When you harvest any animal, it’s more than just a meal — it’s a responsibility. As hunters, we have the unique opportunity to honor the animal by making full use of everything it offers. From cooking up some tasty turkey poppers to making use of the versatile feathers and strong bones, a wild turkey provides far more than just a tail fan. Here are some ideas of how to use every part of the bird — not just out of practicality, but out of respect for the harvest, the land, and the life taken.

Breasts & thighs are the biggest sources of food from a turkey. We definitely know how to utilize those! But if you are down for eating the giblets - those are also included in your harvest. They just aren’t conveniently cut and packaged like they are in the store :) .

If you’re not for eating the giblets, that’s ok! Your dog (or someone’s dog) is sure to like them. The giblets and feet make for nutritious dog treats & food toppers. That is, if you don’t want to save & dry the feet to accompany the tail fan. With the feet & organs, you can feed raw, freeze dry or dehydrate them. The organs without bones can be boiled. