Preserving turkey feet is a time-honored tradition that connects us to age-old culinary practices. With some simple techniques, you can keep turkey feet fresh for months and make use of every part of the bird. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about preserving turkey feet.
Why Preserve Turkey Feet?
There are several great reasons to preserve turkey feet rather than simply discarding them:
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Decoration – The unique claws and scaly skin make for interesting natural decorations. They can be displayed as hunting trophies or used in arts and crafts
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Cooking – Preserved feet can be simmered into rich, gelatinous broths and stocks The collagen adds body and nutrients.
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Snacks – Properly preserved feet can be cooked and eaten as a crunchy, salty snack in many African and Chinese dishes.
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Dog treats – Dried turkey feet make long-lasting, hearty chews enjoyed by dogs.
Supplies Needed
Preserving turkey feet is simple with just a few supplies on hand:
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Turkey feet – Freshly removed from the turkey and used within 24 hours.
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Non-iodized salt – Coarse kosher or sea salt works best.
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Container with lid – A plastic storage tub or cardboard box.
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Cheesecloth & rubber bands – To wrap feet after salting.
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Borax (optional) – Helps preserve and dry out the feet.
Step-by-Step Preservation Process
Follow these steps for perfectly preserved turkey feet:
1. Clean the Feet
Rinse the raw turkey feet under cold water. Use a stiff brush to scrub off any dirt, blood or debris. Pat the feet dry with paper towels.
2. Remove Excess Flesh
Trim off any excess skin, fat or flesh with a sharp knife, leaving the tendons and ligaments intact.
3. Apply First Coat of Salt
Generously sprinkle salt all over the entire surface of the feet, packing it into all crevices and between the toes.
4. Store in a Container
Place the salt-packed feet into a plastic tub or cardboard box. Cover them with 1 inch of additional salt. Seal the container and leave for 24 hours.
5. Rewash and Reapply Salt
After 24 hours, rinse the feet under cold water to remove the used salt. Pat dry, then repeat another round of salting as in steps 3-4.
6. Optional Borax Soak
For extra preservation, dissolve 1-2 tbsp borax per quart of water. Soak feet for 2-3 hours, then rinse and resalt.
7. Final Salting
Bury feet in fresh salt for 5-7 days this time. They are ready when stiff and completely dried out.
8. Air Dry
Brush off excess salt and air dry the feet on racks or hanging for 1-2 weeks until hardened.
9. Use forCooking or Display
The preserved turkey feet are now ready to be used in recipes or crafts, or displayed as unique hunting trophies.
Tips for Best Results
Follow these tips for perfectly preserved turkey feet:
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Work in a cool, dry area to prevent spoilage.
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Check feet daily during drying; watch for damp salt or mold.
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Discard any feet that smell bad or appear slimy.
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For display, spray with clear coat paint to further preserve.
Alternative Preservation Methods
Beyond salting, there are other ways to preserve turkey feet:
Freezing
For simplicity, place cleaned feet in airtight bags removing air. Freeze for several months.
Brining
Submerge feet in a saltwater solution with spices and herbs for flavor.
Drying
Dehydrate cleaned feet in an oven or food dehydrator until crispy.
Cooking Uses
Once preserved, turkey feet can be:
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Added to flavorful soups and stocks.
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Used in ethnic dishes like African stews or Chinese dim sum.
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Frozen for later use.
Cultural Significance
Preserving turkey feet has deep cultural roots. It reflects:
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Sustainable use of the entire animal.
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“Waste not” mentality.
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Traditional practices passed down generations.
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Community cooking traditions.
Simple Tail Fan Display
Turkey Parts: Tail fan
Tools/Supplies: Knife, 3×3 sheet of plywood, thumbtacks, weights and Borax
Remove the turkeys tail by slicing around the ball-and-socket joint at the base and twisting it free. Keep all the tail feathers intact and attached to the meaty base. Carefully trim remaining flesh and liberally apply Borax. Lay the tail fan flat against the plywood and spread the tail feathers into a drying position. Place books or other heavy, flat weights over the fan to hold it in place, and use thumbtacks to pin the feathers down.
Put the tail fan somewhere safe, away from family pets, basement mice and garage bugs. Check it frequently. When the tail stiffens, trim even more skin and flesh, but keep the feathers held tightly in place. Once its completely dry (usually after three weeks to a month), use a piece of thin leather or cloth to cover the tail base. Thin wood works for this, too, and you can paint it. Hang your fan with a wire or nail, or add to the effect by mounting it on a plaque and displaying it with the birds beard.
