Properly dressing and skinning a turkey is an important part of the hunting process. Poor field dressing and skinning can result in wasted meat, bacterial diseases, or attracting unwanted visitors such as bears or cougars. Following are some basic instructions for properly dressing and skinning a wild turkey.
Field Dressing Your Game
Cutlery And More
Field dressing is extremely important, especially if the weather is extra warm or you have a long way to travel afterwards. Make sure your cutlery is sharp and ready for use. A high-quality Bowie or skinning knife has a stainless steel blade, a solid handle, and measures about 8 to 9 inches long. A dull knife can be messy and dangerous, so make sure your blade is sharp enough to do the job.
Insert your knife into the bottom of the breastplate and cut all the way to the anal vent. Next, remove all entrails through the incision. Reach into the bird to sever the heart, lungs and windpipe. If it's noticeably warm out, you may want to consider cooling the bird by stuffing the newly emptied cavity with ice. Make sure to clean your hunting knife afterwards.
Skinning a Turkey
Many turkey hunters prefer skinning a bird to plucking, mostly because it is much quicker. Skinning a turkey can take as little as three minutes, if done correctly. Plucking a bird can take time and make quite a mess.
Another reason hunters prefer skinning is because it is healthier to eat. Plucking leaves the skin on, and although cooked turkey skin is tasty, it contains high levels of fat and cholesterol. A skinned bird makes for a healthier meal.
First, hang the turkey by its head and cut the wings off at the first joint. Remove the beard by pulling off the loose skin and cutting it at the base. Next, remove the legs by cutting at the first joint, where the feathers meet the legs.
After you've removed the wings and legs, turn the bird over and insert the knife into the neck. Follow the natural division between the back and breast feathers and continue the incision down the length of the back, from the base of the bird, to the tail feathers. When you reach the tail feathers, the fan can be easily removed by cutting the base of the tail.
The bird is nearly skinned at this point; now you need to remove the skin you missed when removing the wings, legs and cape. Simply pull and cut with the knife as needed. An easy method of removing the leg skin is by rolling it down the leg as far as it will go and cutting it off at the end.
Now that you've properly dressed and skinned your bird, the only thing left to do is cook! In many states it is actually illegal to remove only the breast and throw the rest of the turkey away, so remember to use the rest of the bird. There are many great recipes available online for fresh wild turkey, and now it's up to you to make a good feast.
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Oct 24, 2011 11:04:36
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Chicago Cutlery Woodworks 12" by 12" by 2" Chopping Block Feature
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Chicago Cutlery Woodworks 12" by 12" by 2" Chopping Block Overview
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