Wild Turkey

On my island there is a lot of wild turkey. These guys are so use to human contact, upon contact they will gingerly stroll away and not panic. I'm guessing the further you are away from the golf courses they will be wilder. There is a hunting season for birds (guns). I have to ask my buddies back in Hawaii if bow hunting is allowed year round.

 

I got friends that have been bow hunting since they were little. So they are very dangerous with them, lethal. The thing about these guys I might add, is that they are very patient. They can be up high in a tree and stay there for hours on end and wait for a prey to be in range. It's crazy.

 

Here's one that came through my camp site at Tea Lake. I don't know what a wild turkey would taste like.

 

I can tell you what at least one wild turkey tasted like..... TOUGH! Really, really tough!

We have them out in Idaho, too. They were not native there, but after they were brought in, and protected for a few years they really multiplied, and thrived in Idaho. It is not unusual to have a flock of wild turkeys wander up your driveway, eat any dog food that is left outside, and just make themselves at home, in general.

My friend, Gib, who lives on an old horse ranch way out in the country, had the wild turkeys coming in to eat all around his barn, and then they started roosting up in the hayloft. Since this was ruining his hay, there was now a war on to keep the turkeys out of the hayloft.

One of the turkeys became a casualty; so he brought it to me to make roast turkey out of. I cleaned the bird, ended up skinning it rather than plucking all of the feathers out. (a smelly process if you have ever tried this, you have to dip the bird in scalding water to loosen the feathers)

Then I made stuffing and put the bird in the roaster. Hours and hours later, it was done, at least as done as it was going to get. Even after all of that cooking, it was still a tough and stringy old bird! The flavor was not bad, although nothing wonderful either. I ended up cooking most of it into turkey soup. If I remember right, it was tough turkey soup.....

 

The meat is different from the ones we buy from the store. these free range turkey is tough and the meat taste really gamey. The flavor is different from the store bought turkey.