# Processing my bird.



## Bwilson (Feb 22, 2008)

Well I am hopeful that I harvest a bird. So i think it would be a good idea to have plans for processing it. I cant afford a mount or anything like that. I Plan on eating it. What is easiest way to remove feathers, gutting and keeping the fan in decent shape. I tried googling it and came up with a couple things but there is so much experiance here that it would seem foolish to not ask. 
Thanks for the help


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## Smoknngunn (Oct 4, 2005)

BW, 
You can remove the fan by making a cut about three inches in front of the saddle perpendicular to the body. Cut only deep enough to go thru the skin, then pull it off. Lay the tail flat on a piece of cardboard and fan it out. After you have it fanned out pin it down and let it dry. Put plenty of Borax on the cut part of the tail to dry out any remaining meat and it will prevent it from rotting.

The beard can be removed in the same way. Part the feathers at the base of the beard and lift up, pulling the beard away from the body. Make a small cut under the base of the beard to remove it. Make sure you dont cut the base of the beard or it will fall apart. Use Borax on the base of the beard as well. 
This explaination is vauge without pictures, I know. If you dont understand I will make a diagram and post it.

I will post some pictures tomorrow of the finished fan and beard display.

The easiest way I know to remove feathers is to use a turkey fryer to boil water and dip the bird for about 20 seconds in boiling water. This will scald the skin and make the feathers pull very easily. REMOVE YOUR BEARD AND TAIL FIRST! 

To remove the guts just make a small tear or cut in the thin membrane that holds the vitals insides the carcass and pull the guts out. Rinse the insides with cold water.
Make sure you cook the bird to 165 degrees internal temp before eating.


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## Bwilson (Feb 22, 2008)

This sounds simple enough. I have processed plenty of deer never for mounting anything other then the rack alone. I think i will be able to handle it. Now i know alot of people will let thier deer hang for a day or two before processing. Should i hang a bird and let it bleed out or will that just dry out?


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## Gobblerman (Dec 19, 2004)

I always fillet the breast right off the bone. Hang the turkey by his feet above a trash can with a liner, find the base of the breast bone and make a cut in through the feathers/skin and then pull the feathers and skin back away from the meat. Then take a sharp fillet knife and follow the bone and fillet off the breast meat. Then drop the rest of the bird in the trash. You don't even have to mess with the guts. The legs are generally really tough on a wild bird, so I dont mess with them.

Then I fillet the breast into strips, bread them with my favorite Rudys Turkey rub from Texas and pan fry it. Excellent taste the family loves it, just don't over cook the turkey. If you cook it too long it can become tuff. Some folks use the boil the legs and wings and use that for soup stock. Good luck.


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## Smoknngunn (Oct 4, 2005)

Considering the weather will be warm I wouldn't allow the bird to hang. I would clean it as soon as possible and get it under refrigeration.

I agree with gobblerman. Much less work involved. The legs & back are good to make soup with though

Smoknn


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## Bwilson (Feb 22, 2008)

So thanksgiving dinner style = bad idea. My wife really wants to try it thanksgiving dinner style. We shall see how i turn out. 

I got my video camera back from the repair shop today and picked up a tripod that will fit in my pop up. Ill be Youtubing it. Oh i cant wait!! I watched 11 birds land on the property im hunting today. Felt like a little kid at Xmas.


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## Gobblerman (Dec 19, 2004)

Smoknngunn said:


> Considering the weather will be warm I wouldn't allow the bird to hang. I would clean it as soon as possible and get it under refrigeration.
> 
> I agree with gobblerman. Much less work involved. The legs & back are good to make soup with though
> 
> Smoknn


 
The sooner you do it the easier it is. I've even laid mine out on my tailgate of my truck and fillet it out in the field and put the meat in a plastic zip lok and right in the cooler. Then disposed of the carcass in the a ditch, the local coyotes and other predators take care of the rest.


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## Gobblerman (Dec 19, 2004)

Bwilson said:


> So thanksgiving dinner style = bad idea. My wife really wants to try it thanksgiving dinner style. We shall see how i turn out.
> 
> I got my video camera back from the repair shop today and picked up a tripod that will fit in my pop up. Ill be Youtubing it. Oh i cant wait!! I watched 11 birds land on the property im hunting today. Felt like a little kid at Xmas.


It may turn out ok. Let us know how it turns out.


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## Bwilson (Feb 22, 2008)

Of course. I have alot of firsts going on this season I think thats why im so excited about it. First turkey hunt,first out of a pop up blind, if i harvest a bird it will be my first Animal with a bow and first time hunting with a camera.


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## Smoknngunn (Oct 4, 2005)

I wouldn't say it's a bad idea. It's a little more work, but worth it, especially if your wife wants to do it that way. Make a family affair out of it. Nothing's better than family traditions, new and old.

We have had wild bird for Thanksgiving and it turned out fine. It's not as tender or juicy as a farm bird, but it's much more satisfying, knowing its something you harvested. Try a roaster bag. It really helps keep the meat moist.

I wouldn't hesitate to do it.

Good luck!

Smoknn


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## dewman22 (Jan 3, 2008)

Bwilson said:


> Of course. I have alot of firsts going on this season I think thats why im so excited about it. First turkey hunt,first out of a pop up blind, if i harvest a bird it will be my first Animal with a bow and first time hunting with a camera.


