Fried Wild Turkey Gizzards with Bacon, Onions, and Mushrooms

Although most turkey hunters keep the breast, legs and thighs from their birds, those aren’t the only parts of a turkey that will make a good dinner. If you are a fan of chicken gizzards, you will enjoy wild turkey gizzards as well. This recipe combines crispy fried gizzards with bacon, onions, and mushrooms to make a meal.

Fried wild turkey gizzards with bacon, onions and mushrooms are a great way to combine an often unused part of your turkey into a great meal. Images by Michael Pendley.

As an added bonus, the gizzard, used by the turkey to grind food before it is digested, is full of small stones that make a nice little trophy from each bird you tag.

As an added bonus, you can save the stones from your turkey gizzards as an interesting trophy.

Because a turkey pecks stones from the area he inhabits to fill his gizzard, the stones will vary in color and type depending on where you harvest the bird. Here’s how to harvest the stones from your next turkey. Don’t worry if you don’t have enough turkey tags to make a meal. Just ask your family and hunting buddies to save you their gizzards. I use about four to five gizzards for this one. With the onions and mushrooms, its enough to feed two to four people as a main course or five to seven as an appetizer.

Turkey gizzards can look a bit intimidating straight from the bird, but they are easy to clean. Here’s a step by step guide on how to do it.

Straight from the turkey, gizzards can look intimidating. Don’t worry, they are easy to clean.

When you have your gizzards cleaned, cut them up into bite-sized chunks.

Cut the cleaned gizzards into bite-sized pieces.

While you clean and prep the gizzards, slice up the bacon and get it started rendering in a large skillet. When the bacon is crisp, remove it from the pan, leaving the drippings behind. Coat the gizzards in your favorite seasoned flour. For me, that is Kentucky Kernel brand. Or season all-purpose flour to your preferences.

Coat the gizzards in seasoned flour.

Brown the gizzards on all sides in the bacon drippings. Don’t overcook; a few minutes per side until they are crispy and golden all the way around is plenty.

Remove the fried gizzards from the skillet and add the chopped onions. Cook until soft, and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Saute the onions and mushrooms.

When the onions begin to soften, add the sliced mushrooms. I went with shiitake for this batch because I like their meaty texture. Use whatever mushroom you like or what you forage from your area. As the mushrooms start to soften, check for seasoning, and season again with salt and pepper, if needed. Remember that the gizzards and bacon are both slightly salty, so don’t go overboard.

Return the gizzards and bacon to the pan, and saute to heat everything through.

When the mushrooms are soft and the onions have caramelized, return the gizzards and bacon to the pan. Stir gently to combine, and distribute the gizzards throughout the onions and mushrooms.