Turkey as a food
The meat of turkey, also called turkey meat is a very famous food commodity in western countries. It serves as a mouth-watering delicacy on various occasions like New year’s eve, Christmas, Thanksgiving etc. The preparation of the meat of turkey is an art within itself and involves a lot of intricate techniques and procedures, which when followed sequentially imparts the desirable taste to the same. But before that, one must know and have a knowledge of handling a turkey before beginning to cook the same. This article deals mainly in answering about cleaning a wild turkey properly so that it gets suitable for cooking and further use.
The methods
cleaning a wild turkey can be done efficiently and effectively by following either of the following methods which have been used by many turkey hunters and have successfully shown results in terms of safe cooking as well as getting the desirable taste of the meat: –
- Plucking- It is a conventional method of cleaning the turkey after hunting it and before beginning it to cook by either roasting, smoking, and deep-frying. It is done by plucking the feathers of the turkey first to preserve its skin and keep the moisture content within the same intact while cooking it. Before beginning to pluck the feathers, the bird is dipped in a hot water container having an optimal temperature of 140 degrees. After plucking of the feathers, the entrails and cavities of the bird are removed in a sequential manner and then the meat is ready to be cooked. The process may be a time-consuming one, but it would surely bear good fruit in the form of tasty deep fried or roasted meat.
- Skinning- It is the most popular method of today’s time and is preferred more over the former method. The skinning generally begins with the breast of the turkey and then slicing the required amount of meat from the legs and wings. An ideal cut is made at one side of the breastbone to aid in the easy collection of the desired amount of meat. The main advantage of skinning is found when the meat of the bird is either deep-fried or grilled by pieces.
- Quartering- It is the next popular method of cleaning the turkey. It involves a sequential series that begins with removing the breast feathers to expose the skin, making cuts alongside the breastbone to remove the fillets from that portion, making an incision on the breastbone to loosen the fillet and then remove the same. The legs and thighs are also removed in a similar manner. This form of cleaning bears results in all forms of the cooking.
Field dressing– This method is followed in cases when the turkey is hunted during the summer period or times when the external weather is very hot. It is done by making a cut from the bottom of the breastplate till the anal vent, removing the entrails and then significantly removing the internal organs. Ice is a must use in this to preserve the internal meat amidst the hot external environment.