I have never shot a turkey but plan on it soon. I just need to know how to clean it. What is the easiest way that saves alot of meat?

The only thing I keep off of the turkey is the breast meat. The rest of it is too strong. I lay the turkey on its back and pluck most of the chest to get at the skin. Then I find the peak of the breast bone and make and incision there. From there I cut/pull away the skin to show the meat. Then I start cutting and following the brest bone down to remove the meat. Do the same thing for both sides. You will end up with 2 large pieces of meat. The rest is yote bait.

That's what I do:

Get water to a mild boil, simmer. Let stand a few minutes and submerge whole turkey into pot (oyster pot sized) for 30 secs or so. Water should be hot but not hot enough to scold skin at this point: Pro Tip! Let water run off of whole turkey and then pick entire bird. Longest part is waing the water, pickin is simple. If nothing else the legs, back etc will make a great soup! Enjoy

Or some turkey pot pie or turkey and dumplings....ummmm!

Link to my turkey potpie recipe: http://www.nwtfharriscountywildlifegroup...t-pie?page=last

That sounds really good. I cut them into strips and chicken fry 'em.

put back feathers cut the breats meat out....done

Missing out on some of the best meat on a turkey. The thighs are great and there is some meat on the back that is easy to remove also.

Turkey potpie from the legs and thighs is great eating.

You got my attention. I will try this with the next turkey I harvest. I have tried eating the legs and thighs before and just didn't like the flavor. I don't like wasting the meat either though.

Breast it... too easy

I really wanna kill one now, that sounds so good. Anyone else have something to add? Maybe we can get this posted at the top for newbies like me.

This is a difficult job for me to do.I haven't cleaned any turkey yet.

For those that keep the legs/thighs along with the breast meat, how do you prefer to get at it? Do you use the hot water method above or something else?

X2. The only tip I would add is it seems to work better if you hang them by the feet after dunking in water and pull the feathers against the grain or towards the head.

Skin it completely.

couldn't said it any better

Going to try that pot pie recipe next weekend. Just got 2 turkeys this past weekend. We skin then, take all available meat, breasts, thighs, legs, etc. The legs (or leg quarters) we usually boil in soups. We've had them cooked all different ways & I love it all. They don't taste bad to me.

I like the breat meat and the thighs. The thighs get cut into 6 pieces each and get kabobD or stir fried on the grill. The thighs are the best part IMO.

Unless you want to cook your turkey with the skin on, boiling is a waste of time. If you will make a small incision with a knife in the center of the breast skin and put both index fingers in and pull outwards at the same time, you will skin the breast out with little effort. Before you do this you should lay the turkey on its back and grab both thighs and break the leg sockets by pushing outwards hard. Then start filleting the breast out on each side of the breastbone.

If you want to clean a whole turkey for deep frying or smoking then I would suggest adding a block or 2 of paraffin wax to your hot water. The feathers will pull off in big batches. After you pull all the feathers off you will need to singe the hairs off with fire. I use a rolled up piece of newspaper.

Same method for the thighs and legs. Just make a small cut and tear the skin with your fingers. The sooner you do this after the kill the easier it will be.

The legs and thighs make great turkey and dumplings. They also make good turkey salad.

yep

How are you suppose to tag a turkey? So, lets say i shot a turkey and removed the breast only. How do I transport it back home legally?

If you take a turkey during a season that is restricted to toms or bearded hens, then you are supposed to leave a leg with spur attached int he case of a tom, or if a bearded hen, then a skin patch with breast feather and beard attached must accompany the bird, along with the tag in both cases. If you hunt in a county where the fall season has no restrictions on which turkeys you can take, then I think you just have to keep the tag with the meat until you get home.

Like he said.

Yes^^^ I know how I'm going to clean it, but what do I tag?

i always cut out the breast meat and bake em in the oven, turn out great. i just got 2 birds this past weekend and decided to keep the legs. we're gonna try smoking them this time, shoudl be good!