Baked Wild Turkey Recipes

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.

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.

WHOLE ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Remove neck, giblets and liver from turkey. Wash inside and out with cold water and pat dry.
• Mix 1/2 pound of butter with the chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. With your hands, carefully separate breast skin from the meat and spread rosemary butter in between.
• Rub turkey inside and outside with salt and black pepper. (If desired, stuff with mushroom stuffing)
• Place onion, carrots, celery, garlic, giblets, neck and liver on the bottom of your roasting pan. Place turkey on top of mixture. Rub turkey with 1 cup of olive oil and transfer to preheated oven. Roast for 45 minutes, then baste every 20 minutes. Add chicken stock as needed so that the vegetables don't burn.
• Roast between 15 and 20 minutes per pound until internal temperature is at least 165 and no more than 180 degrees F. in the thickest part of the thigh.
• Remove and let rest in warm place before serving.
• Add the pomegranate juice to the roasting pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain into small saucepan and with a ladle, remove excess fat and reduce until the sauce is slightly thickened.
• Place turkey on serving platter. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Spoon tablespoons of sauce over turkey.
• Render foie gras or chicken liver in saute pan. Remove and pour rendered fat over bread. Dice and reserve. (If you use chicken liver instead or foie gras, add 4 tablespoons of butter).
• Rinse dried porcini and soak in warm water. Drain and chop mushrooms, reserving liquid.
• Heat olive oil in saute pan over medium heat and add onions, celery and pancetta. Cook until vegetables become translucent. Combine dried mushrooms and fresh mushrooms and add reserved mushroom liquid and stock. Cook over medium heat and reduce until almost dry. Set aside.
• Place foie gras or chicken liver and dried bread crumbs in a large bowl. Add herbs, beaten eggs and mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
• Stuff turkey according to recipe (or place stuffing in a buttered gratin dish and bake in preheated 350 degree F. oven for 30 minutes).

OVEN-ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Mix the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, dried thyme, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper in a bowl. Sprinkle some of the spice rub inside the cavity of the turkey. Separate the skin from the breast meat with your fingers, starting at the top of the breast and sliding to the right and left, then working down. Massage some of the rub onto the meat under the skin. Sprinkle the remaining rub on the turkey's skin. Place the turkey on a sheet tray and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours so the flavors can marry.
• Set a rack at the lowest position in the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Remove the turkey from the refrigerator to bring to room temperature. Tie the legs together and tuck the wing tips under. Place the turkey in a roasting pan. Drizzle the outside of the turkey with a few tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the turkey about 3 hours, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F. Transfer the turkey to a platter, cover loosely with foil and let rest 30 minutes before carving.

ORANGE BASTED WILD TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Insert thermometer into the thickest part of the breast or thigh without touching bone.
• Sprinkle the bird with as much soy sauce as you would like (and then add more).
• Season the turkey with pepper.
• Cover turkey loosely with foil and bake for an hour.
• Baste the bird frequently with the frozen orange juice concentrate until it is gone.
• Finish cooking, covered, until thermometer reads 170°F.

VERY MOIST AND FLAVORFUL ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Cut butter into 1-tablespoon pieces, quarter the pieces, and refrigerate butter until needed.
• Use your fingers to loosen the skin over the turkey breast and thighs. Cut a hole in the turkey skin between tail and body (to affix legs); cut a hole on each side of the turkey beneath each wing (to affix wings). Rub the entire skin with vegetable oil.
• Toss apple and onion wedges, garlic cloves, and celery in a large bowl until combined; sprinkle poultry seasoning over the apple mixture and toss again to coat. Stuff the body and neck cavities with the apple mixture. Insert each wing tip into the hole under the wing to secure wings; insert both legs into hole near tail to secure legs.
• Place turkey onto a rack and set in a roasting pan. Insert cold butter pieces under the loosened skin, distributing the butter as evenly as possible.
• Roast the turkey in the preheated oven until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, not touching bone, reads 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 3 1/2 hours. Check for doneness after 3 hours.
• Remove roasting pan containing turkey from oven and cover with aluminum foil, lightly pressing the foil directly onto the bird. Let the turkey rest for 40 minutes before carving.

WILD TURKEY RICE BAKE

Steps:

• Prepare rice according to package directions; place in a large bowl. Dissolve bouillon in hot water; add to rice. Stir in the turkey, celery, soup, water chestnuts, mushrooms, onion and soy sauce., Transfer to a greased 3-qt. baking dish. Toss bread crumbs and butter; sprinkle over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until heated through.

BRINED AND ROASTED WHOLE TURKEY

Steps:

• Overnight Brine: Combine Morton®Kosher Salt and sugar in cool water in a large, clean stockpot until completely dissolved. Place the whole turkey in the brine until completely submerged. Cover and refrigerate overnight, up to 14 hours. Remove the turkey from the brine, rinse inside and out under cool running water for several minutes to remove all traces of salt; pat dry with paper towel.
• 4-5 hour Brine: To brine your turkey in less time (4-5 hours), use 2 cups of Morton®Coarse Kosher Salt and two cups of sugar. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours.
• To Roast: Mix the softened butter with the pepper. Place turkey on rack in roasting pan. Rub the seasoned butter under the skin. Brush the skin with the melted butter. Pour the 1 cup liquid (wine, broth or water) over the pan bottom to prevent drippings from burning. Roast turkey at 450 degrees F for 25 minutes, baste and then rotate the roasting pan. Continue roasting until the skin turns golden brown, an additional 25 minutes; baste again. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F; continue to roast, basting and rotating the pan once about halfway through cooking, until the minimum internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Remove the turkey from the oven. Let stand 20 minutes before carving.

WILD TURKEY

Steps:

• Wipe turkey inside and out and salt and pepper the cavity. In bowl large enough to hold turkey and marinade, prepare the marinade by combining yogurt, ginger, garlic and peach jam. Place turkey in the marinade, spooning marinade over turkey and into cavity. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, turn turkey in bowl, spooning marinade over exposed side.
• Meanwhile, prepare stuffing by cooking wild rice in a combination of the water, orange juice and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat and simmer 50 minutes. Turn off heat and let rice sit for 1 hour. It will swell to four times its size.
• In 2 tablespoons butter, saute onion and celery until onion becomes translucent. Add ground pork, thyme, rosemary, sage, marjoram, remaining salt and white pepper, and cook until pork is lightly browned. Add chopped chestnuts, beaten eggs and 2 1/2 cups of the cooked wild rice. Mix thoroughly.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Stuff turkey, truss it and sew up the cavity. Place it on a rack in a pan. Cover the breast with cheesecloth.
• Cook for a total of 2 hours. For the first 1 1/2 hours, baste turkey with the melted butter every 15 minutes, letting the butter drip through the cheesecloth. For the last half hour, remove the cheesecloth and baste every 15 minutes.