grande
Location: South Texas
Season: Mid-March
This is a great way to utilize some leftover wings, necks, drumsticks and thighs. Here I used a couple of thighs, a neck and a lonely wing, slow cooking them first and shredding the meat, while saving the resulting broth for this casserole and a future use. King Ranch Casserole is an iconic South Texas dish, and this recipe doesn’t veer too far from its roots. This is a simple, satisfying casserole that’s easy to assemble and bake off after a day of scouting, hunting, and roosting birds.
Serves 4-6
1 turkey leg quarter
6 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 poblano peppers, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 1⁄2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp guajillo or other chile powder
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 10-ounce can Ro-Tel or canned tomatoes with green chiles, drained
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper
1 cup sour cream
18 corn tortillas
2 1⁄2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, Menonita, Jack)
In a slow cooker or large pot over low heat, cook the turkey leg quarter, covered by 2-3 inches of water until tender, about 5-7 hours.
Remove the leg quarter and shred the meat, discarding the bones and sinews.
Strain the broth through a fine strainer and reserve 2 cups, freezing the remaining broth for another use.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a medium pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, poblanos, bell pepper, cumin and chile powder and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes.
Add the flour and stir well to combine.
Add the milk, 2 cups of the reserved turkey broth and the Ro-Tel and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook for 10 minutes, until thickened.
Stir in the shredded turkey and the sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spread 1⁄4 of the turkey and pepper sauce onto the bottom of a 9x13” casserole dish.
Distribute 1⁄4 of the shredded cheese over this layer, then lay 6 tortillas over this.
Add another 1⁄4 of the sauce, followed by more cheese and another layer of tortillas.
Repeat this process, ending with the sauce and a final layer of cheese.
Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Serve immediately.
Turkey al Pastor
Species: Rio Grande
Location: Texas Hill Country
Season: Mid-March
Cooking turkey breast slices on the grill can be a tricky approach, as they’ll easily overcook. Using the technique from The Turkey Book (page 100) to cook them only on one side until almost cooked through, then quickly finishing the second side ensures two things: the breast won’t be dry, and there will be ample and delicious char on one side. Mesquite is the preferred wood or charcoal for grilling this preparation.
“Shepherd’s Style” or al Pastor, is traditionally applied to pork (it works exceptionally well with feral hog, especially the shoulder, or coppa cut from a fattier hog) but works well with turkey breast, too. The marinade is standard: dried chiles, cumin, some oil and vinegar to add some tartness. Achiote paste, a fragrant and slightly bitter combination of orange, bright red annatto, spices and orange juice, adds distinct color and flavor. Find achiote at quality grocery stores or Mexican and Central American markets. Al Pastor is commonly served with pineapple–roasted or grilled–and here I’m throwing in the leftover cores into the marinade to further tenderize the turkey. Pineapple contains protease, an enzyme that goes to work quickly and effectively on meat, breaking the muscle fibers down and yielding a softer, more tender cut. Serve this on quality corn tortillas with finely chopped raw onion, fresh cilantro and a salsa of your choosing.
Serves 4
Marinade
3 tbsp achiote paste
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp ancho chile powder
1 tbsp brown sugar
6 cloves garlic, grated or minced
1 tsp black pepper, ground
½ tsp cumin, ground
¼ cup olive oil
20 ounces turkey breast, sliced and pounded thin for paillards (TTB, page 100)
¼ fresh pineapple, peeled, cut into 3 thick slices, core removed and reserved
Salt
12 corn tortillas
½ medium white onion, finely diced
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
Jalapeño Salsa (see The Hog Book, page 360) or Turkey Pepper and Tomato Salsa (see The Turkey Book, page 82)
Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl until homogenous, then transfer to a resealable plastic bag and add the reserved cores from the pineapple. Season the turkey to taste with salt and add to the bag, making sure the marinade coats all of the turkey. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to one day.
Preheat a gas grill to high, or start a hot mesquite charcoal fire (or burn down some mesquite and oak to coals).
Grill the pineapple slices until caramelized and browned on both sides, then set aside on a cutting board.
Discard the pineapple cores from the marinade and grill the turkey breast slices on the hottest part of the grill on one side, rotating them occasionally, until the turkey is about 90% cooked through, then flip the slices and finish cooking them for a few seconds on the other side. Remove the turkey to the cutting board.
Heat up the tortillas on the grill.
Chop the turkey and the pineapple with a sharp knife. Serve with the tortillas, onion, cilantro and jalapeño salsa.
