How to field dress / clean turkeys

[gzg38b]

This year I got my first turkey but I really had no idea how to field dress the thing.

I basically gutted it like a deer and just saved the breast meat. I hated to waste the rest of the bird but I didn't know how to do it.

The next turkey I get I'm going to try plucking and making it look like the butterballs you buy at the store. Any advice?

[RDHunter]

To field dress a wild turkey you should cut the skin just below the pointed end of the breast , near the vent.
Don't cut too deep , or you'll puncture the intestines then reach in and pull out the entrails.
If you like giblets , cut the heart , liver and gizzard free , and store them in a resealable plastic bag.
Next , remove the crop where the neck joins the breast , if the bird ate recently , the crop will be firm and roughly the size of a tennis ball.
Cut though the breast skin to remove it and the esophagus attached ot it , rinse and clean well.
Then your bird is ready for the oven or fryer , if you have any more questions about cooking your bird let me know.

[GroovyMike]

Congrats on your first bird! My method is easy but you end up with a skinless bird. i don't mind that but some do. What I do is
split the skin (being real careful not to cut into the guts) from the point where the ribs come together down to the vent. Reach inside the bird up to the kneck and pull everything out into the trash. Then snip off wing tips, feet and head andpull off the skin and feathers like taking off a sweater. No plucking.

[r33h]

A lot of people will just breast the bird. Lay the bird on it's back and cut down the rib cage and get the two huge pecies of breast meat. One trick that I did with my last gobbler was to put the bird in boiling water for a few minutes. This helps the plucking process. Since you got your first bird, I would assume you hadn't plucked a turkey before....not fun! Takes a lot of time and is very tedious. Boiling the bird first gets those feathers wet and they litterally fall out of the skin with a slight pull. If you do decide to do this, I have always gutted the bird first.

[kingvjack]

I gut the bird and continue my slit up the chest.... peel back the skin and feathers and all.... then cut out the breasts....

[Dr Andy]

If you skin the bird and roast it it will invariably end up dry, plucking is a real pain in the a$$ but better if you want a roaster. Pluck it right away before gutting when the bird is warm, the feathers will come out a lot easier. Any tiny leftover feathers or peachfuzz can be singed off with a torch.

[zubba]

I prefer breasting out the bird myself. I used to pluck the bird, but it isn't worth it to me. Breasting the bird out is faster and you get all the good meat. I don't care for the Turkey legs, too many tendons.

If you do choose to pluck the bird, boil some water and soak the bird for about 20-30 second before plucking. This will allow the feathers of be pulled easier. Don't soak it too long or else it could scorch the bird.

All in all in depends on what you like the most. But I wouldn't worry too much about not utilizing the whole bird and just the breast meat.

[RDHunter]

Here it is back by popular demaned

[RIStrutStopper]

I breast my birds out. The first turkey I shot we plucked and smoked, it came out fantastic... at least the breast did. I tried reheating a leg the next day and it looked good, but it was like taking a bite out of a log. Those legs are TOUGH. If you dont have some kind of recipe for soup or something, I don't think its worth the extra trouble.

[Dr Andy]

You can use the legs for stew meat,long slow cooking or grind em up for burgers(add a little pork fat so it isn't dry)