Question about Turkeys. (Not hunting related)

I always smoke my wild turkeys. Just like venison compared to beef the wild turkeys are very lean and can dry out quickly. We only eat the breast and the two most important things to do to keep it from drying out is brining for at least 6 hours a quick rinse and then wrap it in bacon.
Into the smoker! 😋
We usually just do a local farm raised bird for thanksgiving so there's plenty for everyone plus leftovers.
 
For my first turkey I decided to split it in half. One half went on the smoker and the other half went on the grill. Hands down the half that went on the grill came out exponentially better than the smoked turkey. The breast meat was awesome, it was juicy, tender and had no off putting flavor what so ever. It really didn't have much flavor to it except for the seasoning I put on it. Not gamey at all. The legs and thighs were pretty much not edible on either the smoked or grilled version. I haven't done it yet but I was thinking about braising the legs and thighs and seeing how that turns out.

As far as size goes, you don't get a whole lot. My first bird was a good sized one, biggest I have shot so far, and it made 2 full meals for my family of 4 with a 6 and 8 year old with a little left over.
 
Find a local farmer that's raised some up and purchase one from him or her. If you were in Wv I could help ya out with one.
We've pretty well quit buying any meat from the store all together. We raise our own beef , chickens , turkeys . We raise jersey steers up just for hamburger. It's absolutely delicious, best burger I've ever had .
The only thing we eat meat wise that we don't raise is pork , but we buy them from an individual here locally on foot and take care of them ourselves
 
..has nothing to do with each other, had it everyway possible...gotta be careful it's as lean as lean can get...these days my bride cubes it in stir fry....these days I only keep the breasts and those two little loins on the back, the rest goes to some scavenger..
 
Thanks for the replies. Lots of info.
As a turkey hunter, if I had to sell you a turkey for what it cost me to harvest it, you'd happily go buy the Butterball.
No doubt. If someone could put together an average cost for gear, equipment, travel, food and drink and the time in field (ie; hourly wage), I bet that bird would cost a pretty penny.
 
I only ever shot 2 turkeys in Pennsylvania Pocono mountains area many years ago with a 22. They eat a lot of acorns, black cherries and beechnuts and in some areas some wild blueberries. Both the ones i got were hens taken in the small same season. I just breasted them out and left the rest in the woods. And yes they do taste different.. depending on how you cook them of course... Mine were cooked in a crock pot in sort of a stew. Definitely not what i would want on the table Thanksgiving day though.
 
With most all wild game the amount of fat is reduced substantial making the meat drier. To me like other the meat isn't gamey. If you want commercially farmed game meats here is a link for you to check out

 
With most all wild game the amount of fat is reduced substantial making the meat drier. To me like other the meat isn't gamey. If you want commercially farmed game meats here is a link for you to check out

Wow. They have quite a selection there. Thanks for the link.
 
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