Turkey Heart Fried Rice

More and more people have started to realize just how tasty deer heart is, but not many hunters think about saving the hearts from the birds they take, including wild turkeys. While they aren’t large, they do taste great and are just one more part of this spectacular bird that we can keep and use to feed our families.

Turkey hearts aren’t large, but they are flavorful and make for a great batch of fried rice.

Unless you are blessed enough to harvest a great many wild turkeys, you probably won’t have enough hearts to feed a full family as a main course, but recipes like this stretch even a couple hearts into enough food for everyone. Just have one or two? Go ahead and make it. Ask your hunting buddies to save theirs, then make a big batch for everyone the next time you get together.

Don’t have enough hearts for a recipe? Ask your buddies to save theirs too.

If you’ve ever wondered why takeout fried rice from your favorite restaurant tastes so much better than what you make at home, it’s probably a combination of things. For one, the technique they use is hot and fast. Keep your wok hot and move the ingredients in a near constant pattern. Second, use leftover long-grain rice that you cooked a day or two before and stored in the refrigerator. I’m sure someone has researched why leftover rice works better, but I haven’t. What I have done is made the dish with both freshly cooked rice and leftover rice. Trust me when I tell you there is no comparison in the finished product.

Using leftover rice for fried rice makes a better finished product.

There isn’t a lot of prep work required for your turkey hearts. Simply trim away the extra stuff at the top, then slice it in half and trim away the connective tissue from the interior. You are left with pure muscle meat. For this recipe, dice the meat into small bits so that it stretches throughout the fried rice.

Trim the hearts and dice into small bits.

Start by whisking the eggs with a quarter teaspoon each of soy sauce and sesame oil. Set them aside.

Beat the egg with soy sauce and sesame oil.

Dice the onion. Heat about a tablespoon of oil in your wok. When it dances and shimmers and starts to emit tiny wisps of smoke, give it a quick swirl. Add the onion and cook for 5-6 minutes or until it is soft and slightly caramelized. Remove the onion. Add another tablespoon of oil and swirl again before adding the egg. Cook the egg until scrambled and cooked through. Remove the egg from the wok and chop it.

Stir-fry the egg, then remove it from the wok.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok, if needed, then add the diced heart, cooked onion, diced green onion, carrots, and peas. Stir-fry until the heart is just cooked through and the carrots have softened.

Stir-fry the heart with the vegetables.

Add 4 cups of cooked white rice. Stir to blend all ingredients and cook until the rice has heated through.

Add the rice, then season.

Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, the chile oil, and 1 teaspoon of Accent brand flavor enhancer (MSG), optional. Stir well to blend.