Thursday, April 28, 2011

Scott Croner "The Nebraska Turkey Interceptor "

Scott hunts turkey like a Nebraska lawman hot on the trail of a escaped convict !!! I arrived at 12:30 p.m.on Friday, with cloudy sky's and winds blowing in excess of 20 mph which are not ideal hunting conditions. I was back at the lodge with 2 long beards by 5:00p.m.

The next morning Scott set me up on a location he had scouted early in the season. Needless to say, I took care of business at 10 yards with my third Merriam at 7:30 a.m. I called Scott to come pick me up and when he arrived, the back of his Suburban was stacked with gobblers harvested by three of his repeat hunters that he guided on a hunt that morning. I've hunted with so called guides in Kansas and Alabama, but Nebraska Hunting Co. is the real deal. I will be back next year with several of my clients. ( 5) Stars*****

P.S. be sure and tip the cook-best prime rib west of the Mississippi!

Greg Hill
El Dorado
Arkansas

Jay Jones And Kraig Dean Harvest 5 Gobblers In 24 Hours


Kraig harvested all 3 of his gobblers in one day of hunting. Jay harvested 2 of his gobblers along with Kraig and 1 the night before.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Barbecued Wild Turkey




Ingredients

One stick (1/2 cup) margarine
1/2 cup chopped green onions or chives
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp. thyme and savory, mixed
1 cup broth
3 Tbsp. parsley

Directions.



Cut turkey into pieces across the grain. Cook onions until tender in butter, add other ingredients. Bring to a full boil. Cover each piece of turkey with this mixture. Baste often on grill. Cook 45 to 55 minutes or until done.


Guided Merriam's Turkey Hunts - Nebraska Hunting Company

Monday, April 4, 2011

Wild Turkey - Making a Turkey Cape


Making a Turkey Cape

Although there are several ways to display your trophy tom, one of the easiest and least-expensive ways is by caping your turkey.

Caping is inexpensive, easy to do, and extremely satisfying. Simply skinning your turkey from head to tail, cleaning and boraxing the skin and pinning it to a flat piece of cardboard is all that's involved.

Follow the simple instructions below for a good looking and simple way to capture the memory of a special hunt:

•To begin, hang your tom by the head.

•With a sharp knife, cut the skin where the feathers on the neck meet the skin of the head.

•Continuing down the center of the back and toward the tail, remove the skin in an approximate two-inch wide strip. You will notice that the feathers attach to the skin in rows and the narrow strip of skin actually holds a much wider angular blanket of feathers.

•Remove the skin to and including the tail skin.

•With knife and spoon, remove the fat and flesh.

•Cover wet skin in Borax.

•Lay Borax covered skin on large piece of flat corrugated cardboard.

•With straight pins, pin the head end to cardboard.

•Fan tail, spread to the desired width and pin each feather in place.

•With a pocket knife, lay each feather in place.

•Let dry three to four weeks.

•Remove pins, shake loose Borax and hang.

•You may wish to mount the cape on a piece of wood cut to fit the cape.

Cleaning Your Wild Turkey

If you're a turkey hunter, you're used to making decisions. And, after choosing the right turkey loads, camouflage, decoys and calls before entering the spring woods, it's a relief when the final decision of the hunt is how to care for and cook your bird. Cleaning your turkey is the first step, and regardless of whether you plan to skin, pluck or breast out and cut up your bird, doing it properly is both quick and easy. Just follow these simple steps.

1. If you don't plan to cook your bird whole, start by laying the turkey on it's back. Remove just enough breast feathers so as to expose the skin.

2. To remove the breast filets, pull or cut the skin back from the breast. Make cuts along each side of the breastbone as well as on the inside of both wings or the clavicle. To save the wings, peel the skin back and remove the wings from the cavity by cutting through the joint.

3. Find the breastbone and make an incision down each side of the breastbone to loosen the breast filet from the bone. Work from the rear of the breast forward, fileting off the breast by pulling the filet and using the knife as needed. Repeat this for the other side of the breast.

4. To remove the thigh and leg, cut through the thigh muscle where it attaches to the back. Then grab the thigh or leg and pull up until you can feel the joint pop loose. Keep cutting through the thigh until it comes free from the turkey's body.

Considered the traditional style of cleaning a wild turkey, plucking is a perfect way to prepare your bird to be roasted, smoked or whole deep-fried. Before you remove the entrails or field dress the turkey pluck the turkey's feathers to help keep the moisture in the turkey while cooking it whole. Remove the feathers after dipping the bird in hot water. Some people use boiling water but it has been said that 140-degree water is optimal for plucking a bird. Plucking does take time and produces more of a mess than does skinning; however, the taste of deep-fried or roasted turkey skin is worth the effort.


Plucking vs. Skinning

Many of today's turkey hunters prefer skinning to plucking. Skinning a turkey allows you to cook the bird by frying or grilling the pieces of meat. You can skin and fillet the turkey breasts, and slice as much meat from the legs and wings as necessary. Make a cut just along one side of the breastbone. Then, it's just a matter of working the skin off the breast halves, down the back and over each of the legs. In some states it's illegal to only fillet the breast out, leaving the rest of the carcass behind. Always check your state's hunt regulations, and make sure your turkey is properly tagged for transportation.

Field Dressing

In hot weather hunting conditions, field dressing your bird is a good idea before you clean it for the table. If you decide to field dress your bird, start by placing the turkey on its back. Find the bottom of the breast plate and insert your knife, making a cut to the anal vent. Remove the entrails from this opening and then reach into the cavity to sever the windpipe, heart and lungs. Cool the cavity by placing ice inside the chest.

Cleaning & Preping Your Wild Turkey

Cleaning Your Wild Turkey If you're a turkey hunter, you're used to making decisions. And, after choosing the right turkey loads, camouflage, decoys and calls before entering the spring woods, it's a relief when the final decision of the hunt is how to care for and cook your bird. Cleaning your turkey is the first step, and regardless of whether you plan to skin, pluck or breast out and cut up your bird, doing it properly is both quick and easy. Just follow these simple steps. 1. If you don't plan to cook your bird whole, start by laying the turkey on it's back. Remove just enough breast feathers so as to expose the skin.