Apple Cider-Brined Smoked Turkey Sandwich with Turkey Pepper and Vinegar Chips
Species: Rio Grande
Location: Central Texas
Season: Early April
The apple flavor from the cider brine, plus the apple cider glaze really sings in this smoked breast recipe. On this hunt, we were in the heart of Texas barbecue country, arguably the best barbecue region in the world, so applying some of the smoke from the copious hardwoods that abound in the area seemed natural. Here, I’m using a combination of the woods found in the river bottoms we are hunting and the turkeys are roosted in: oak and pecan.
Serve this smoked turkey warm on a sandwich (with another dose of apples in the form of slaw) with spicy chips or cold as an appetizer. Soaking thin slices of potatoes in a hot sauce brine imparts a great, sour flavor to some homemade potato chips.
Serves 4
Brine
1 pint hard apple cider
¼ cup salt
1 head garlic, halved
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp juniper berries
1 tbsp coriander seeds
Glaze
1 pint hard apple cider
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp black pepper, ground
20 ounces turkey breast (top lobe works best)
Apple Slaw
1 ½ cups finely shredded red or green cabbage
1 apple, shredded
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp prepared horseradish
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp sugar or honey
½ tsp celery seed
Salt and pepper
Assembly
8 slices quality rye bread
2 tbsp butter
Make the brine: combine 2 cups water, the salt, garlic, brown sugar, juniper and coriander seeds in a small pot over high heat. Heat until the salt is dissolved, then add the apple cider and cool completely in a non-reactive container. Once chilled, add the turkey breast and refrigerate for 12 hours. Remove the breast from the brine and dry well. Discard the brine.
Make the glaze: in a small pot over high heat, boil the apple cider and honey until reduced to ½ cup, about 10 minutes. Add the black pepper and set aside.
Preheat a smoker to 275°F. Smoke the breast until the internal temperature is 150°F, brushing with the apple cider glaze every 30 minutes.
Make the slaw: combine the cabbage, apple, mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar and celery seed in a bowl and season with salt and plenty of black pepper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
To assemble, toast the bread in the butter and slice the warm turkey breast into ½” thick slices. Drain any excess liquid from the slaw. Divide the turkey among 4 pieces of toasted bread and top with the slaw, then engage the top slice of toasted bread.
Turkey Pepper and Vinegar Chips
4 medium Yukon gold potatoes
1 cup Turkey Pepper Vinegar
Fat or oil for frying
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp fine salt
Combine the vinegar with 2 cups of cold water. Slice the potatoes as thinly as possible (I use a mandoline) into the water. Refrigerate for a few hours and up to 2 days.
Heat a deep fryer to 350°F. Mix together the salt and sugar. Drain the potatoes very well, then fry until crisp and starting to turn a light golden brown, about 6 minutes. Drain very well on a rack. Immediately sprinkle the chips evenly with the salt, sugar and garlic mixture. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Wild Turkey Choucroute Garnie
Species: Rio Grande
Location: Texas Hill Country
Season: Mid April
Hailing from the French region of Alsace between France and Germany, Choucroute Garnie is a celebration of smoked, cured and salted meats, served atop and within a bed of sauerkraut cooked in wine.
While hunting turkeys in the Texas Hill Country or Blackland Prairie, you’re never too far from Alsatian, German or Czech settlements and their subsequent Euro-Texan food traditions. Smoking a wild turkey leg and braising it with the sauerkraut seems a fitting end for Truthahn (German for turkey, meaning “threatening chicken”) or D’inde (French for “Indian cock”; coq d’inde). Choucroute Garnie (“garnished sauerkraut”) is traditionally served with fatty pork cuts, so the shanks, ribs and bellies from the fat, acorn-fed wild hogs that abound in this part of Texas also do well in the choucroute. Here, I used smoked Wild Hog Smoked Sausages (The Hog Book, page 327) and some amazing frankfurters made by my friend Elias Cairo at Olympia Provisions, but any mix of smoked (also try the Knackwurst from The Hog Book, page 324) and contrastingly delicate sausages works beautifully here. In particular, three sausages from The Turkey Book would be perfect in this preparation: Turkey and Potato Sausages (The Turkey Book, page 208), Turkey Boudin Blanc (a white Alsatian sausage with cream and breadcrumbs, not the Cajun rice-based Boudin, see The Turkey Book, page 212) or finely-textured Turkey and Garlic Sausages (The Turkey Book, page 214)
Try to get good, fresh sauerkraut that’s naturally fermented and not canned or cooked. Making your own is surprisingly easy, but just requires a little time (like 2-3 weeks head start).
