Turkey tidbits tortilla pizza

Turkey season opens this month in both Carolinas. In honor of turkeys, and as a special for turkey hunters, each April this column features a recipe for successful turkey hunters to find another way to enjoy the bounty of their hunt.

Many would-be turkey cooks complain that wild turkey is too difficult to prepare properly, but I disagree. If not the most important things to remember when cooking a wild turkey, one of the most important things to remember is that wild turkeys don’t have the fat content of their domestically raised cousins.

If you forget this and try to cook a wild turkey like a domestic turkey, it’s most likely going to dry out and not be the excellent dining experience you hoped. Try to remember this when preparing wild turkey. However, if you forget, you can take some comfort in knowing that sometimes even domestic turkeys dry out and become tough and chewy.

This is an easy and different way to prepare wild turkey and uses some parts that not everyone keeps. I keep all my turkey, but sometimes cook the breasts and legs separately. This recipe was initially used to make use of turkey leg meat in a fun and interesting way. We liked it so much we began occasionally using a breast and serving multiple turkey pizzas while watching sports on TV or at family gatherings. Also a plus is it doesn’t take much prep time and it tastes good.

Turkey tidbits tortilla pizza

This mild and mellow recipe is a great way to use odd pieces of turkey. It can be the legs or the meat trimmed from around where a wayward pattern clipped part of the breast. It can also be done with raw or previously cooked turkey.

Do not shred or chop the turkey pieces too small. They are better when they’re large enough to hold flavor on their own. I also like the pieces of jalapeno and onion to be larger than minced. And yes, those who don’t care for jalapenos can omit them. If you do this, replace them with some pieces of yellow, red or orange bell peppers.

I prefer 8-inch tortillas for this, as they fit my favorite cast iron pan perfectly. I use Mission brand tortillas in the whole wheat blend, but any will make the crust. I believe Mission whole wheat tortillas crisp up best and taste like crispy thin crust pizzas. You can also make a crust or purchase prepared pizza crusts. The toppings are simple.

If you have a pizza stone, it will brown the crust well. If you don’t, use a 9-inch cast iron frying pan so the tortilla will lay flat in the bottom. If you want to cook multiples at the same time, you will need to use a cookie sheet or baking pan and use one that spreads heat the most evenly.

Pay attention when browning the tortillas in the pan. After a couple of minutes without showing any browning, they brown quickly and you only want them lightly brown before placing them in the oven. All you need to do in the oven is melt the cheese and be sure the turkey and veggies are warm.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Cups shredded or chopped turkey

4 8-inch flour tortillas

2 Jalapeno peppers

1 Small sweet onion

Pizza sauce

Shredded mozzarella cheese

2 TSP minced garlic

Olive oil

Buttery flavor non-stick cooking spray

Grated parmesan cheese

Options: Hot sauce, more jalapeno slices, more onions

PREPARATION:

1. Shred or chop the turkey.
2. Slice the jalapenos and onion, then cut 3/4 of the jalapeno slices into thirds.
3. Barely cover the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and sauté the turkey, onion, garlic and jalapeno slices cut into thirds. If using previously cooked turkey, sauté the vegetables for a while before adding the turkey as it only needs warming. If cooking the turkey for the first time, sauté it for a while before adding the vegetables.
4. Set the cooked turkey, onion, garlic and jalapeno mixture aside.
5. Preheat the oven to 400.
6. In a cast iron pan just large enough to hold the tortillas (9-inch), spray the bottom with buttery flavored non-stick cooking spray and warm to medium. Lightly brown and crisp one side of the tortilla and turn it over.
7. Allow the tortilla to cook on its second side for about a minute, then turn off the burner.
8. With the pan still on the burner, lightly coat the top side with pizza sauce.
9. Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top of the pizza sauce.
10. Put small dollops of the turkey, onion, garlic and jalapeno mixture on top of the cheese around the pizza.
11. Add a few pieces of jalapeno and onion around the pizza.
12. Bake in the oven for approximately 5 minutes, checking at about 4 minutes to prevent burning the tortilla crust.
13. Remove the pizza to a plate and cut into pieces.
14. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.
15. Repeat steps 6 to 13 for additional pizzas.

This should be served while hot. I usually put the first one on the table as I’m cooking any additional ones. Having two appropriate size cast iron pans can save time. Several extras I put on the table are a shaker of mixed parmesan cheese, hot sauce and more sliced onions and jalapenos.

For folks that would like a little larger meal, a garden salad or lettuce wedge is a good choice before the pizza.

Many desserts will go well with this, but fresh, home-made ice cream is at the top of the list.