Mesquite Roast Wild Turkey Recipes

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.

MESQUITE SMOKED CAJUN WHOLE TURKEY COOKED ON GAS GRILL

Steps:

• Preheat grill on high. Turn down to maintain (medium) 350 degrees.
• Place smoker box of wet mesquite chips on grill.
• Remove neck and giblets from cavity, rinse turkey, and pat dry.
• Mix spices in a small bowl, set aside 1 TBSP of mixture, and put some of the mixture in the cavity and some under the skin.
• Spray turkey with butter spray and pat reserved spice mixture on the skin of the turkey.
• Place turkey breast side down, turning back wing tips, on the grill over a dip pan.
• Cook turkey for 11 to 13 minutes per pound (internal temperature 180 degrees in thigh and 170 degrees in breast.
• Note: At halfway point, turn turkey if needed for even cooking. 10- 18 pound turkey takes 2 to 3 hours. We turned our turkey at 1 1/2 hours. To reach internal temperature of 170 in breast we cooked it for 1 1/2 more.
• Let stand 15 minutes before carving.

MESQUITE ROAST WILD TURKEY

Steps:

• After bagging a wild turkey, I wet pick, clean, and freeze it whole with the giblets and neck tucked inside the carcass in a separate bag. Since wild turkeys are built a little differently than the vacuum-packed, store-bought variety, it takes a little extra work to fit one in a Dutch oven. I separate the hindquarters from the rest of the turkey, and then split them down the backbone. At this point I take a fillet knife and disjoint each leg from the backbone, getting as much meat off the backbone as I can. I cook the leg in one piece, but you can disjoint at the thigh if you choose. To remove the ribs from the front half of the bird, cut along each side of the backbone and work your knife along the outside of the ribs down each side to where they attach to the breast bone and grasping the neck pull backward. Save the two back pieces.After getting your bird cut up, put the giblets, neck, and back pieces to boil in a pot with 2 quarts water and season to taste. Dice up a medium onion and add to the broth. I like to add a couple of bay leaves and a pinch each of sage, oregano, and thyme. Wipe the turkey drumsticks and the breast with olive oil and season with cracked pepper or seasonings of your choice. I start 8-10 charcoal briquets in my Weber® grill. When they are ready, I scoot them to one side of the grill and place 2-3 chunks of mesquite wood on them. Once the mesquite starts smoking, I lay the breast and drumsticks on the opposite side of the grill. The intent is to flavor the meat and not cook it with direct heat. Let it smoke for no more than 15-20 minutes or it will dry out.Transfer the turkey to a deep 14-inch Dutch oven with a rack in the bottom. Take 2 cups of the broth from the pot the giblets are boiling in for a cooking liquid. Roast for 1 1/2-2 hours with 6-8 briquets underneath the Dutch and 16-18 on the lid. Make dressing and gravy with the broth. Add dressing to the turkey pieces about 50 minutes before serving.Spiced with More Tall Tales - Fish and Fowl

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.

MAPLE ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Combine apple cider and maple syrup in a saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking until reduced to 1/2 cup, then remove pan from heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon thyme, 1 tablespoon marjoram, and lemon zest. Stir in butter until melted, and season with salt and pepper. Cover, and refrigerate until cold.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place rack in lower third of oven.
• Place turkey on a rack set in a roasting pan. Reserve 1/4 cup maple butter for gravy, and rub the remaining maple butter under the skin of the breast and over the outside of turkey. Arrange onion, celery, carrots turkey neck and giblets around the turkey. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon thyme and 1 tablespoon marjoram over vegetables. Pour 2 cups broth into pan.
• Roast turkey for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cover entire turkey loosely with foil. Continue roasting for about 2 1/2 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Transfer turkey to platter, and let stand 30 minutes.
• Strain the pan juices into a large measuring cup, and then remove any excess fat. Add enough chicken broth to pan juices to measure 3 cups. Transfer liquid to a saucepan, and bring to boil. In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup maple butter and 1/3 cup flour until smooth. Whisk flour and butter mixture into broth mixture. Stir in remaining thyme and the bay leaf. Boil until reduced to sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Mix in apple brandy, if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

BRINED MESQUITE GRILLED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Mix brine ingredients into water and stir until salt is completely dissolved. Place rinsed turkey into brine mixture in a food-safe container (roasting bags are good) with enough brine mixture to cover completely when bag is cinched. Refrigerate bird in brine mixture for about 12 hours.
• Drain bird and pat dry. Meanwhile, soak mesquite chips in enough water to cover for approximately 30 minutes. Drain chips and place in small handfuls onto foil and make pouches with little holes pricked in the foil with a fork.
• Prepare grill for indirect heat using a drip pan. Place liquid of your choice into drip pan (water or low carb beer is good). Rub turkey breast with softened butter on the outside and season with salt and pepper (add garlic if you like). Oil grill screen and put a pouch of mesquite chips directly on the coals.
• Place turkey over the drip pan and cover grill. Grill for several hours, turning turkey as needed, and adding a pouch of chips and a few new coals about every 30-45 minutes to maintain a steady heat. Cook until meat in the deepest part of the breast reads 170°F (you will need an instant read thermometer for this). Allow bird to sit for 15-30 minutes, undisturbed, before carving to maintain juiciness.

MESQUITE SMOKED TURKEY WITH A PEACH GLAZE RECIPE - (4.6/5)

Steps:

• In a medium bowl combine all rub ingredients. Remove giblets from turkey, rinse turkey in cold water and pat dry. Place turkey on a large tray. Massage rub mixture into turkey until generously coated inside and out. Cover the turkey and place in the refrigerator to marinate overnight. The next day, place 8 cups of wood chips in water to soak for 1 hour. Prepare the glaze by placing all of the ingredients into a small saucepan set over low heat. Remove turkey from refrigerator (Optional: stuff the cavity with sliced oranges and lemons). Tie the legs with butcher twine to hold the bird together as compact as possible. Set it aside and allow to come to room temperature. Prepare smoke pouches by mixing 2 cups of the wet drained wood chips with one cup of the dry on a large piece of foil. Wrap loosely into a package. Using a fork, pierce the package all over to allow smoke to escape. Repeat these steps to make 3 more smoke pouches (4 pouches in total). Prepare barbeque for indirect cooking and smoking by removing the grate over one burner and turn only it onto high heat. Place a drip pan over the cool elements, but under the grates. Place a smoke pouch on direct heat. Wait for smoke to form and adjust barbeque temperature to reach 220°F (105°C). Place the turkey over the drip pan and no heat. Close the barbeque lid and smoke for 20 to 30 minutes per pound, changing the smoke pouch when smoke dissipates. In the last hour of cooking, baste the turkey with sauce at least 2 times. Remove turkey from the barbeque when a digital thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the bird reads 165°F (74°C). Cover turkey loosely with foil and let rest for 20 minutes. Carve and serve with extra peach glaze.