I usually don’t serve much before and after choucroute, as it’s a very, very large meal. Pour a beer, apple cider or–more traditionally–a sweet wine like Riesling or gewurztraminer. I like a semi-sweet wine from the Texas Hill Country like a less-dry chenin blanc from a nearby county.
Serves 8
Smoked turkey leg
½ cup salt
¼ cup sugar
4 cloves
12 juniper berries
2 bay leaves
¼ tsp Instacure #1
1 turkey leg quarter
4 tbsp butter
8 ounces wild boar bacon (see The Hog Book, page 348) or smoked bacon, cut into 1” squares
2 white onions, thinly sliced, skins reserved
1 tsp caraway seeds
8 juniper berries
6 cups fresh, high-quality sauerkraut, drained
3 cups (1 bottle) sweet white wine such as riesling or gewurztraminer
24 small potatoes
4 Smoked Sausages or Knackwurst
4 frankfurters, Turkey and Potato Sausages, Turkey Boudin Blanc or Turkey and Garlic Sausages
Make the brine by heating the salt, sugar, juniper, bay, cloves, allspice and Instacure with 2 quarts water until the salt is dissolved. Cool the brine completely, then submerge the turkey in the brine. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
Remove the leg quarter from the brine and refrigerate, uncovered, for a few hours, discarding the brine.
To smoke the leg quarter, preheat a smoker to 225°F. Smoke the leg for 2 ½ hours over oak, pecan, hickory or a fruitwood like cherry or apple.
Poach the turkey. Cover the leg quarter and the reserved onion skins with 1 gallon of water in a large pot and bring to a simmer. Cook until tender but not falling apart, about 3-4 hours, then remove the turkey, leaving the broth in the pot. You’ll need at least 2 cups of broth, so add water if there is less than this.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Start the Choucroute. In a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or enameled cast iron braising dish, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the bacon, onions, caraway and juniper and cook, stirring often, until the onions are tender and just starting to brown. Add the wine, sauerkraut, turkey leg quarter, the potatoes and 2 cups of the reserved broth. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot and place in the oven. Bake for 1 hour. Remove the choucroute from the oven. Check the potatoes - they should be tender. If not, return to the oven for a few more minutes.
In a medium pan over medium heat, brown the sausages in a little butter until cooked and hot throughout. Garnish the choucroute with the browned sausages and serve immediately.
Paloma’s Turkey Katsu with Greenbriar Salad
Species: Rio Grande
Location: Central Texas
Season: Mid April
I let my daughter celebrate her first turkey with any preparation she wanted, and with her predilection towards Japanese food, she chose katsu, or a breaded cutlet.
Usually accompanied by a sweet and savory sauce known as “Bulldog Sauce”, here we are making a simple and fresh version using honey, soy, ketchup, Worcestershire and aromatic garlic and ginger.
Some greenbriar presented itself on the hike back to the truck with our birds, so it was a perfect stand-in for seaweed as a bright and crisp side salad, with more honey and soy.
Serves 4
20 ounces wild turkey breast (top or bottom lobe, or tenderloin, cleaned of sinew), cut into ½” thick slices, pounded to ¼” thick cutlets and breaded (see The Turkey Book, page 100)
Salt and pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, well beaten
1 ½ cups Panko breadcrumbs
Fat or oil for frying
Sauce
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup honey
4 tsp dark soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
1” piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
Pinch ground cloves
Greenbriar Salad
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1” piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 cups fresh greenbriar tips
1 medium cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Prepare the breast cutlets by pounding out and breadin.
Pan- or deep-fry (375°F) the cutlets in fat or oil until golden, about 4 minutes.
For the sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Let stand for 20 minutes before serving.
To prepare the salad, combine the honey, soy sauce, ginger and vinegar in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Right before serving, add the greenbriar, cucumber and carrot and toss well, then sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve cold.
Way Back Ranch Lasagna
Species: Rio Grande
Location: Texas Hill Country
Season: Late April
This “white” lasagna is sauced with a veloute, or roux-thickened turkey stock, which boosts the turkey flavor and adds some nice richness. The additions of mushrooms and peas add interesting depth of flavor and some more texture, but you can skip the peas if you prefer, or add some well-drained cooked spinach or even sauteed kale. Instead of a melting-type cheese like mozzarella, we are using nutty Asiago and umami-rich Parmesan to enrich and thicken the sauce, and provide a little caramelized, crisp topping.
