In one of my last posts, "How To Make The Best Food Choices," I touched a little on hunting, why I enjoy it and what it means to harvest my own food. I also shared the importance of eating a whole foods diet and the importance of reading food labels. In this post, I'll share a little more about why I enjoy harvesting my own meat and what I concocted out of my family's beautiful wild turkey harvests.
I will disclose now that I'm no professional chef and parts of these recipes are from a mix of resources. It might have been an online recipe, a cookbook, a friend, or family. But no matter where it came from, I've modified it based on what's in my kitchen or my taste buds because, well, I'm a rebel and hate following what someone tells me to do. Haha! So these are more like suggestions rather than recipes! Sorry! If you enjoy cooking, you know that it's by trial and error, so just find a recipe for measurements if you need them.
What I Love About It
What I love the most about harvesting my own meat is wanting to use every part of this beautiful animal like old-timers used to do. It may have been more for financial reasons and lack of options back then, which is good! But for me, it's out of respect for the animal and the sheer fact that it's much more nutritious than processed junk! So, I try to use as much of the animal as possible, from saving the bones to making broth, keeping the feathers or hydes for future projects, and sharing parts of the raw meat with my dog. Of course, I also don't have to depend on the supply chain for food if things go south... if you catch my drift! I get the most enjoyment, though, by sharing the meals I prepare with my friends and family. And now I can share them with you!
Bone Broth
The best thing about making bone broth, aside from its excellent nutritional benefits, is you can create a basic bone broth for any general use or add specific spices for different dishes in the future! Of course, you can make any broth depending on which animal the bones are from. This broth uses turkey bones!
There are so many different ways to make broth, so you'll have to find a way that works for you. I generally make my broth in a crockpot. I place my bones in the pot, add all my ingredients, add water, then cook it on low heat for 24-48 hours.
For this broth, in addition to turkey bones, I used:
• Some of the turkey meat
• 1 Onion
• 4 Garlic cloves
• 4 Celery stalks
• 4 Carrot sticks
• 2 Cinnamon sticks
• 4-ish Bay leaves
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
This broth started as a soup that I strained into a broth. Therefore, I slow-cooked it for only 18 hours instead of 24-48 hours. I then picked out the bones and kept the turkey and veggies. I added these to rice or salad dishes for days to come. Finally, I let the broth cool, transferred it to plastic containers, stored some in the fridge, and froze the rest.
This broth contained an excellent sweet taste that paired well cooked in wild rice and served with fresh rainbow trout caught by a family friend later that day. I love when things work out! All I did was use broth in place of water when cooking the rice, and I doctored up the trout with:
• EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
• Maple Balsamic Vinegar
• Fresh Chopped Rosemary (from my plant)
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Pepper
I cooked it at 350º for 25-ish minutes, then lightly drizzled honey over it!
Bon appetit! Check out my reel on Instagram for a sneak peek of what's to come in the future for more wild turkey dishes I concocted!