Cooking: Wild Turkey Breakfast Sausage

By MeatEater

Wild Turkey Apple Sausage Recipe

Ingrediants: 2 pounds skinless, boneless turkey legs (or a mix of legs and breast), cut into 1½-inch cubes 14 ounces thick-sliced bacon, cut into large pieces 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed 1 large onion, diced 2 medium sweet and tart apples, such as Honeycrisp, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 2 to 2½ tablespoons packed brown sugar, or to taste 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves 2 tablespoons kosher salt 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg Zest of 1 lemon

Freeze the turkey meat and bacon on a baking sheet for 30 to 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the apples and continue to cook until soft, 6 to 8 minutes.

Transfer to a large plate, spread in a thin layer, and let cool in the refrigerator.

Grind the turkey and bacon into a large bowl set over a large bowl of ice. Add the cooled onions and apples, the sugar, thyme, salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon zest. Mix well with your hands.

Pinch off a small bit of the sausage mixture and cook in a little oil in a skillet to test for seasoning. Adjust seasonings as necessary.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Form patties with a slightly wet hand. I like to make them 3 inches in diameter because they’re easy to throw on the grill or in a pan, but you can make them any size you want.

Cooking: Preheat a cast-iron pan over medium heat and put a little oil in the pan. Working in batches, sear the sausage patties until browned on both sides and cooked throughout, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

Note: To freeze, stuff sausage into poly meat bags in ½-pound or 1-pound quantities, depending on how many people you typically serve. You can find all the special equipment used for this recipe at Weston Cooking Game: Wild Turkey Apple Sausage brought to you by Weston.