I use the dry noodle approach for lasagna, meaning that the dried pasta sheets aren’t cooked before baking, which makes this not only easier and quick to assemble, but yields a chewy and crispy top and perfectly cooked pasta layers beneath.
We followed this with a dewberry and mulberry cobbler (page 160, The Turkey Book).
Serves 8
1 turkey leg quarter
4 bay leaves
1 medium white or yellow onion, finely chopped, peels reserved
2 medium carrots, finely chopped, peels and tops reserved
2 stalks celery, finely chopped, trimmings and leaves reserved
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup butter, divided
4 cups wild or cultivated mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper
1 4” piece fresh rosemary, leaves only, chopped
12 sage leaves, chopped
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 cups turkey stock
2 ½ cups milk
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 pound English peas, fresh or frozen
2 cups Asiago cheese, shredded or grated, divided
1 ½ cups Parmesan cheese, grated
16 ounces dried lasagna noodles
Place the turkey leg quarter, bay, onion skins, carrot peels and celery trimmings in a slow cooker or large pot and cover with cold water. Cook until the turkey is very tender, adding water if necessary, about 6 hours. Remove the turkey leg and shred the meat. Strain the remaining broth through a fine strainer, reserving 4 cups and saving any additional stock for another use.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a medium pot over medium-high heat, melt ¼ cup of the butter. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they’ve given up their liquid and are starting to brown. Season with salt and pepper and remove the mushrooms to a bowl.
Add the chopped onions, chopped carrots, celery, rosemary and sage to the pot with a pinch of salt, along with the remaining ¼ cup of butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables just start to brown, about 8 minutes.
Add the flour and stir well for a minute, then add the reserved turkey stock and milk, a little at a time, stirring so the sauce is smooth. Once all liquid is incorporated, turn the heat to medium low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often to keep it from scorching. Season with salt and pepper, and add the nutmeg. Remove from the heat. Add 1 cup of the Asiago cheese, the Parmesan, the reserved shredded turkey, the cooked mushrooms and the peas.
Put about ⅙ of this sauce (about 2 cups) on the bottom of a 10x15” baking dish, then cover with a layer of the dried lasagna noodles. Repeat this, adding 5 layers of the pasta, and ending with a layer of the sauce, making sure there’s enough sauce to fully cover the final layer. Top this evenly with the remaining cup of grated Asiago.
Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour, until the top is golden and crispy, the pasta is tender (maybe crunchy around the corners) and the sauce is bubbling. Allow to cool and set up for about 15 minutes, then serve.
Turkey Carne Seca and Calabacitas with Red Chile
Species: Merriam’s
Location: Southern New Mexico
Season: Early April
Carne seca, or “dried meat”, can be made with a lot of proteins, most notably and commonly beef. Using the flavorful and easy-to-debone turkey thighs is a great way to add a lot of flavor with a relatively small amount of meat. The turkey is briefly cured with salt, then smoked until dry over your hardwood of choice, much like a primitive jerky. This is then fried in a little lard to further caramelize and compound the flavors, then braised (and therefore rehydrated) with the most iconic dried chile of New Mexico: the world-class Hatch.
I like to finish this very spicy stew with some calabaza squash, which is similar to a firmer zucchini, but any summer squash could work here. Winter squash like butternut, acorn and Kabocha will also be very nice with this smoky, spicy and savory dish, so just add them with the potatoes.
Serve with fluffy, thick flour tortillas or make some frybread to go with. By using a quality animal fat like lard (domesticated or wild) or bear fat, you add unparalleled flavor and texture to the frybread.
Serves 4
2 turkey thighs, deboned and sliced thinly (about 24 ounces)
4 tsp Kosher salt
10-12 dried New Mexico Hatch red chiles or guajillo peppers, stemmed and most of the seeds removed
4 cups turkey stock, divided
2 tbsp lard or butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 tsp ground cumin
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tbsp brown sugar
4 medium Yukon gold or white potatoes, cut into 1” pieces
2 medium calabaza squash, seeded and cut into 1” pieces
Salt and pepper
Flour tortillas or Frybread (see below)
Season the sliced turkey with the salt, cover and refrigerate for 1 day.
Preheat a smoker to 250°F. Use a nice smoking wood like pecan, oak, hickory, apple or cherry. Smoke the sliced turkey until it’s dry, cooked through and a deep brown/mahogany, about 3 hours. Cool completely in the refrigerator, uncovered (this will further dry the turkey).
In a mortar and pestle, or in a food processor, pound or (loudly) pulse the dried turkey to large, rough shreds with little powdery bits.
