Wild Turkey Taco Recipe

Turkey hunting season is fast approaching and we can't wait to get back out into the woods for some spring turkey hunting! After a successful turkey hunt, you have to process your bird and decide how you want to cook it. Today we are making wild turkey tacos!

One piece of wild turkey that often gets overlooked or neglected is the leg. Chef Johnny from Texas Style BBQ and Cuisine has given us a solid way to utilize those tough turkey legs and have them turn out delicious.

This is a great recipe because it utilizes a crockpot to take those tough, stringy turkey legs that no one really knows what to do with and makes them extremely flavorful and tender. And while we are using some turkey legs from a bird we harvested, this is also a great recipe for turkey bought at the store as well.  

Let's get started or You can jump right to the recipe...

Step 1: Prep your pan

This is recipe is a little outside of a normal crockpot recipe because we do recommend that you brown your meat before putting it into the crockpot for added flavor. So add some oil to your pan and get it heated up while you add your seasonings to your meat.

Step 2: Season The Legs

For these tacos, you want to use a fajita seasoning.

You want to make sure that you have a nice even coating of seasoning on all sides of your meat, so don't be afraid to get your hands a little dirty and rub the seasoning around. That will help ensure that you have a nice consistent flavor profile throughout your meat.

Step 3: Braise/Brown

As we mentioned before, you want to braise your meat before putting it into the crockpot. This is going to give you much more flavorful meat at the end, so we highly recommend that you don't skip this step. It does take a little more time to brown the meat a little bit, but it is worth it for the amount of flavor that it adds.

Make sure that your pan is nice and hot so that you hear a nice sizzle when you put your meat in the pan. And continue to brown all sides of your meat.

**With this recipe, you can do steps one through three the day before as a little prep work or you can follow the recipe through to the end, but it is something that you want to start in the morning so that you have plenty of time once you hit step four. 

Step 4: Prep your crockpot

Next, we want to get the remainder of the ingredients into our crockpot. We used Chef Johnny's homemade salsa, but you can use any type of salsa that you prefer.

Add your salsa, bullion or chicken stock, chili powder, black pepper, garlic, onion, red chili flake (optional), and bell pepper (optional) to your crockpot. Stir it up and add your meat to the crockpot. 

Step 5: Cook

There are two options to cook your turkey leg in the crockpot:

1. Low heat for 8 hours
2. High heat for 2 hours

Step 6: Prep Your Meat For Serving

After you've cooked your turkey in the crockpot, pull it out and shred it on a cutting board. The meat should be tender and shred easily.  

After you've shredded your turkey meat, you can either pour the crockpot juice over the top of the meat or add the meat back into the crockpot and serve directly from the crockpot.

Step 7: Assemble your wild turkey tacos

Once you are done cooking your meat you can assemble your tacos with whatever toppings you choose. We used tortillas, pico de gallo, diced jalapenos, diced tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, and a little bit of lemon juice. If you want your tacos a little spicier, you can always add a little hot sauce to the mix as well.

Wild turkey hindquarters often get a bad reputation for how tough they are and even get thrown away. But we are certain that if you try this wild turkey recipe that you will be surprised at how tender and flavorful those turkey hind quarters can be. 

If you try this recipe after your turkey hunt, make sure to leave a comment, or tag us in your photos and let us know how you enjoyed the recipe. And if you need some gear to set you up for success on your turkey hunt, make sure to check out all our turkey hunting gear bundles!

Wild Turkey Tacos

INGREDIENTS

• Cooking Oil
• Fajita Seasoning
• Salsa (2-3 cups)
• Tomato Bullion or Chicken Stock (2 TBS)
• Chili Powder (1 TB)
• Black Pepper (1 tsp)
• Garlic (rounded tsp)
• 1 Onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced (optional)
• Red Chili Flake (optional)
• Tortilla shells
• Pico de Gallo
• Lettuce
• Cheese
• Cilantro
• Jalapeños
• Lemon Juice
• Tomatoes
• Any other preferred taco toppings

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prep your pan with oil and turn on the heat.
2. Season your turkey meat with fajita seasoning.
3. Brown your turkey meat in the hot pan.
4. Add salsa, bullion/stock, chili powder, black pepper, garlic, onion, bell pepper (optional), and red chili flakes (optional) to the crockpot. Stir well to mix.
5. Add meat to crockpot.
6. Cook for 2 hours on High heat or 8 hours on Low heat.
7. Remove meat from the crockpot and shred it, making sure to remove any remaining tough ligaments and bones.
8. Return meat to the crockpot and serve with juices.
9. Prepare your tortilla with meat and any preferred taco toppings.