Smoked Wild Turkey and Dumplings
Contributed by The Outdoors Chef
Smoked turkey legs. Bacon. Dumplings. These things are very, very good on their own, but combining them all into one dish? Heavenly. This is a rib-stickin’ meal that will put your hard-earned turkey harvests to the best possible use. Smoked turkey can tend to get dry if not properly utilized, especially if it’s an older bird, which is what makes this recipe particularly genius. By making a broth with the smoked legs, the meat comes out incredibly tender and flavorful. As if we needed another reason to enjoy turkey season. Chow down!
Recipe written by The Outdoors Chef. For more great recipes, hunting live streams, and cooking shows follow The Outdoors Chef on Facebook.
INGREDIENTS
- Smoked Turkey Legs- 2pc
- Carrots – peeled, trimmed, quartered lengthways, and medium slice- 1cup
- Celery Heart and Ribs – trimmed and sliced lengthways, and medium slice- 1cup
- Onion – trimmed, peeled, and medium slice- 1cup
- Leek – trimmed removing dark green tops, trim root end, quarter lengthways, and medium slice- 1cup
- Fresh Bay Leaves- 3pc
- Bacon – sliced into ½ “- ½lb./225g
- Flaked Sea Salt- to taste
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper- to taste
- All Purpose Flour – plus more for dusting- 5cups
- Baking Powder- 2tbsp
- Baking Soda- 1tsp
- Buttermilk – plus more if needed- 1½cups/375ml
- Fresh Thyme – rinsed and leaves stripped (optional)- 1tbsp
TECHNIQUE
Smoked Wild Turkey
- Preheat smoker 30-45 minutes before cooking, soak hickory chips in water before smoking
- Position rack in center of barbecue, preheat charcoal or hardwood smoker to 200-225°F (95-110°C)
- Prepare smoker for offset smoking with heat on one side and turkey legs on the other
- Season turkey legs with salt and pepper, place in the smoker for 60-90 minutes, remove
- Place legs in a large heavy-bottom stock pot or cast-iron Dutch oven over medium heat, cover with cold water
- Add carrots, celery, onions, leek, and bay leaves, cover, reduce heat to medium-low, simmer for 60-90 minutes
- Using a ladle, remove any impurities to clarify the stock
- Remove legs from the stock, allow to cool slightly, slice off meat into bite-size pieces, discard bones, add meat to stock
- Preheat a large heavy-bottom sauté pan, add bacon strips without overlapping, sauté until golden, turn, repeat
- Remove bacon, drain on paper towel to remove excess fat, slice into bite-size pieces, add to stock
- Check seasoning, add salt or pepper to adjust flavour, remove bay leaves, cover, reduce heat to medium-low
Dumplings
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and thyme leaves in a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine
- Add buttermilk, fold together gently with a spatula, careful not to over mix
- Add large dollops of the mixture on top of the turkey stock, like little pillows surrounded by stock
- Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes or until fully cooked, serve dumplings with stock