In a medium pot over medium-high heat, toast the chiles briefly until fragrant, about 30 seconds per side. Add 2 cups of the turkey stock and simmer the chiles until they’re soft, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly, then puree with an immersion blender or in a blender. Set this puree aside.
Heat the lard or butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the pounded and shredded turkey, the onion and the cumin and cook until the turkey is very crispy and the onion is starting to brown, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 more seconds. Add the red chile puree, the remaining 2 cups of stock, brown sugar and the potatoes to the pot and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the calabaza squash to the pot and cook until the squash and potatoes are both tender, about 10-15 more minutes. Add turkey stock or water as needed to keep everything submerged, but still a thick stew. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with thick flour tortillas of frybread.
Makes 8 frybread
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
5 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups milk, warmed
2 cups domestic or feral hog lard, or bear fat
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add the warm milk, then stir until well combined. Begin kneading the dough on a floured surface until it comes together, turning it 90° every time, then folding it back onto itself. Repeat this about 15 times. Flour the dough lightly, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to a day.
Divide the dough into 8 equal portions and roll into balls. Flour a work surface well and roll each ball out until it is about ¼” thick.
Heat the fat in a medium heavy-bottomed pot (or steep-sided pan) to 350°F.
Fry the dough on each side until golden, about 3-4 minutes per side. Drain well on a rack or paper towels, then serve.
The TBA (turkey, bacon, avocado)
Species: Merriam’s
Location: Southern New Mexico
Season: Early April
Grilled, marinated turkey breast, bacon and avocado. We aren’t reinventing the wheel here, but making some pretty good tailgate dinners while trying to roost birds. The spicy sauce shouldn’t be skipped. Get some really hot Dijon and even add more of the dried chile if you like.
Serves 4
16 ounces turkey breast in 4 pieces, cut ½” thick and pounded to an even ⅓” thickness
Marinade
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lime or lemon (save the zest for the Dijon sauce)
2 tbsp pineapple juice
1 tsp honey
½ tsp garlic powder
Honey Mustard Sauce
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp honey
1-2 tbsp dried New Mexico red or green chile powder
Zest of 1 lime or lemon
12 slices bacon, cooked
2 avocados, sliced
8 slices bread or 4 hamburger buns
Combine the olive oil, lime, pineapple juice, honey and garlic powder in a resealable bag or vac-seal bag. Season the turkey to taste with salt and pepper and place it in the bag. Marinate the sliced and pounded turkey breast in the mixture for up to 2 days.
Make the honey mustard sauce by combining the Dijon, mayonnaise, honey, chile and lemon zest in a small bowl.
Preheat a gas grill to high, or start a hot mesquite charcoal fire (or burn down some mesquite and oak to coals).
Grill or toast the buns or bread.
Grill the turkey breast on the hottest part of the grill on one side, rotating them occasionally, until the turkey is about 90% cooked through, then flip the slices and finish cooking them for a few seconds on the other side. Remove the turkey to the bottom bun or slice of bread.
Top with the cooked bacon, the sliced avocado and the green chile mayonnaise, then engage the top bun/bread slice.
Tailgate Turkey Enchiladas with New Mexico Green Chile
Species: Merriam’s
Location: Southern New Mexico
Season: Early April
Serves 4
4 tbsp lard, melted, divided
1 small white onion, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Mexican oregano
2 tbsp flour
1 ½ cups turkey stock
12 ounces roasted Hatch green chiles, seeded, peeled and chopped (frozen or canned is fine)
2 cups shredded turkey
Salt and pepper
12 blue corn tortillas
2 cups shredded cheddar or jack cheese
4 eggs, optional
1 tbsp butter
Heat 2 tbsp of the lard in a medium pot over medium heat (or on a hot grill) and cook the onion, cumin and oregano until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and stir to combine well. Add the turkey stock and turn the heat down to medium, cooking for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the green chiles and season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool slightly and then puree in a blender, or with a small immersion blender until smooth. Add the shredded turkey and keep hot.
Preheat a grill or burn down some hardwood to hot coals. Brush the tortillas with the remaining melted lard and grill on one side until crispy and slightly charred. Flip the tortilla and add some shredded cheese to the top. Continue to char the tortillas until they’re all hot, crisp and the cheese is melted.
Place 4 tortillas on 4 plates, then spoon about ⅓ cup of the hot sauce onto each tortilla. Repeat, layering 3 tortillas on each plate and ending with the heated sauce. Sprinkle with a little more cheese.
Optionally, in another pan, fry 4 eggs to desired doneness and place on top of the enchiladas. Serve immediately.