After many months of scouting, planning (and irritating all around you with your calling practice) and many early mornings, your dedication has paid off with you bagging your first…or possibly second…wild turkey of the season. But now that you have that trophy gobbler (all are of course), many of you are thinking and asking…what do I now? How do I make sure that tasty meat makes it to the dinner table?
Wild turkeys are large birds, meaning a lot of meat – two to four pounds of breast meat on average alone. Sportsmen sometimes choose to eat the entire bird, or just the breast meat, either can be very tasty!
However, before you skin or pluck the bird, don’t forget that you may want to preserve the tail feathers, beard or legs to remember your kill.
How to remove tail feathers, beard and legs:
1. Cut from below the fan. Make sure to keep a meaty portion of the tail because this aids in the drying of the tail feathers. Spread the fan out and pin the last two feathers on either side to a piece of cardboard to help dry faster.
2. Cut the beard as close to the breast bone as possible. You can feel the end of the beard, making it easy to remove. Don’t cut the beard too short! It can be used for bragging rights!
3. To remove the legs to show off those spurs, use a knife to cut around the first joint in the leg. Repeat on both legs.