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WILD ABOUT COOKING

WILD TURKEY SOBAHEG STEW

Sobaheg means “stew” to the Wampanoag (wamp-u-nuck), a Native American tribe that inhabited present-day southern
Massachusetts and eastern Rhode Island. This Wild Turkey Sobaheg Stew simmers for 3 to 4 hours and makes 6 to 8 servings.
—Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS
3 lbs. wild turkey legs/breast • Coat bottom of large heavy-bottomed pot with cooking oil and heat over medium. Pat dry meat with
Vegetable oil paper towels and cut into cubes. Season meat generously with salt and pepper. In batches, brown
Kosher or sea salt, to taste meat in pot to a nice sear on all sides.
1 onion, peeled and halved • Return all meat to pot and cover with water. Add halved onion. Bring to a boil and scrape bottom of
8 to 10 cups water pot with wooden spoon. Cover and simmer 3 to 4 hours, or until meat becomes tender.
14 whole raw chestnuts • While meat cooks, cut across each chestnut shell and cover with water in small saucepan. Boil chest-
1 lb. butternut squash, cut nuts for 20 minutes.
into large cubes • Remove saucepan from heat. Remove 2 or 3 nuts at a time and peel off outer hard shell and inner
1 (15.5 oz.) can of great paperlike membrane. NOTE: The membrane becomes difficult to peel when it cools even slightly.
northern beans , drained
and rinsed • Transfer all chestnuts to food processor and grind as finely as possible. Set aside.
1.5 to 2 cups hominy, drained • In the main pot, remove meat from bones, if any, and discard bones. Discard onion.
10 juniper berries, toasted • Stir in butternut squash, hominy, beans, and ground chestnuts. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes, or until
and ground squash becomes tender but not mushy. Simmer longer for a thicker stew, or use more ground nuts.
Fresh mint, chopped For thinner stew, add water or chicken stock.
Freshly cracked pepper • Season as desired and serve.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley, who immigrated to the US from Vietnam, was first introduced to hunting in col-
lege and started a cooking website called Food for Hunters. Since, she has written for numerous hunting and
outdoor magazines, and co-authored — with her husband, Rick Wheatley — the book “Hunting for Food:
Guide to Harvesting, Field Dressing and Cooking Wild Game.”
(This publication was funded by the Multistate Conservation Grant Program, a program supported with funds from the Wildlife
and Sport Fish Restoration Program and jointly managed by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the U.S. Fish
Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley and Wildlife Service.)

10 OFF THE BEATEN PATH