Offering the following recipes makes the basic assumption that you, or a good friend, were fortunate enough to have taken a wild turkey during our recent fall turkey season. These recipes also work well if you were digging around in your freezer and discovered that you had a yet unused spring gobbler waiting to provide some tasty eating for the family.

First, and all-too-often, I hear people talk about how they “breast out” a turkey and discard everything else. I have mentioned this before, but it is worth repeating that doing so is being extremely wasteful. The heart, liver, and gizzard, often referred to by some folks as the “giblets,” are flavorful and can be eaten by themselves once pan-fried or boiled or can be diced and added in the preparation of soup stock or gravy. As to the legs and thighs, yes, I agree that they can be tough, especially the drumsticks. However, when placed in a soup pot, covered with water, brought to a boil, and allowed to simmer for a few hours, or until the meat can be picked from the bone, this dark meat has many uses. The meat itself can be added to casseroles, soup, sandwiches, or salads. The liquid that remains can be used to make excellent soup stock or gravy. If you decide to roast the entire turkey, you can later boil the carcass to create soup stock.

A wild turkey’s meat can be used in place of chicken in just about any recipe you may already be familiar with. However, one of the great benefits of using the wild turkey instead of chicken you purchase at the local grocery store is that you are eating a more free-range or natural meat — devoid of all of those “Government Approved” chemicals and additives! Here, then, are a few suggestions:

Turkey and Gravy over Waffles: This is simple to prepare and a popular way to use wild turkey. After all, how many times have you seen a church supper where they are serving “chicken and gravy over waffles?” With the soup or gravy stock, you created when boiling down the legs and thighs or the carcass, make a gravy using your mother’s or grandmother’s favorite recipe, then add the leg and thigh meat and serve over waffles. You can also slice or dice the breast meat and the heart, liver, and gizzard to add to this dish. This is an old-time favorite that has been served in many country homes for generations.

A great “dessert” idea to accompany this hearty meal is to make a few extra waffles, then melt a bit of butter over them and top them off with pure Pennsylvania maple syrup!

Turkey Sandwiches: Here, either the white or dark meat is great for a tasty sandwich. Consider grilling or pan-frying a slice of the breast meat and adding your favorite accompaniments, like romaine lettuce, a thick slice of fresh tomato, or a thick slice of sweet onion, such as Vidalia or Walla-Walla sweets. Or, just go the whole way and make a big mouth-watering BLT, using wild turkey meat and thick-sliced pepper bacon. Somehow, it just seems tastier when you make one of these sandwiches using the meat of a turkey that you actually hunted and brought home to share with the family!

Grilled Turkey Breast: Since the grilling season is upon us, using a gas or charcoal grill or even a wood fire is a preferred way to prepare wild turkey for the dinner plate. Here, the white meat of the breast is best. Slice the meat cross-grain at about ¼ to ½ inch thick, place in a Ziploc bag, and add your favorite dressing, such as Italian dressing. (I have always preferred Gazebo Room Greek Dressing when grilling meat and vegetables). Refrigerate and allow it to marinate for about two hours, and then place on the grill, adding more dressing, if necessary, to keep the meat moist as it cooks.

Sliced zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus, or green beans that have also been coated with your favorite dressing and cooked on the grill will make a great addition to the grilled turkey breast.

I hope you will try some of these suggestions, and by all means, try to use all of the meat. It is tasty, healthy, and worthy of your dinner plate!