Turkey Parts: Several tail feathers, spurs, beard and the turkey tag if available
Tools/Supplies: Knife, small hand saw, Borax, back fasteners or tacks, wire and shadow box
Remove the turkey beard, keeping a small bit of meat intact at the base. Take several tail feathers from the bird, sized to fit in the shadow box (you may have to evenly clip the quill ends). To mount the spurs, remove the turkey legs at the joint beneath the feathering. Cut through the leg on either side of the spur to remove it, either with a saw or heavy-duty shears. Clean the insides out with a pipe cleaner. Remove the leg scales above the spur if you wish, and finely trim them with a knife. Use Borax to aid the drying process.
Once the turkey parts are dry, arrange them inside the display with the beard and spurs hanging down in the middle of the glass-fronted mount, using thin wire to hold everything in place. Hardware and craft stores often sell small, pre-cut circles you can use with fabric or wood called sticky back fasteners (Velcro brand is a good choice). Mount the tag above your feathers, beard and spur arrangement.
Turkey Parts: Beards
Tools/Supplies: Knife, wood plaque, small nails or tacks and Borax
Glue a beard inside your spent shotgun hull, along with a note about the hunt. Hang it anywhere.
Remove turkey beards by cutting them free and keeping a small bit of skin intact near the base. Some hunters jerk the beard straight off the bird, but you get one chance at doing that right. The risk of pulling it apart is high. So spend the extra 6 seconds and use a knife.
Affix beards behind or in front of your wood plaque using small nails, tacks or other hanging options. Hang the plaque with a wire and nail. This is a good mount if youve hunted numerous states and want to have beards displayed from a particular season, or if youve killed a gobbler with multiple beards.
Turkey Parts: One dead gobbler
Tools/Supplies: Knife, pins or thumbtacks and Borax
Hang your turkey by the head. Begin cutting where the neck feathers meet the head skin. Gently skin away toward the direction of the tail fan, retaining as much of the skin with attached feathers as possible. Youll need to skin alongside the birds flanks the farther down the back you go. Take your time, as turkey skin is thin. When youre done, gently remove the remaining flesh with your knife. Use Borax as a drying agent, covering the damp skin side. Lay the cape on a big piece of wood, pinning or tacking it into the desired drying position. Be sure to spread the tail fan the way you would with a standard fan mount, detailed above. Allow the cape to dry a month or more, and check it frequently. Remove pins or tacks, clean off the Borax and youre ready to display the turkey cape on your camp wall.
Display Your Trophy Parts without Spending a Fortune
Turkey taxidermy is expensive. And it doesnt take many full-body turkey mounts to fill a room. Yet, so many gobblers are worth remembering beyond a beard lost in the garage. Here are five cool DIY turkey taxidermy projects that are easy to make . . . and even easier on the wallet.
Simple Preservation of a Turkey Foot for Display
FAQ
How long does it take for turkey feet to dry out?
Every few days to up to a week take a look at how the salt is doing and knock off any wet salt. Replace it with new salt and push it into the open section of the leg. When the salt falls off and the open joint appears dry the foot should be safe to remove from the box and will stand on its own.
What do I do with turkey feet?
To remove with a knife, place the blade at the top of the nail where it meets the toe and chop downward. It should come off nicely. At this point, you can use your prepared turkey (or chicken) feet in a batch of stock, or freeze for future use.
How do you keep a Turkey away?
Make a noise to scare it away or use an object such as an umbrella or a stick to keep it at a distance and scare it off. Do not hit the bird. Turkeys often eat seeds that fall out of feeders, food waste from poorly sealed bins or food that they find on the ground.
How do you care for a turkey leg?
Once your turkey feet is well secured in a standing or walking position to the box with a tight cord,apply salt liberally on the exposed part of the leg where you severed it with a saw. A non-iodized salt should be used if possible for this curing process.
How do you keep a Turkey moist?
One such method involves brining the turkey ahead of time, which will keep the meat moist. “Use water with some salt and leave the turkey sitting for a few hours,” David Deshaies of Shaw’s Unconventional Diner told The Washington Post. For flavour, he recommends adding spices such as thyme, garlic, rosemary and peppercorns.
How do you store a fresh turkey?
Follow these tips for success. Our fresh turkeys are kept in a deep chill to maintain a crust of ice on the surface. This ensures that you can safely store your bird at home until you’re ready to cook. Keep your turkey deep-chilled (35°F) in the coldest spot in your fridge, turned down as low as possible, or store in a secondary fridge.
How can you keep Turkey fresh longer?
To keep turkey fresh longer, store it in your refrigerator immediately after use in a tightly closed container. This helps keep out moisture and other contaminants. Proper food storage offers several benefits, including eating healthier, cutting food costs, and helping the environment by avoiding waste.
How do you attach a turkey leg to a cardboard box?
You must cut or saw at the knee of the bird where the scaly leg joins the thigh and well above the spurs. After cutting off the turkey legs, place them in a walking position inside the cardboard box and then use thetwine cord to fasten them to the sides of the box.