Got a bearded hen :(

[Buckmaster7600]

If you plan on eating the legs i suggest you put a brick in a large stockpot, put in some chicken stock, put in the legs, cook to doneness, throw out everything in the pot, and proceed to eat the brick

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FACT! I have tried them every way possible and the outcome is always the same. The only one in my house that will touch them is the dog and isn't crazy about them either.

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[alloutdoors]

Turkey will pull their breast feathers to line their nest, as they are softer.

Sometimes they do, but plenty of turkey nests aren't lined at all. The primary purpose of the brood patch is to facilitate incubation, in most species the feathers are shed automatically during the nesting season. Feathers are an excellent insulator and do a wonderful job trapping heat against a birds body. During incubation however, a bird needs to transfer that heat to its eggs, which the brood patch accomplishes.

[stoneam2006]

If you plan on eating the legs i suggest you put a brick in a large stockpot, put in some chicken stock, put in the legs, cook to doneness, throw out everything in the pot, and proceed to eat the brick

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Funniest post of the day sir

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[Marion]

They are just so damn tough. The rest of the bird is absolutely delicious! Just those damn legs, I'd much rather take my leather dress shoes off and eat the soles; they'd be more tender

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[G-Man]

Put the thighs/legs in a oven cooking bag or can put in slow roaster with cream of mushroom soup at 275. ( 100 degrees lower than a regular bird ) and cook for weight.. makes great turkey Ala king..

Legs are also good ground.. for those who don't use them . Lower temp cooking is key as well as bacon wrap on breasts to help keep moist.. high temps just dry them out.

.

[Marion]

I agree with G-Man on the bacon, makes them extra delicious

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[Larry]

Zeus first congrats on getting your first bird. Next there is nothing wrong with shooting a bearded hen you did nothing wrong. If you are happy with your bird that’s all that madders. There is always going to be some JERK who thinks they can stand in judgement of others they think there way of doing things is the only way. I’ll tell you out of 5 turkeys I’ve killed in the fall with a bow over the years 4 were hens. It’s not illegal so it’s nobody’s F---EN business but mind.  

[Larry]

Hey guys I skin the whole bird and cook it in a roasting bag with fixings it works go for me.

[Bowguy 1]

Guys seems lots of you need to learn the difference. Jakes n hens by the spring time look nothing alike. If they do to you please study them.

Beards do nothing to the bird except adding a plume. Caruncles are in many species of birds n are commonly used for breeding purposes, from changing colors to swelling up n becoming brighter.

Hens cannot do so. If however you chose to use a beard to determine where the bird is a shooter or not that's your prerogative as long as it's perfectly legal which it is in NY.

Splitting hairs on points is pointless good luck all with the season.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

FACT! I have tried them every way possible and the outcome is always the same. The only one in my house that will touch them is the dog and isn't crazy about them either.

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I have had luck with the legs and thighs in soup. 

[LET EM GROW]

Congrats on your LEGAL bird. I myself shot a hen with a 9" beard in my first couple years turkey hunting. I knew something didn't look right on the bird, but i was new to the game and i saw the big beard swinging, KNEW it was a legal bird(as you did) and squeeze the trigger. It was the first hen i have ever seen with a beard, actually ever heard of having beards. now i see hens with beards at my place fairly often.. Mistakes happen, everyone makes them at least once, unless your bowguy... critiques every bodies wrong doings on this page.... but nothing bad happened, you seemed to do your best at judgments and you harvested a somewhat rare bird.. congrats! We live and we learn... 

 

Since my bearded hen, i wont shoot one for the fact that they carry eggs and keep the population up. But you can also think of it as turkey management too. Its like the rut only for turkeys. if hen numbers are high, your thinning the competition if it makes you feel any better Might make that tom easier to call in...

 

again Congrats, were all not experts at everything..

[Marion]

At the end of the day who cares, it's a legal bird, a tasty bird, and a mutant bird. Be proud of your bird and if I ever got one with a 9 inch beard I'd have it stuffed because that is awesome!

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[Steuben Jerry]

Congrats on your first bird, Zeus!

[hunterdan44]

Great job! Legal bird! Enjoy your hunts n get a big gobbler next time. Be safe and good luck!

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[zeus1gdsm]

Thanks all. It was a valuable learning experience. And it's nice to get a bird under my belt after a goose egg last year

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[Bowguy 1]

FACT! I have tried them every way possible and the outcome is always the same. The only one in my house that will touch them is the dog and isn't crazy about them either.

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Guys I often hear similar stories about bears. Wonder if you just have rough recipes or just don't have taste buds for the animal but most I know prefer wild turkey to domestic.

The legs can be a great soup or cooked in used in a pot pie.

The rest can be made a lot of other tasty ways very easily.

You want to soften it (for me this makes it too soft) marinate it in ginger ale, than make cutlets.

Another very easy way is red wine vinegrette basted on each time very thin slices are turned on a grill. Very thin so it cooks quick remember that. Too much it'll dry out.

If you don't want to eat em don't waste them. Find someone who wants them or just take pics

[dbHunterNY]

let the legs marinate in a good jerk recipe and then cook them lower and slow in a smoker with juices of your preference in the foil with it to draw up moisture.  throw them in a pyrex dish with cream of chicken soup and some veggies.  the put a layer of unrolled crescent rolls over the top and bake in the oven.  pretty much same as a pot pie.

 

ground before but it's not worth the work and cleaning for what you get. grandmothers seem to throw stock piled leftovers from the freezer in with them to make a soup.  not exactly a soup chef though so I tend to gravitate to the other two.

[Marion]

The biggest issue I've found is the legs are just always so damn tough, the rest of the meat however is absolutely exquisite! Will have to try some other methods for the legs next time

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[dbHunterNY]

The biggest issue I've found is the legs are just always so damn tough, the rest of the meat however is absolutely exquisite! Will have to try some other methods for the legs next time

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even breast meat doesn't cook the same as a sodium stuffed butterball.  smoked turkey legs or the casserole/pot pie are good.  as long as you cook it with the mentality that it's a tough piece of meat it shouldn't come out too bad.

 

you've got to slow cook them in liquid of some kind for smoked legs you're just exposing them to smoke for flavor and not crisping them at all.  just straight up trying to roast a leg will leave it tough.

Edited May 9, 2016 by dbHunterNY

[Marion]

Yeah the breast will dry out real quick. Gotta keep an eye on it when you cook it up

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[turkeyfeathers]

Yeah the breast will dry out real quick. Gotta keep an eye on it when you cook it up

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wrap in bacon

[Paula]

Cream of any kind of soup is bad camouflage for anything

Edited May 9, 2016 by Paula