Turkey Pastrami

[OnAFly]

I used Neighbor Guy's recipe for venison pastrami on the wild turkey I shot this spring and it came out fantastic! It was much better than I was anticipating.

I followed the recipe with a few minor changes:

-I only turned the meat once per day. This has worked fine for me.

-For turkey, the cook temp/internal temp was 275/175F (only took 1.5hours) so I used plenty of smoke.

I've used this recipe on Turkey, Beef, and Elk so far. Venison is next come this fall Here's Neighbor Guys Recipe:

OK, here is the Recipe...

The Cure:

• 5 tablespoons Tender Quick

• 4 tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar (packed)

• 3 Large Hole Dry Bay Leaves

• 1 teaspoon All Spice

• ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder

• ½ teaspoon Anis Seeds

• 1 table spoon Montreal Steak season

• 2 tablespoons coarse ground pepper

• ½ teaspoon of Ground Clove

This is the “dry cure” step of the process.

Mix all of the ingredients of the cure in a blender or spice grinder making sure all of the ingredients are as close to the same size as possible. Coat all of the meat evenly, and rub it in. Place the meat in zip lock freezer bag and lay flat in a glass baking dish. Put it in the fridge. Rotate the meat twice a day, for a week. If you want stronger flavor go up to two weeks.

After the meat gets done with its “time out”, remove it from the bag and rinse it in a water bath for two hours at room temp. Pat it dry and put on the second rub. Again Blend spices to break up Mustard and Coriander but pulse to keep them coarse.

Final Crust Rub:

• 1 tablespoon Garlic Powder

• 2 tablespoons Coarse ground Pepper

• 1 teaspoon Paprika

• 1 tablespoon Mustard Seed (Whole)

• 1 tablespoon Coriander (Whole)

• 1 teaspoon Dark Brown Sugar

Into the smoker it goes for 3-4 hours at 200deg. You are looking for about 150 to 155 degree internal temp of the meat. I like to use a combination of Hickory and Apple or Hickory and Maple as my wood.

Remove the roasts from the smoker and let rest until they cool to room temp. Place in zip lock baggy or an air tight container and place it in the fridge overnight, 24hours if possible. This will let it firm up. Slice as thin as possible and enjoy.

[pushbutton]

You should try that on a goose and report back might help in getting rid of a few more of those.

[reinhard1]

thanks for the recepie. great idea. good luck..

[OnAFly]

If I goose hunted, I'd try. But, I've got enough hobbies the way it is...or at least that's what she tells me.

There was very little gamey flavor to the meat. Really, if I didn't say it were wild turkey, people would assume it were a slightly tougher farmed turkey. This might be a good thing with a strong flavored meat like goose.

[Neighbor_guy]

I am glad to see someone else is enjoying it. I have been looking at some of the Turkey Breasts at Costco and thinking about trying it again.

How was the Beef and Elk? Venison being so lean, I guess I am wondering if beef and elk turned out greasy?

Now you've got me wondering what is out in the freezer......

[OnAFly]

The beef turned out fantastic. It was super tender. It wasn't really greasy, but it definitely was more fatty than elk or venison would be.

The elk was less tender, but it wild game so I figured it would be. It still had fantastic flavor and I wouldn't hesitate to make more when I get more this fall.

[dirtking]

Can't wait for deer season - I used my last two roasts for this recipe and it turned out wonderful!

[TylerS]

Got 2-pound venison roast curing as we speak. Gonna smoke it Saturday. Can't wait!

[OnAFly]

Just got done trying this with goose. It works perfectly. I was gifted a bunch of it a few weeks ago and I'll be sending back a few of the finished product.