Turkey Huntin' and Turkey Eatin'

Hallelujah, y'all. It's turkey season in North Carolina!

My darlin' recently caught a turkey on film with his game camera. Or I guess I should say on.. Digital? Pixels? Whatever.

He's huge!  And my darlin' is so hardcore, he took a picture with his phone and sent it to me at work... just to get me excited.  It's true love, y'all. 

First of all, my man is the best turkey caller on both sides of the Mississippi. You know that feeling you get, sitting in the woods with your man when he lets out a few clucks.

Or a yelp.

Or a purr...

Or good gracious... That kee kee run!

I don't know when we are going to have a baby, but if we do, you can bet it'll be approximately 9 months after turkey season.

I'mmmmm cutting up.  Kinda.

And Buck is humble; he doesn't think he's the best caller, but I do.  So what if I've only ever really heard only him call.

So, we're hunting... 

And he's like, Liza--sit still! And Mosquitoes are swarming your face and you're trying to inhale all those awful fumes coming off the ThermaCell.. Then you realize the ThermaCell is dying.  Really, I need to come up with some natural herbal repellent that works and works great.. Mosquitoes in my ears buzzing while I'm trying to listen for a turkey ain't cool.  Any of you essential oil folks got any ideas?

Ok, so last year, in South Georgia, I killed a good 'un.  He was with a big group of hens, living the dream.. We had to watch him from the blind we built out of tree limbs and palmettos (classic South Georgia) the day before. We couldn't see him that well, but could hear him. Some hens were walking around and one came real close, and we thought we were busted.  But, she went on about her business, never alerting any of the others.

This was after we were hunting in some small pines one day when this monster gobbler started our way.. With all his ladies ahead of him. There were like three hens coming at us.. coming at us, and then they were right there!  About 5-6 feet from us!  I'm trying to be still, but my heart is about to jump out of my chest and to try to calm myself, I decided to slowly close my eyes. Do yall know how good turkeys can see?!

Before I even got my eyes closed, one hen saw my eyelids move, caused a ruckus, and that monster macdaddy cut across the meadow and into the woods, out of gun range.

Well, Buck said it was out of gun range... But, the year before I got one at 57-60 yards.  Buck says I'm lying, but I stepped it off and steps don't lie.  When you're alone.  (Hehe!)

So last year's turkey.. We thought he had walked off to tend to a lady friend.  We started to get up, and then that thunder chicken let out a boomin' gobble that quaked all the way to the heart of the Okefenokee.  We both wet our pants and sat back down faster than a bullet leaving a gun. 

He gobbled once or twice more before he walked into view and Buck clucked.  Then that bird stuck his big red head up.. And I put the bead on it.

 And then I carried him out.

And I posed for pictures.. because redneck girls do that kinda thang. 

And now I'm going to tell you how we cooked him. And several of the others Buck killed.  (He's a way better hunter than I am... and the main turkey winner for our home.)

Thanks to my mother-in-law for telling us how to cook wild turkey breasts.  This is really her recipe. 

We skin the turkey and save as much of the meat as we can... because, why would we waste any?  If it's cooked right.. it's all delicious. 

For this recipe, we use the breasts.  We use the legs in stews and other dishes.  For excellent ideas of how to cook the legs, refer to the Afield cookbook by Jesse Griffiths.  His stuff is amazing!  One of our favorites for the legs is a tomato braised turkey leg stew.  The acid in the tomatoes, along with some red wine, helps break down the tough leg meat... and it is so good... But, this blog is about how we cook the breasts.. so moving on to our fried wild turkey breast recipe. 

First, brine the breasts.  Two days before cooking, or before you put them in the freezer, put the breasts in lukewarm water with a brining blend.  Or make your own brine using whatever spices you have.

When I make my own brine, I use:
Salt (to help pull the wild flavor out)
Sage
Rosemary
Oregano
Thyme
Crushed red pepper flakes
A bay leaf or two
Black Peppercorns

I use almost a tablespoon of salt and a good palm full of the spices mixed together.

After a day or two in the fridge (shaking intermittently), I pull out the breast (we package them individually because one is enough to feed us two a couple of meals). 

We cut the breasts into bite size pieces and soak them in Texas Pete for 1-2 hours.

And make sure while you're cooking, you are wearing super sexy shoes.. like this:

It makes the turkey taste better. 

Then, toss the turkey pieces in flour.  If you like it hot, throw some Slap Your Mama in there.. Though it is not a very well-behaved seasoning, it does taste pretty good.

Then simply pop them into the fryer.  (No, we don't coat them in an egg batter or anything.)

Give them a few minutes...

And then...

Make sure the person frying them keeps his greasy fingers out of them, so there will be enough for supper!

This particular night we had fried turkey with rice and tomatoes and baked cabbage with a bacon vinaigrette..  The cabbage recipe is from Bon Appetit, and it is one of our very heart-healthy favorites.  In regards to seasonal eating.. well, the tomatoes are a summer vegetable and were canned, but cabbage is a cool season crop!

Since I'm talking about hunting and eating turkey, I have to mention the responsibilities that come with it. 

If we are going to hunt, we must be responsible hunters--not just safe, but responsible for the land and the animals.  We have a duty to protect both.  In Genesis 1:28, God told Adam and Eve to "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."  Whoa... talk about responsibility.  Fill the earth.  Replenish it.  As Wendell Berry points out in his essay, "God and Country," this verse is a call to stewardship, and if we are trying to "subdue" by taking and destroying, we won't be successful in replenishing. 

 Stewardship means harvesting game when they are mature.  It means harvesting the correct amount for the property you are hunting, or in other words, maintaining the correct carrying capacity.  And if we are going to take away, we must give back.  We give back by maintaining good predator control and improving habitat.  Prescribed burning is one of the best ways to maintain habitat for the wild turkey.  Not corn or millet--though corn may be the easiest.  Enhancing the natural forages that the turkeys are accustomed to is one of the best ways to give back.  Only so much may be taken from the land without giving back.  

And I'm going to take a risk here and hope my father-in-law, a devotee of pine trees, doesn't read this!  An important part of habitat is diversity.  A stand of 100% pine trees with no other sources of food may be a great place for a turkey to strut and show off his sexy tail feathers, but hardwoods (specifically oaks and other fruit bearing trees) are crucial to the turkey's diet and maintaining the flock.  Wouldn't you be ticked if you were only feed bologna?  Everyday!  We wouldn't be as healthy either.. just like us, the turkeys need a diverse and healthy diet.  Since we are manipulating the natural habitat for our monetary benefit (in many cases), it is up to us to realize the effects of our actions and help protect the wildlife that it directly affects.  Because whether we immediately realize it or not, the diversity of our habitat affects our health--and the turkeys and the buzzards and the bears (etc... etc... etc...) are all part of that.

I think the Native Americans and our early ancestors in the Old South realized this.  They had the skills to live off the land and maintain it so that it could provide for future generations, and today many of us do not have those kinds of skills.  (We just have like, basketball skillz, and Nintendo skillz..)  Perhaps it is because we do not have to have survival skills with Walmart and Piggly Wiggly so close.  But, that reliance on industry and government for our food (and what's in it!) makes us less independent.. and less free.  Plus, hunting (and gardening) provides us with an intimate connection to our food.  And hunting also personally gives me a greater respect for life (and death).  That's one reason I feel obliged to eat all I can from the whole bird.  That, and because he's "organic," and I'm so old south new...

PS:  Please "follow" Old South New over on the sidebar (to the right).  The violet jelly giveaway is coming up on Friday, May 1!