Turkey jerky and turkey legs???

[BLACKJACK]

Tis the season when turkeys go on sale and I was thinking about buying several and trying my hand at making turkey jerky, and also doing up the legs like at the state fair or the Renaissance festival and I'm looking for recipes and cooking methods.

On the jerky, one of the local butcher shops has turkey jerky in their display case and I buy it all the time, its kind of a peppery/salty taste. They do it in long chunks, I'm sure I could fillet the breast off and cut it up following the natural lines of the breast, inner and outer layers, then slice it thick. Anybody have a good marinade for poultry?? Then I'll be using my dehydrator.

Then I'd like to do the legs and thighs on my grill and try to duplicate the state fair turkey legs. Do they do anything besides a long, slow roast on a grill?

[Jim Almquist]

For the jerky you may want to try the High Mountain pepper blend. It is my favorite for venison and beef.

[reinhard1]

i have about 15 pounds of venison i put aside for jerky. i am considering high mountain. i am making it for my son in laws, so is the pepper blend to much on the pepper side or not. have you tried the cajun blend, and if you did what do you think of it. thanks. good luck.

[Jim Almquist]

The Cajun blend is a little hot for some but was fine for me. The pepper blend is a really nice blend and I would use my charcoal smoker with 15 to 20 chunks of charcoal and then toss in a ball of foil with some wet hickory chunks/dust and that was how I dried out my jerky. I would keep it out there for around 3 hours and try to keep the temps under 160. When it was done it would be a nice smokey/pepper taste. Most would alway be amazed that it was venison.

[reinhard1]

thank you. i will run this info to my son in laws and make it up. i will use my smoker also. good luck.

[OnAFly]

For a sweet/spicy blend:

1 Package Cabela's Cure

1/2 Package Cabela's original jerky seasoning

Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce (add more dried chili for more spice)

Just follow the directions on the packaging and mix it all in a bag and let cure for 24hours.

I use a dehydrator and it comes out fantastic. Sweet, spicy, salty. Everything you need.

[reinhard1]

i have already been given "orders" to make 15 lbs. of venison jerkey with the high mountain brand. your reciepi also interests me. i have extra venison i could use for yours. on what you mentioned in your post how much venison do you use for the amount above and how much of that sweet hot sauce do you use for that amount. thanks. many years of making sausage but first time jerky making this year.

[OnAFly]

I use 5 lbs of sliced elk/venison/whatever-you-have-on-hand. I don't really measure the sweet chili sauce, I just make sure there is enough to coat all of the pieces thoroughly. You can't use too much as the extra just stays in the bag (I put the whole batch into a bag to cure).

The first time I tried it, I only made maybe 1/2 raw lbs of the 5 total. After comparing the two, I wished I would have made the whole batch into sweet chili. So, the next time I did

[reinhard1]

thank you. good luck.

[topcat3820]

To reply to the OP's question, I'd go with your favorite (or look one up ) maple & brown sugar brine on the legs & thighs for about 8-12 hrs... kind of like you're doing large salmon or trout. Make sure to air dry them to get a pellicle formed after you take them out, too .

Having never been down to your State Fair, I can't answer that part, but brining poultry like this always works out great. What kind of grill, anyway (gas, charcoal)? Gas works great with indirect heat and some foil packs of wood chips on the hot side for flavor, BTW (and a bit easier to regulate the heat ). I've gotta' try them in a Bradley, one of these days.

Hmmmm... I think I'll pick up some turkey drumsticks & wings on the way home and get them brining for the weekend... thanks for the motivation, Blackjack .

[thirdeye]

You guys are a good influence on me.... I started a small batch of beef jerky this morning. It's a mix of Hi Mountain Pepper and Inferno flavors. My favorite flavor is Garlic Peppercorn, so I added some garlic powder in there for good measure. It's all bagged up and I'll get it tin the smoker about noon tomorrow.

And speaking of turkey jerky, I've had a HM turkey jerky kit on my shelf for a year. It's apple flavor.... maybe I'll get around to trying some with a sale turkey. Has anyone tried this flavor?

[reinhard1]

looks real good! i'm going to do 15 lbs of venison using high mountain. still dont know if it's pepper or cajun blend. waiting for the son in laws to give me the word. good luck.

[thirdeye]

Wow, with 15 pounds you could do several flavors. You know... variety is the spice of life. Heheheee.

[reinhard1]

you are correct and variety is my style. i have been making fresh sausage for over 30 years and have made some good stuff. but i'm fairly new at jerkey and the guys are set on high mountain. maby i will tell them half pepper and half cajun. there are some good ideas on this thread. personaly i like some of the ideas on this thread and have found some jerkey ideas from a site called lets-make-sausage.com along with some good sausage ideas. my favorite sausage is the swedish sausage that i make with cooked potatoes, onions, venison and pork and stuff in beef casings instead of pork casings. we got 3 deer this year and most of it will go into sausage so there will be variety. i'm looking hard for a good smoked polish sausage formula. polish is big in our family. good luck.

[eyeguy 54]

Can't beat the Hi Mountain. I use a dehydrator tho and do 3 pounds at a time. Mesquite with some added pepper is one of my favorites for venny or turkey.

[Jim Almquist]

I just picked up a 21 pound bird and at 37 cents a pound I might just have to get another just for jerky.

[reinhard1]

thanks, i have heard a lot of good things about high mountain. good luck.