Eating & Using Wild Turkey
Get inspired to cook and make the most of your harvested turkey with these resources.
Eating Wild Turkey
Wild turkey meat has a familiar flavor — very similar to domestic turkey — but it is prone to drying out, especially when cooking the breasts. Wild turkey should not be served rare.
APHIS (USDA) recommends cooking poultry to an internal temperature of 165 °F to kill disease organisms (such as avian influenza) and parasites.
Turkey Recipes
- Wild Turkey Leg Carnitas by Hank Shaw
- Smoked Wild Turkey Breast by Larry White, Wild Game Gourmet
- Turkey Lemongrass Soup by Elevated Wild
- Wild Turkey Pho by Justin Adams, NWTF
- 5-Alarm Wild Turkey Chili by Jeremiah Doughty, NWTF
- Fried Turkey Nuggets by Hank Shaw
Books & Blogs for Turkey Recipes
For more inspiration — including wild turkey recipes and other game meats — check out:
- The Turkey Book: A Chefs Journal of Hunting and Cooking America’s Bird by Jesse Griffiths
- Hunter Angler Gardener Cook by Hank Shaw
- Pheasant, Quail, Cottontail: Upland Birds and Small Game from Field to Feast by Hank Shaw (includes turkey recipes)
- Wild Harvest Table by Cornell Cooperative Extension
- Wild Game Gourmet by Larry White
- Elevated Wild
- The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game: Volume 1: Big Game by Steve Rinella
- Illinois Learn to Hunt Cookbook
Wild Turkey Use
Feeling creative or want to use more of the turkey than just the meat? These resources will help you explore additional uses:
- Learn to Hunt Turkey Utilization webinar, which covers how to use feathers, fans, and feet
- Maximizing Use of Harvested Animals playlist, including How to Make a Wing Bone Turkey Call