Recipe: Smoky Apple Wild Turkey Breakfast Sausage
by Josh Dahlke | @thehungerofficial

One of the best parts about spring turkey camp is regrouping with your compadres after a morning hunt to share stories and bust a gut about sunrise shenanigans. This ritual is best conducted over a hearty breakfast.

Successful turkey hunters often forget that you can run your gobbler through a grinder. Lean, flavor-rich wild turkey meat—mixed with fatty pork and the right blend of seasonings—makes for primo sausage.

This breakfast sausage recipe will become a permanent fixture in your wild turkey cookbook. Combine it with my bonus recipe for French crepes, and drown the whole show in maple syrup to induce a big round of applause in turkey camp.

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 8-12)
2 pounds cubed wild turkey breast
1 pound cubed pork trim/fat
1 diced large apple
1 diced medium white onion
1 tbsp. smoked Kosher salt
1 tbsp. fresh minced sage
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. ancho chili powder
1 tsp. red pepper flakes

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cube turkey and pork.
2. Mix dry seasonings.
3. Mince fresh sage and add to dry seasoning blend.
4. Dice onion and apple. Brown in lightly oiled skillet. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
5. Assemble meat grinder. Put metal grinder components into freezer at least 1 hour before grinding; this makes for less mess and easier grinding.
6. Grind cubed turkey and pork together.
7. Add onion, apple, and seasoning blend to ground pork and turkey. Mix thoroughly by hand.
8. Run seasoned meat through grinder again. Catch finished sausage in a Ziploc bag.
9. Cool sausage in fridge overnight.
10. Form sausage into patties and cook in lightly oiled skillet over medium heat.

This wild turkey breakfast sausage goes great with fresh crepes and maple syrup. Here’s a bonus recipe for crepes:

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 6-9)
4 eggs
1/2 stick melted butter
1 cup flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup coffee liqueur
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Sift flour to remove chunks.
2. Whisk together eggs, butter, milk, and coffee liqueur.
3. Slowly whisk in sifted flour until mixture becomes consistency of heavy cream.
4. Add sugar and salt and whisk for even distribution.
5. Heat lightly oiled skillet to medium. Ladle crepe batter into pan, making sure to keep it very thin.
6. Flip crepe after approx. 20 seconds. Cook opposite side for another 15-20 seconds.
7. Remove from heat and serve with wild turkey breakfast sausage and maple syrup.

Recipe: Kickin’ Gobbler Corn Dogs
by Josh Dahlke | @thehungerofficial

Wild turkey legs are super underrated. These prime cuts continually get a bad rap for being inedible—too tough, too dry … the list of fallacies is endless. I’m here to preach some truth about turkey legs and share a recipe that will make you a believer.

No doubt, legs from a wild turkey are lean, mean machines that are built for running and fighting. But, just like any wild game, making turkey legs suitable for the table all comes down to cooking technique. For tougher cuts of any meat, never forget about using a meat grinder! Hot dogs and other sausages are usually a great fit for “texturally challenged” protein.

This recipe for gobbler corn dogs is doubly awesome because, if you want, you can stop after Part 1. There’s nothing wrong with tossing a gobbler dog onto a bun with some ketchup and mustard. However, I guarantee you won’t regret saving at least a few dogs for a coating of my killer corn dog batter and a quick swim in some peanut oil.

PART 1: Hot Dogs

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 6-8)

3 pounds boneless wild turkey leg meat
2 pounds pork trim/fat
Hot dog casings
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tbsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tbsp. paprika
1/4 tbsp. nutmeg
Skewers

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cube turkey and pork.
2. Mix dry seasonings.
3. Assemble meat grinder.
4. Grind cubed turkey and pork together.
5. Add dry seasoning blend to ground turkey and pork. Mix thoroughly by hand.
6. Feed hot dog casing onto stuffer attachment of grinder. Tie a knot on the end of the casing.
7. Stuff hot dog casing with seasoned meat, twisting into hot dogs as you go.
8. Pre-cook hot dogs as you move onto the next step of making corn dog batter.

PART 2: Corn Dog Batter

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 6-8)

1 cup corn meal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
1-1/2 to 2 cups milk
1/2 cup diced sweet corn
Peanut oil
Corn starch

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soak skewers in water for 20+ minutes until saturated.
2. Dice sweet corn.
3. Combine corn meal, flour, baking powder, diced sweet corn, and salt. Mix thoroughly.
4. Whisk egg until liquid and add to batter mix.
5. Add milk.
6. Mix batter until smooth.
7. Pour batter into tall cup.
8. Insert skewers into pre-cooked hot dogs.
9. Coat skewered hot dogs in corn starch.
10. Dip hot dogs in batter and deep fry in peanut oil until golden brown.
11. Serve with homemade onion rings.