I did that last year, shot a turkey out of a pop-up while video tapeing. The only problem was carrying all of that equipment by myself.......decoys, gun, stool, pop-up, video camera, tripod, various calls, thermacell, and thermos of coffee. And yes, the footage I got was well worth the hernia.


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## Bachflock (Jul 3, 2007)

LOL! Why didn't someone post this last year! I did alright. I caped my bird even though I had never shot a turkey let along clean one before. It turned out great. This past fall I watched my dad clean his turkey - his first _wild_ turkey. Turned out he used to process chickens and turkeys on the farm back in the day. Sure made it look easy.


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## EdB (Feb 28, 2002)

> So thanksgiving dinner style = bad idea.


No, they are good that way. The key is to pluck them and not skin them if you want to roast them whole. I also cook mine to an internal temp of 165. Many recommend cooking a turkey to 175 or 180 but if you have ever seen how they process domestic fowl, you need to do that to prevent e-coli. That is because of the way they process them. I gut mine like a surgeon and don't cut open any guts. Broken guts = e-coli. 

Two ways to pluck them. Dip the entire bird in sclading water with some dish soap in it. They pluck a lot easier this way. You can also dry pluck. If you dry pluck, you need to go slow and only pull a few feathers at a time. If you grab big hunks of feathers, you will rip the skin. One last step, take a hand held plumbing torch and sweep it over the skin, this will burn off the hairs. Just don't hold it in one place and burn the skin.


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

EdB said:


> No, they are good that way. The key is to pluck them and not skin them if you want to roast them whole. I also cook mine to an internal temp of 165. Many recommend cooking a turkey to 175 or 180 but if you have ever seen how they process domestic fowl, you need to do that to prevent e-coli. That is because of the way they process them. I gut mine like a surgeon and don't cut open any guts. Broken guts = e-coli.
> 
> Two ways to pluck them. Dip the entire bird in sclading water with some dish soap in it. They pluck a lot easier this way. You can also dry pluck. If you dry pluck, you need to go slow and only pull a few feathers at a time. If you grab big hunks of feathers, you will rip the skin. One last step, take a hand held plumbing torch and sweep it over the skin, this will burn off the hairs. Just don't hold it in one place and burn the skin.


I used to dry pick mine as I had a fellow that wanted the feathers for Indian artwork. Since his passing I now scald them and it is a lot easier. I cut off the outer two joints of the wings to make it easier to scald the rest of the bird. As some one said remove the beard prior to scalding. I never did find the beard on the one I forgot to remove first.

When cleaning the inside make sure you get all the stuff that is between the ribs along the spine out. I didn't once and had some awful icky looking juice after roasting the bird. Also do not forget to remove the crop in the neck area of the bird. My stepson didn't on one bird and it made for some gross looking breast meat in that area.

I roast mine in a cooking bag the day before I want to serve it. After it cools I carve it putting the meat in a tupperware container. I then pour a little of the juice from the bag over the meat so it stays moist.

The only part that I have found to be tough by doing it this way were the legs of an old long beard.

When I was hunting in the UP I would draw (gut) the birds and put a plastic bag in the cavity that I filled with ice. I would make the 6 hour trip home and pick the bird when I got hiome. I would dry pick the bird because of the open cavity and not wanting to get the scalding water in it.


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## spiritofthewild_06 (Mar 20, 2007)

Another suggestion is if you have Amish in your area take your bird to them, they can get it done for you in about 10 min. I did this with my first bird, sat there and watched them so I knew what to do next time. They only charged me 4 bucks but I gave them 10 for the good job. We deep fried that bird and it turned out really well!


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## 22 Chuck (Feb 2, 2006)

Pluck him after dipping in hot water and cook in a bag just like 'Thanksgiving style' on of all times Thanksgiving Day.. cook em in a bag just like cooking a beaver.


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## wildcoy73 (Mar 2, 2004)

take a picture and pluck him right in the woods quick and easy. as for gutting cut around is rear end and pull his insides out.
now for cooking a moist and yummy wild turkey
red a big roasting pan with a lid put the bird in the pan get two cans of beer and poor onto the bird place lid on pan and put in oven at 350 the biggest thing to keep in mind this bird has little fat and will cook rather quickly compared to the fatty you buy at the store. about 165 internal temp is right and your bird will be moist


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## Firewood (Oct 21, 2006)

Try wrapping the bird in about 2 pounds of bacon before putting it in the roaster bag and then cook as normal. You will be amazed


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## Dogwood (Dec 15, 2004)

I dry plucked a tom last year and it wasn't that difficult; hold him by the legs over a lined trash can and pluck against the grain. Assuming you've saved the tail and beard, decapitate and clean out the entrails. Rinse well. Next, try brining the bird for 12-14 hours prior to roasting. I got a good recipe off the Food Network website; there's one by Emerill made with citrus fruit and brown sugar that was easy and worked great. Roast to a temp of 150 as the internal temp will continue to rise even after its removed from the oven and hence will not be over cooked. My family loved it and they don't care for much critter. Once you brine a turkey (wild or domestic) there's no comparison.


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## thetreestandguy (Dec 16, 2005)

CL-Lewiston said:


> Pluck him after dipping in hot water and cook in a bag just like 'Thanksgiving style' on of all times Thanksgiving Day.. cook em in a bag just like cooking a beaver.


Beaver????


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