Wild Tukey (not the beverage kind)

[BKYDBBQ]

My dad has had a successful week turkey hunting, he got two on his first two hunts this season.

Does anyone have any experience or advice on smoking a whole wild turkey? We have cooked them before with mixed results. I know they do not cook the same as a regular turkey you would buy from a store or a farm.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

[surfdog]

I would probably roast the breast..you could still do that on a grill. But being lean I wouldn’t overcook it.
As I understand it, the legs can be somewhat tough…so maybe braise those… (Or a slow cooker or Instant Pot might be the right tool.)

Give me a few minutes and I’ll see if any of my old textbooks have any good info.

[surfdog]

Ok…had a look and couldn’t find anything. :-/
But all is not lost…

I think that I might treat it like a pheasant. Braised or roasted, it would be good.
Roasted with a cranberry-peppercorn sauce would punch through any potential “gaminess.”

[Ace]

This might help:

https://www.nwtf.org/content-hub/smoked-wild-turkey

[bbqLuv]

Looks good, but I'm too old and prefer EZ-PZ
I did enjoy how to post. Thank you

[58limited]

Google Hank Shaw, he does a lot of game cooking and might have a turkey recipe/method posted.

[yakima]

I think I have posted this before. Years ago, perhaps 45, Dad shot a wild turkey, and he wanted to deep fry it as he had heard from a friend. Home at Christmas, I pitched in. Mom's old school canner, on gas stove, lots of vegetable oil. Dad went over bird carefully, getting all the pinfeathers. That scrawny bird turned out wonderful. (Notwithstanding Mother muttering in the background, "you boys better be careful."}
Knowing what I know now, would never do that again. Now, there are turkey fryer kits, much safer, but still dangerous.
But they work slick. Do it outside. Clean up is a pain.

And the gun. A Winchester 12 gauge, 1893, Designed by John Browning, first commercial pump. 2 5/8 inch chamber. Normal now is 2 3/4. "Dad, what shells do you use? I get those 3 inch magnums. Do they work. Yeah, just slam them in there."

I subsequently gave Dad a modern gun, and have the 1893. When I was in high school, a dime would not slip into the muzzle (indicating full choke).. Now, it does easily. Winchester replaced this model with Browning's redesigned 1897, capable of handling smokeless powder. As far as I know, the first recall. Turn in your 1893, get a new 1897.

[BKYDBBQ]

That sounds like an awesome firearm...I have not heard of a bad one that John Browning designed...

[yakima]

I have not fired it in years; short chamber. Jack O'Conner, well known sportsman/author some decades ago, said he had never seen an 1893, except in an Alaskan trapper's cabin. A rusted wreck.

My most exciting time with it was in high school. Unloading after hunting squirrels. One has to let the hammer down with your thumb, then cycle the action to eject the live round. I fumbled the hammer. All very safe, but an accidental discharge with the hammer striking firing pin thru your thumb. Hurts.