DRESSING THE BIRD
Legs for soup,the rest well,the critters got to eat too!!!
02-21-2006, 09:15 AM
#12
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Lubbock, TX
Posts: 140
RE: DRESSING THE BIRD
Ok, newbie questions again, bringing up the dead but...
What about this situation, When I go opening weekend I go to the Canadian river by Amarillo and am far from any civilization, for the opening weekend, how can I keep my bird over the weekend with out it going bad, and what is the best way for field dressing the bird, while keeping the feathers, beard etc...
What about this situation, When I go opening weekend I go to the Canadian river by Amarillo and am far from any civilization, for the opening weekend, how can I keep my bird over the weekend with out it going bad, and what is the best way for field dressing the bird, while keeping the feathers, beard etc...
02-21-2006, 10:43 AM
#13
Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 7,437
RE: DRESSING THE BIRD
The way I clean birds any bird.
I fillet everything usable out.
1.Turn bird on its back.
2.Grab a hunk of skin around the Beard and cut it free. Then trim the excess skin off and save this. You will not need to treat this with anything as it will dry just like it is as long as there is no skin left attached to it.
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3.If you want to save the tail cut it free from the body slightly below the anus of the bird. I'llpost on that later.
4.With a fillet knife (I use a 3 inch or less blade – small Rapala fillet knife my favorite) grab a piece of skin right at the end of the breast and make a small slit through the skin but not into the meat or the stomach cavity.
5.Now cut this all the way to the neck past the breast-bone to the neck. You can rip this too but if it gets caught and starts pulling precious meat with it use your fillet knife. This would be similar to taking the skin off a fish fillet.
Should look like this
6.This is the other end with the crop exposed – notice how clean my hands are.
7.Now make one cut under the skin but not into the leg on each leg and peal the skin/feathers away. Do the same thing with each leg to the very last place of feathers. (Top of the leg joint.)
8.Cut around each leg joint and remove feet.
9.Now remove the crop located in front of the wish bone. This is an air like-sack which will also contain the crop. Remove and as much excess skin as you can.
10.Now with the skin pealed back all from the breast, legs and pushed back to the thigh it is time to cut out our the turkey breast fillets.
11.Look for the keel bone. It is the center top line of the turkey breast as the turkey lays on its back. Make a cut straight down and slightly angled against this bone all the way to the bottom. Make this incision all the way back to the stomach cavity. In the front at the wish-bone cut with the knife down the wish-bone to the shoulder (wing/body joint)
12.Then start filleting from the stomach cavity back towards the wing.
13.At the wing cut it free. There you have one turkey breast fillet out.
14.Do the same to the other side
15.Push one leg flat until it is laying on the table.
16.At the body cut parallel with the body cutting out the top of the thigh
17.Sever the tendons of the hip joint. You should have one thigh/drumstick free.
18. Do the same on the other leg/thigh.
19.Wash the fillets and take off any excess skin membrane and I also cut the thighs from the legs.
20.I them bag and freeze to which I think I might use for a meal.
21.Toss the carcass away…You be done!
Oh save dose wings....
I fillet everything usable out.
1.Turn bird on its back.
2.Grab a hunk of skin around the Beard and cut it free. Then trim the excess skin off and save this. You will not need to treat this with anything as it will dry just like it is as long as there is no skin left attached to it.
3.If you want to save the tail cut it free from the body slightly below the anus of the bird. I'llpost on that later.
4.With a fillet knife (I use a 3 inch or less blade – small Rapala fillet knife my favorite) grab a piece of skin right at the end of the breast and make a small slit through the skin but not into the meat or the stomach cavity.
5.Now cut this all the way to the neck past the breast-bone to the neck. You can rip this too but if it gets caught and starts pulling precious meat with it use your fillet knife. This would be similar to taking the skin off a fish fillet.
Should look like this
6.This is the other end with the crop exposed – notice how clean my hands are.
7.Now make one cut under the skin but not into the leg on each leg and peal the skin/feathers away. Do the same thing with each leg to the very last place of feathers. (Top of the leg joint.)
8.Cut around each leg joint and remove feet.
9.Now remove the crop located in front of the wish bone. This is an air like-sack which will also contain the crop. Remove and as much excess skin as you can.
10.Now with the skin pealed back all from the breast, legs and pushed back to the thigh it is time to cut out our the turkey breast fillets.
11.Look for the keel bone. It is the center top line of the turkey breast as the turkey lays on its back. Make a cut straight down and slightly angled against this bone all the way to the bottom. Make this incision all the way back to the stomach cavity. In the front at the wish-bone cut with the knife down the wish-bone to the shoulder (wing/body joint)
12.Then start filleting from the stomach cavity back towards the wing.
13.At the wing cut it free. There you have one turkey breast fillet out.
14.Do the same to the other side
15.Push one leg flat until it is laying on the table.
16.At the body cut parallel with the body cutting out the top of the thigh
17.Sever the tendons of the hip joint. You should have one thigh/drumstick free.
18. Do the same on the other leg/thigh.
19.Wash the fillets and take off any excess skin membrane and I also cut the thighs from the legs.
20.I them bag and freeze to which I think I might use for a meal.
21.Toss the carcass away…You be done!
Oh save dose wings....
02-21-2006, 07:53 PM
#16
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Bandera, Texas
Posts: 1,636
RE: DRESSING THE BIRD
ORIGINAL: statjunk
I will typically breast them out too. But if you don't mind you can use the legs and thighs to make some really good meaty gravy to put on the tators! Unfortunetly the above is true. Turkey Legs aren't very good relative to a store bought turkey.
If I was going to keep the whole turkey to make soup and gravy I would just skin it.
Good Luck
Tom
I will typically breast them out too. But if you don't mind you can use the legs and thighs to make some really good meaty gravy to put on the tators! Unfortunetly the above is true. Turkey Legs aren't very good relative to a store bought turkey.
If I was going to keep the whole turkey to make soup and gravy I would just skin it.
Good Luck
Tom
This year after getting a reply from Lovett Williams himself, am going to try and dry pluck after shooting so I can make some deep fried turkey! [8D]
02-21-2006, 07:57 PM
#17
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: KANSAS
Posts: 141
RE: DRESSING THE BIRD
i fillet the breasts and save the thighs and legs for soup. i save the fan, spurs, beard and wing feathers from every bird. never found it necessary to try to pluck and clean one like you see in the store. keep it simple and you still get 90% of the meat.
02-22-2006, 01:18 PM
#18
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: arkansas
Posts: 276
RE: DRESSING THE BIRD
Put the bird in a big pot of water, if you have a deep frier use it, but fill it up with water. Bring it to a boil and then turn down the heat and let it soak for a minute. The warm water will open the pores of the birds skin and the feathers will pluck much easier. I myself also usually just cut out the breast and the drubsticks. I love the drumsticks..and the breast. Wild turkey taste much better than store bought.
02-22-2006, 02:16 PM
#19
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 9,085
RE: DRESSING THE BIRD
i take mine home whole unless its a hot day and i got a long hike to the truck and a long drive home...then i will gut it in the field..do that by cutting the "vent" as its called on furbearers..right below the brest bone is an opening...i cut that open and remove the guts....usually though i go home...cut off the legs..(right at feather line) wings(cut off at the joint) tail(you can feel where its attached..its hard then gets soft..cut the soft part) and beard(i pull on it and cut it off)...then ill gut it like normal(could probably wait till its naked if you wanted) then ill pull the skin off the whole bird and cut the head and neck off..