This year, why not take a Timber2Table mindset when it comes to planning your holiday menu? Whether it be main course, side dish, or dessert, let the wild shine through at your Thanksgiving table.

Each day during this week, which we’ve dubbed “Feast Week,” we’ll be sharing with you delicious wild-game recipes that will make this Thanksgiving even more special for you and your guests.

By the time President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to be a federal holiday in 1863, Americans had already settled on turkey as the preferred main course for the meal. While domestic turkeys may be larger and more tender than their wild cousins, they pale in comparison when it comes to flavor.

This year, instead of breasting out your bird, try plucking it whole. Wild turkeys can be smoked, roasted or deep fried, but, regardless of cooking method, they benefit from some added moisture to prevent them from drying out.

For smoking or roasting, the best way to add moisture to your turkey is to brine the bird for 12 to 24 hours. The brine recipe is simple, a gallon of water, a cup of kosher salt, a cup of brown sugar and two cups of apple juice. As the turkey soaks, the salt in the brine helps to carry moisture into the meat.

For smoked or roasted birds, try brining to add moisture and flavor.

For deep frying, an injection of seasoned butter or an injectable marinade like those from Cajun Injector work perfectly.

Injectable marinades work well for adding moisture and flavor to deep fried turkeys.

I split this turkey in half and cooked it two ways to give our family a choice at the table. Either recipe will work well with a whole bird, just adjust your cooking times accordingly. I like the dark meat to register 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer for wild turkey. Much more than that and you run the risk of a dry bird.

Try plating both cooking methods so your family and guests can choose their favorite.

Roasted Wild Turkey

As stated above, the secret to a great roasted wild bird is moisture. The more you keep inside the meat, the better the finished product. Start by brining your turkey for 24 hours. The brine recipe can be doubled if a single recipe isn’t enough to fully cover the turkey. A large plastic tub with a tight-fitting lid makes the perfect brine container. If you don’t have room for a tub in your refrigerator, use a clean cooler to hold the turkey. Pour the brine over the bird, weight it down with a plate or heavy glass, then pour in enough ice to keep the bird cold. Check in on the turkey a time or two over the brining process and add more ice as needed.

Begin the roasting process by preheating your oven to 300 degrees. Remove the bird from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels. Coat the turkey skin liberally with softened butter. The butter helps to moisten and flavor the skin and acts as a binder for the seasoning.

Coat the turkey skin with butter for flavor and to help with browning.

Season the turkey, inside and out, with salt, pepper, and your favorite poultry seasoning blend. For this recipe, I used McCormick Gourmet Poultry Seasoning Blend.

Quarter three to four pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes and place them into a large roasting pan. The potatoes help to release steam as they cook, helping to keep the turkey moist, and they absorb the flavor of the turkey as they soak in the stock that is released as the bird cooks. Season the potatoes well with salt and pepper.

Nestle the turkey into the quartered potatoes and cover the pan tightly with foil. Insert the probe of a remote-read thermometer into the thickest part of the turkey thigh and roast for around three hours or until the thermometer reads 160 degrees.

Remove the bird from the oven and turn the oven temperature to broil. Remove the foil from the pan and, using a pastry brush, liberally coat the turkey skin with melted butter. Place the turkey, uncovered, back into the oven until the skin is golden brown and crisp. Don’t walk away, depending on your oven, this step may only take five minutes. Your turkey will go from golden brown to charred black in an instant if left unattended.

Deep Fried Wild Turkey

This process is best done outside on a gas burner. For safety sake, fry your turkey away from your house or any flammable materials and over a non-stainable, non-flammable surface. Wear heavy gloves and closed toed shoes while frying the turkey.

Find a stock pot large enough to completely submerge your bird in water with several inches of pot remaining above the water line. Remove the bird from the pot and make note of the water level. This will be your fill line for the oil.

Pat the turkey dry and pour water from the pot. Dry the pot completely before adding oil. Using an oil with a high flash point, like peanut oil or a peanut oil blend, will provide the best finished results. Fill your pot to the required level with oil and light the burner. Use a deep-fry thermometer to monitor the oil temperature. Shoot for 350 degrees oil temperature before adding the turkey.

Heat oil to 350 degrees.

While the oil heats, use an injection syringe to inject marinade throughout the turkey. The goal is to cover as much of the meat as possible while making the fewest number of holes in the skin. Inject the syringe deep into the meat, press the plunger, then withdraw the syringe partially and inject another area next to the first. Continue until the entire turkey has been injected with marinade. Once the bird is injected, season the skin heavily with your favorite Cajun seasoning.

Season well with your favorite Cajun seasoning blend.

Using heavy tongs, or wire tied tightly around the turkey’s legs, lower the bird into the hot oil. Be prepared for the oil level to rise drastically when the turkey is lowered into the pot and the oil begins to bubble and froth.

Cook time for fried turkey runs around 4 minutes per pound. An instant-read thermometer will let you know when your bird is ready.