Packed Out: Ep.1 | Low Country Wild Turkey Taquitos

Cooked up by Duck Camp & Millscale

Packed Out | Ep. 1

Low Country Wild Turkey Taquitos

We're proud to introduce a new wild game culinary series cooked up by Duck Camp and Mill Scale.

In this first episode, get some inspiration for any wild turkey you have from this past season.

Ambassador and chef, Seth Siegel-Gardner, and Will Andrews from Rolling Bones Barbecue take wild Turkey, slow cooked on the Mill Scale smoker and hand roll them into turkey taquitos - topped off with a crispy turkey skin salsa matcha. Perfect for post-hunting season. Serve them up to family and friends or meal prep and keep them in the freezer for a quick and easy dinner.

Ingredients:

Turkey Taquitos

Meat

2 skin off turkey legs

Dairy

½ C shredded Oaxaca cheese

Pantry

3 quarts beef tallow
½ C refried beans; I like these
¼ jar Perpetual Beef seasoning (sub any seasoning you like)
16 corn + flour hybrid tortillas; I like these
Toothpicks

Salsa Matcha

120g Aleppo pepper
120 g dried turkey skin
60 g sesame seeds
40 g sunflower seeds
75 g garlic cloves
10 g kosher salt
10 g piloncillo or dark brown sugar
100 g rice vinegar
700 g neutral oil
10 g msg

Process:

Turkey Taquitos

1. Smoke Turkey Legs

Get your smoker to 200-250°F. I’m using post oak to give these legs a nice smoke profile. We’re not concerned with cooking the legs at this stage, just getting smoke on them so anywhere in the 200-250°F range works.

Season your turkey legs heavily with your beef seasoning and smoke for 2 hours.

2. Confit

This is where the magic happens. Confit is just a highfalutin way to say gently simmered in oil. It’s a mellow way to cook and helps break the legs down without drying them out.

Submerge the turkey legs in oil, I like to use beef tallow, but canola oil works in a pinch. You should be able to get beef tallow at your local butcher shop.

Place the liquid beef tallow and legs in a container deep enough to submerge and cover with foil. At this point you can transfer the container to the oven since it’s not taking on any more smoke. Get the oven or smoker temperature to 250°F and cook until the meat is probe tender and ready to shred. This should take about 3-4 more hours.

3. Shred + mix

Once the meat is ready to shred, pull it off the bone and shred it into small pieces. I like the run my knife through the meat a few times to get bite sized pieces. Then, mix 1 cup of the turkey meat with ½ cup refried beans, ½ cup cheese, and 1 tablespoon of beef tallow. This mixture is your taquito filling.

4. Roll and fry

Put about ¼ cup of filling on the bottom third of your tortilla. The filling should go all the way to the edges, then roll the tortilla tight and secure it seam side down with 2 toothpicks. Cut off the edges of the ends of the tortillas to give the taquito a flat face. You can skip the flat face step, but it looks nicer and is a bit of a better first bite.

5. Fry

Using your remaining tallow, put enough in a heavy bottom pan to cover about ½ way up the taquito. Set the temperature to medium high and bring the oil to 350°F. While the oil is heating, put your taquitos in the fridge to set. This will help prevent them from falling apart while frying.

Frying in batches, fry your taquitos until golden brown. Roughly 2-3 minutes each side. Be sure to let the oil get back to temp between batches. Then we feast. , or welcome customers to your store.