The Hunter Chef is a great friend of Mossy Oak, and we love to eat his cooking. Better than that, we love to use his recipes to cook up our own harvest.
Celebrating the resources of the wild, The Hunter Chef Cookbook features a collection of over 100 recipes and butchery guides, and stunning food and landscape photography. The book includes recipes for cooking big game, from moose and bison, to white tail deer and wild boar. Common small game features include wild turkey, duck, wild goose, ruffed grouse, as well as rabbit and squirrel. Fresh-water and salt-water fish recipes feature pickerel, wild salmon, rainbow trout, prawns, scallops, and more. A seasoned forager, Hunter offers an array of savory and sweet recipes, incorporating wild ingredients, everything from mushrooms and leeks to sumac and berries.
Roasted Wild Turkey with goat Cheese, Morel Mushroom, and Wild Leek Stuffing
Here he explains how to eat naturally and eat good--from your turkey harvest to your mushroom harvest.
Morel mushrooms and wild leeks grow in hardwood forests in the spring and pair beautifully. Wild leeks take a very long time to grow, about seven years from a seedling to when the plant can product its own seed, then take two years to germinate. When foraging for leeks, pick no more than 5 percent of a patch and try to rotate your picking spots year to year.
If you can’t find morels, feel free to use your favorite mushrooms from your grocery store or local market. You can stuff single breasts (as here) or the cavity of a whole bird.
Serves 4 to 6
Stuff and Cook the Turkey
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 cup (250 mL) of the butter. Add the onion, celery, morels, chopped leek bulbs, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the goat cheese, leek greens, and cubed bread and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature before stuffing the turkey breasts.
Using a boning knife, make a 2-inch (5 cm) cut along the fat end of each turkey breast and push the knife into the center, making a pocket along the inside of the entire breast. Gently fill the breasts with the stuffing. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 mL) butter. Season the turkey breasts all over with salt and pepper and gently sear both sides. Transfer to the oven and cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), 20 to 30 minutes. Let the meat rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
Stuffed Wild Turkey:
- 1 cup (250 mL) + 1 tablespoon (15 mL) unsalted butter, divided
- ½ cup (125 mL) minced white onion
- ¼ cup (60 mL) minced celery
- ½ pound (225 g) wild leeks, white bulbs separated from green leaves and chopped
- 4 teaspoons (20 mL) minced garlic
- 1 pound (750 mL) cubed white sourdough or artisanal bread, crusts removed
- 3 cups (750 mL) cubed white sourdough or artisanal bread, crusts removed
- 2 boneless wild turkey breasts (about 1 pound (450 g) each)
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Cook turkey recipes and more wild game recipes with The Hunter Chef’s new cookbook!
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