Wild Turkey Roast

• 1 wild turkey

Brine:

• 5 quarts water
• ½ cup salt
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Put turkey in brine for 24 hours, completely immersed. Drain turkey. Wipe dry as thoroughly as possible with paper towel, let set out one hour longer to dry. Rub inside and out with lemon juice. Smoke six hours in smoker.

Stuff with your favorite stuffing or the following:

• ¼ cup butter
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• ½ cup celery, chopped
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 4–6 slices bacon
• ¾ teaspoon rosemary
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed thyme
• 5 cups day-old bread, cubed
• ½ cup milk
• 1 egg, beaten

Melt butter, add onion and celery. Cook until tender. Mix together with seasoning, bread, milk and eggs, spoon loosely into cavity. Mix together:

• 1 cup melted butter
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

Rub turkey inside and out.

Cover breast with bacon slices and cheese cloth soaked in melted butter or bacon fat. Place turkey breast side up on a rack in roasting pan. Bake in 325° oven until leg and second joints move loosely.

Baste with:

• ¼ cup butter
• 1/3 cup white wine

Guard against overcooking. Cook turkey giblets and neck for stock. Use with pan drippings for gravy. Smoked turkey is good served hot or cold.

Mrs. Raymond (Minnie) Carr
Harrisonburg, VA

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This recipe is a part of the 390-page NRA Members' Wild Game Cookbook. The cookbook can be purchased for $24.95 by calling NRA Sales at 1-800-336-7402 or 1-888-607-6007, and requesting item #HS05840, or order it online at the NRA Program Materials Center.

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To submit a recipe for this webpage, mail to:

Hunter Services Department
National Rifle Association
12250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, VA 22030
Attn: Janice Taylor