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Fried Wild Turkey Nuggets
One of the most frequently asked
questions about wild turkey is "how do I cook it?"
Wild turkey can be a bit tougher than its domestic cousin,
and as such it should not be cooked in the same way.
With many states restricting harvest to gobblers only,
you'll really need a good recipe to bring out the best of
what could otherwise be a very tough piece of meat.
Don't let this scare you,
however. It's not nearly as bad as I make it sound;
wild turkey is excellent table far. Just remember
that you're not cooking a butterball turkey from your
local grocery store.
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Ingredients
- One wild turkey breast
- A good mustard based BBQ
sauce.
- Flour
- Spices of your choice (but
don't forget salt, pepper, garlic powder, and poultry
seasoning)
- Cooking oil of your choice.
I use
Smart Balance for this recipe.
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Begin heating your cooking oil. I heat mine to 350
degrees in a "Fry Daddy" deep fryer.
Trim your turkey breasts by removing all excess fat and
yellow meat. Be sure to remove all shotgun pellets,
or you might get a nasty surprise when you bite into a
nugget. Once the meat is trimmed, cut it into one
inch strips. It is critical that you cut across
the grain of the meat. Doing this is the single most
important factor in ensuring that your nuggets come out
tender.
Baste your strips in a sweet mustard based BBQ sauce.
Although I've tried many sauces, I've found that the best
match for wild turkey is the mustard sauce from
Courtney's BBQ in Clover, SC. You can order a
bottle of sauce directly from their website.
While the turkey is soaking in the BBQ sauce, take a bowl
of flour and add your spices. I like to use
Cavender's Green Seasoning, cayenne pepper, coarse
black pepper, sea salt, garlic powder, and a dash of
poultry seasoning. Mix all of the spices in with the
flour, then give each turkey strip a good coating before
putting it in the oil.
Cook the strips for about 10 minutes or until they are a
dark golden brown as shown in the picture above.
While they are best served hot, the leftovers make great
cold snacks the next day. |
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