As far as literature goes, The Turkey Book is to cooking wild turkeys as The 10th Legion is to turkey hunting. Following in the footsteps of his first book, The Hog Book, author and chef Jesse Griffiths has assembled a foundational collection of recipes, skills and stories on the wild turkey. Whether you’re a culinary savant or you’re just looking to expand your recipe list past fried turkey nuggets, The Turkey Book is something that every turkey hunter should have on their bookshelf.
The Stories
If you wander into any book shop, you will undoubtedly find a cookbook section. There are hundreds of modern cookbooks, if not thousands. What all cookbooks share in common is obviously the fact that they’re full of recipes, so why is The Turkey Book different? At its core, it is more than just a compilation of measurements and ingredients. It is a celebration of the wild turkey, told through incredible stories in the field. These stories take you, the reader, on a journey through the eyes of Jesse Griffiths and the book’s other cast of characters as he travels the country chasing turkeys across different regions. It is through these stories that recipes, skills, people, and more are introduced. There are highs, lows, hard lessons, camaraderie, campfires, and more than a few cold drinks. These are real-life, lived experiences illustrated through a collection of stories, images, and food that is second to none.
The Skills
Whether you’re a seasoned turkey hunter or you’re new to the spring scene, there are lessons and skills here for everyone to learn. From equipment and butchering to culinary techniques and lessons learned in the turkey woods, The Turkey Book offers an absolute wealth of knowledge. As you riffle through pages of text and imagery, learning along the way, you realize that throughout the process of assembling this book, the author himself has learned too. Not only are you learning from Jesse himself, but from every character, experience and region along the way.
A personal favorite skill set covered in the book is the butchering section. Although this may seem basic, there is an importance tied to understanding how to properly break down and utilize a turkey. For many turkey hunters, the breasts and legs are the only parts that come to mind when they think about butchering. But when it comes to these birds, there’s a lot more than meets the eye. Through meticulous descriptions and plenty of detailed images, the Turkey Book highlights just how easy it is to retain and use more than just breasts and legs. The butchering section serves as a guiding star for not only utilizing what we harvest but also utilizing everything we can, which is further highlighted across a myriad of recipes.
The Cooking
As was mentioned before, I can think of no book more authoritative, or put together with more thoughtfulness, regarding wild turkey cooking. Framed through different regions of the country, stunning imagery and stories, the book is further broken down into three major categories. Breasts, Necks & Wings (plus offal, skin, trimmings) and Legs. These sections unfold through specific recipes throughout the book and help to highlight the depth of possibilities that exist when cooking a wild turkey. From cured turkey hearts to turkey raviolis and smoked turkey leg sandwiches, there are plenty of ways to strengthen your turkey cooking repertoire.
In addition to this, there are a variety of sections and bonus additions that help make cooking from these pages a well-rounded experience. Such as recipes for celebrations and holidays, cocktail recipes, as well as sauces, seasonings, and a host of different cooking techniques. Similar to the ‘skills’ one can learn throughout this book, recipes and culinary knowledge are shared not only by Jesse himself but through the people and places the book accompanies along the journey.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re chasing turkeys in the heat of Texas, skinning a bird up in Montana, or plucking a gobbler on a cabin porch in Georgia, The Turkey Book is an essential piece of literature for every turkey hunter. I can think of a few other cookbooks, or turkey books for that matter, that contain as much knowledge and admiration for people, places, and cooking. If The Turkey Book has a fault, it is that it doesn’t come in a pocket size to slip into a turkey vest for those long sits with your back against a tree.