To celebrate my 10th published recipe with NWTF I wanted to write something that incorporates my earliest memories of cooking where it all began, growing up in Oklahoma. I grew up, like many of us did, with a grandmother that was the queen of the kitchen. I can still smell and taste my Grandma Earldine cooking up Friday night flat top griddle burgers with hand cut fries or Mexican chicken casserole and plenty of homemade chocolate malts.
To celebrate my 10th published recipe with NWTF I wanted to write something that incorporates my earliest memories of cooking where it all began, growing up in Oklahoma. I grew up, like many of us did, with a grandmother that was the queen of the kitchen. I can still smell and taste my Grandma Earldine cooking up Friday night flat top griddle burgers with hand cut fries or Mexican chicken casserole and plenty of homemade chocolate malts. You could also count on 9 times out of 10 that opening that front screen door you’d be hit with the smell of hot oil ready for something to fry. Chicken, catfish and this special dish were usually on the dinner list and you know you’d be proudly leaving with that fry oil smell deep in the fabric of the clothes you had on. It’s funny how food has a way of transporting us in time with our senses. It’s like an old friend I’m constantly trying to run into and see again. It picks right up where you left off, never skipping a beat. There’s a wave of comfort and rest that settles over me when I find it. This recipe is everything that reminds me of home, of Oklahoma and especially Grandma Earldine’s kitchen.
This recipe is a play on the famous chicken fried steak. An iconic dish that uses a breaded cutlet of tenderized cube steak, breaded and fried. This dish just happens to be one of the state foods of Oklahoma, hence why I am transported back home when I’m lucky to enjoy it. The origins are unclear but many think that German and Austrian immigrants introduced this dish into Texas in the 19th century as an adaptation of their wiener schnitzel. Now you can find it just about anywhere but especially in the south, as we love our foods breaded and fried.
With turkey season here I wanted to do a very simple wild game play on one of my favorite dishes from my childhood. I like to serve mine with plenty of pepper mill gravy and ketchup and tabasco sauce (don’t knock it til you try it) served with big sides of mashed potatoes and greens. We all know that wild turkey is great fried so give this recipe twist a try for you and your friends and family. Good luck to all the hunters out there this year!
Author:
Justin Adams
Ingredients
Chicken Fried Turkey
1 wild turkey breast halved and tenderized to 1/4” thickness
1 cup of milk
1 egg
1 cup flour
Salt and Pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying
Pepper Mill Gravy
3 Tbsp Butter
1/4 Cup of reserved frying oil
1/4 Cup of flour
1 Cup of milk plus 1/2 cup if more needed for runnier consistency
Salt
PLENTY of fresh cracked pepper mill black pepper
Directions
Preparation
Trim as much fat as you can from your turkey breast
Pat dry with a paper towel
Cut wild turkey in half in the middle making 2 separate breasts
Place turkey breasts in between 2 pieces of plastic wrap on a cutting board or hard surface
Using your meat tenderizer or rolling pin or really anything that will get the job done, pound the meat evenly until it reaches a thickness of 1/4”. It helps to start in the middle and work your way out
Heat your oil over medium high heat to a level of 1/2” or 1” in a cast iron skillet or dutch oven
HeatIn a large bowl whisk together milk and egg. Add a pinch of salt and pepper oil to around 300 degrees
Place turkey breasts, one at a time, in flour and then in the milk and egg mix and then back in the flour mix.
Fry each piece of turkey for about 8 minutes, flipping once, until dark golden brown and it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees
Place turkey in the a 200 degree oven to keep warm
For the Gravy
Remove oil from pan and place pan back on burner to medium high heat
Add butter stirring constantly with a wire whisk careful to not let the butter burn
Add oil and mix with butter
Slowly start adding your flour to the pan continually mixing with whisk for about 2-3 minutes, careful not to let the flour burn
Slowly start adding milk mixing to remove any lumps in the flour
Lower heat and add 3 big pinches of salt and your fresh cracked pepper
If you think you’ve added too much pepper, you haven’t, add more. You’ll want a very heavy pepper taste.
Remove turkey from the oven and cover with gravy and serve with your choice of sides.
