Time to eat wild turkey.
One of my summertime favorites is cedar planked turkey breast. Here in Wisconsin cedar trees are considered a native invasive because they turn the soil acid and use a lot of water. Foresters encourage editing cedar out of hardwood stands this provides me with ample opportunity to acquire 10-12 inch red cedar logs which are kept under the overhang of the shed so that direct sunlight will not over dry them. When a disk of cedar is required for cooking, I saunter out, fire up the chainsaw and cut the disks about an inch thick. Unlike the over-dried, thin store-bought planking wood these fresh cut cedar disks do not require soaking.
One half wild turkey breast with the silver skin and wing tendon removed. Use a Jaccard type meat tenderizer to perforate both sides of the turkey breast to facilitate penetration of the marinade.
Marinade
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup white wine, white vinegar or balsamic vinegar
- One quarter cup sugar (I prefer brown sugar)
- 3 Tbsp. Lemon juice or one lemon
- Two clove garlic smashed or diced
- One sweet onion sliced thin
Combine all ingredients, place in a ziplock freezer bag and shake the bag a bit to dissolve sugar.
Marinade the turkey overnight then drain, rinse and set aside to dry while you prepare the grill.
Place marinated turkey breast on the red cedar disk and with a closed grill cover.
Cook to an internal temperature of 165 Fahrenheit.
Remove from grill and rest for 15 minutes. Slice and serve.
The method will result in tender, moist wild turkey breast meat that can be eaten with your favorites sides or sliced thin for use in sandwiches and snacks.
Other woods can be used to plank turkeys such as oak, hickory or apple. If you don’t have a wild turkey a domestic turkey from the grocery store can be cooked using this method.
N.C.L.W. says
Excellent food photography to go along with a very interesting recipe… I have a feeling that I will be returning to this post, post-haste upon Turkey harvest! Hopefully the fall season will lend occasion to such an occurrence .
Have you tried Turkey schnitzel? I have a recipe that’s very simple and uses saltine crackers as the basis for breading turkey breast and hope to try that one too, they both sound phenomenal.
Bon Appetite!
WRC says
Please post your recipe NCLW. Sounds good,
N.C.L.W. says
Cut the Turkey meat into escalopes that will flatten out to 1 1/4″ evenly for frying. Squish them flat, like the roasted over a campfire on a stick style grouse breast. Or just use whatever you’ve got handy like a tenderizing mallet. Make them evenly flat,
Get three bowls going, one each of flour, egg and crushed bread crumbs (saltine crackers!). You can season however you want and pan or deep fry, which ever just make the sure the pieces float a bit in the oil. A dream would be to fry it in Bear lard made from an animal taken in the same season and area as the bird!
Local herbs and spices from the environment where the game is taken can be classy. So can just a straight fry with breading pared with a good hot sauce and brew!
Cheers
Krissie Mason says
Hey Charlie,
Thanks for directing me to your site. The turkey on cedar recipe looks simple and delicious! Nice to hear you used the Jacquard to tenderize and open up the muscle for the marinade. Looks like the meat is tender and moist. Now, if i only had some natural cedar rounds. NCLW’s turkey schnitzel also looks like it’s worth a try. My heritage is 100% German and any recipe for a wild game schnitzel is worth a try.
Charlie says
Thanks for visiting Krissie. How would you like some cedar rounds delivered? My “backyard” contains a good supply. As a courtesy, I don’t email anyone commenting on my blog without their prior permission.
Krissie says
Hey Charlie, just seeing this now. Would love rounds from your yard! Tell me what I can do to facilitate. Thank you!
Charlie says
Watch your email.