Wild Turkey Hawaiian Sandwich
Recipe by: Colton Tupin
My Story
The inspiration for this recipe stems back to about 2 years ago when I was on a trip to Maui with my family. While there, I had an incredible sandwich from a local shop. Local fruit, Local greens, freshly baked bread, everything that makes a sandwich great. Fast forward to April of this year. I found myself back in Hawaii again. I had to miss the Washington State turkey opener, something I wasn’t overjoyed with, but you know, it’s HAWAII!
One morning during an early morning cup of coffee at a local coffee farm (emphasis on EARLY... time change with 2 kids under 4 was not our friend) I thought I heard a turkey gobble. I figured it was just my imagination, as even in Hawaii, I was counting down the days until I would be in the turkey woods. Not my imagination. I looked out over the rows of peaberries to see four Rio Grande Longbeards in full strut. This is where it all came together. Why not try and recreate my favorite sandwich, but with Wild Turkey. So that’s what I did.
I was lucky enough to get out and harvest my quota of two birds in late April when I returned home to Washington. From there, I just tried to come up with something sweet, spicy, fresh and delicious that reminded me of the best sandwich I ever ate. This is what I came up with.
Wild Turkey Hawaiian Sandwich Ingredients:
- 2 Large Wild Turkey Thighs
- Mixed Greens
- Green Onions
- 1 Mango
- 1 Red Onion
- 1 Avocado
- 1/4 LB Uncured Bacon (4 slices or so)
- 4 oz Goat Cheese
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
- 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 1/8 cup Honey
- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
- 1 Quart of Chicken or Poultry Broth
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Salt
- Cumin
- Garlic Powder
- Oregano
- Coconut Sugar
- 2 dried Chipotle Peppers
- 3 Bay Leaves
- 5-6 cloves of Garlic
- Loaf of Ciabatta Bread
Wild Turkey Hawaiian Sandwich Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350. Heavily salt both turkey thighs and place in Dutch Oven. Add 2 dried Chipotle peppers, 3 Bay leaves, 5-6 cloves of garlic, 1 TBSP of freshly ground pepper and a quart of chicken or poultry broth (make sure thighs are covered in liquid, you can add a little water if needed to accomplish this).
- Cover and place in oven. Depending on bird, should be done in about three hours, or when it is falling off the bone.
- Put 1/2 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 TBSP of Coconut Sugar, 1 tsp+ of salt, 1 tsp of adobo sauce from chipotle en adobo in glass container. Mix together to combine. Thinly slice red onion into rounds and submerge in the liquid and cover. Place in refrigerator for later.
- In blender, add 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar, 1/8 cup honey, 1 tbsp of water, 2 tsp adobo sauce, 2 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp cumin, 3/4 tsp garlic powder, 3/4 tsp oregano, 3/4 tsp fresh ground pepper. Start blender and drizzle in 1/2 cup of olive oil as you blend. When emulsified, cover and place in refrigerator for later.
- Chop Green onions and fold into goat cheese.
- Cook Bacon in Cast Iron Skillet.
- Cut mango in half and dust with Paprika and place on grill until lightly charred.
- Cut Ciabatta Loaf in half. Drizzle with olive oil and add fresh ground pepper. Place in oven on broil. Remove when browned.
- Pull out turkey, let cool, and shred when cool enough.
- Take about 1/2 the vinaigrette and toss the shredded turkey in it to coat.
- Spread Goat Cheese and avocado on one side of your ciabatta.
- On the other side, lay down a bed of spring greens. Add pickled onion on top of that, then bacon. Add your slices of grilled mango on top of that, and finish with the meat. Put the 2 halves of bread back together and cut into 4 large sandwiches. Enjoy with a green salad. (Sidenote: if you want a little more spice, you can drizzle some more of the vinaigrette on your sandwich. Also goes great on your side salad.)