first off congrats on the bird!! Borax or table salt work great. Be sure and trim as much meat and fat off the beard without cutting into the part that holds it together. Borax is a laundry booster, you can find it at walmart or other stores in the laundry soap section. it will say 20 mule team laundry booster borax on the box. and the good news, a box will last you the rest of your turkey hunting careerI prefer the borax over the salt. It is also used when mounting the tail feathers.