In case you weren’t already excited enough about the upcoming spring gobbler season, let me prepare your mental taste buds, for, what my wife says is the best wild turkey she’s ever had.
If you’re like me, you’ve been blessed enough to try some delicious Nashville-Style Hot Chicken. If you’re really like me, one of your first thoughts was “Man, I bet this would work really well with wild turkey…” It works REALLY well. Absolutely incredible. The perfect crunch combines with a slow building heat (adjustable to your preference) that draws you back again and again for your next bite.
I used a turkey breast for this meal, slicing it against the grain and removing any tendons or excessive fat. Slice into slivers or nuggets (really whatever is your preference). Follow the breading instructions, but other than that this is a straightforward frying process.
If you are fortunate enough to harvest your tom this year, be sure to try making some Nashville-Style Hot Wild Turkey of your own.
Ingredients
| Amount | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 1 or 2 wild turkey breasts (trimmed of any excess fat and any tough parts) | |
| 1" - 2" of peanut oil in a pot/pan (enough to mostly cover the turkey) | |
| BREADING | |
| 4 cup | flour |
| 1 to 3 tablespoons cayenne pepper | |
| 1 tablespoon | paprika |
| 1 tablespoon | kosher salt |
| 1 tablespoon | black pepper |
| BUTTERMILK MIX | |
| 2 cup | buttermilk |
| 1/4 to 1/2 cup hot sauce | |
| 1 tablespoon | kosher salt |
| 2 | eggs |
| SAUCE | |
| 1/4 cup peanut oil | |
| 1/4 cup butter | |
| 2 to 5 tablespoons cayenne pepper, depending on your heat preference (2 to 3 is usually plenty for most people) | |
| 1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar | |
| 1 teaspoon | chili powder |
| 1 to 2 teaspoons garlic powder | |
| 1 to 2 teaspoons onion powder | |
| 1 to 2 teaspoons kosher salt | |
| 1 to 2 teaspoons black pepper |
How to Prepare
Time to fry! Add enough oil to your pot so that it will cover the turkey pieces. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
Dip the turkey in the flour.
Dip turkey in the egg/buttermilk.
Dip in the flour mixture again.
Make sure your oil is hot (give or take 325⁰F-355⁰F) and add the turkey in batches. Don’t add too much turkey at one time or the temperature will drop rapidly.
Fry for 3 to 6 minutes, turning them at least once, until golden brown.
You can keep a cookie sheet with a baking rack in the oven at 200⁰F so that you can keep the fried turkey warm while you finish the other batches.
Coat the turkey with the sauce and serve with pickles, pickled onions, and whatever else you like to eat traditional fried chicken with!