Wild turkey legs - mixed success

[dilly]

Well, for those of you who have never experienced the legs of a wild turkey, imagine trying to eat the inside of a golf ball.  I had some in the freezer and hate to waste meat from an animal that I shoot so I thought I would try smoking them to see if they would be a bit easier to eat.  I got some cure from a butcher and followed his instuctions for mixing up a wet "pickle" mix.  After soaking the drums and thighs for 6 hours I put them into my DBS for 2 hrs of maple smoke at 200.  I cured and smoked a pair of  Canada goose breasts too just to see what they would be like.  After the two hous, I wrapped them in foil and put them back in at 210 for a couple hours hoping they would loosen up.  When that was done, I FTC'd them for about an hour.  Me and a hunting buddy dug in and sadly they were still tough as hell...but DELICIOUS.  The cure was just right.  A nice red hammy colour and not too salty.  The goose breast was really good.  This would be really worth doing with domestic drumsticks.  I am letting the rest cool off then strip what I can off with a knife.  Maybe I will hash it up for sandwiches...not a bad first try at curing.

[Habanero Smoker]

I'm glad to hear everything turn out relatively good. Chopping the meat and making hash sounds like a great idea.

[CB]

Would this be one of those times that a good brine, maybe with some acid from buttermilk or apple cider vinegar, would be a useful process?  That and maybe stewing or braising is a better preparation method than slow smoking.

[Roadking]

Wild turkey legs? I have experienced the legs of a wild turkey in my honest opinion they're only good for one thing soup or stock.

[OU812]

In my opinion wild turkeys spend to much time walking and running around to be anywhere on the tender side of things.

What we do is cook them just like any other bird then remove all the tendens and grind up and make turkey salad or dice up and make turkey noodle soup.

This is also what I do with the pheasant legs.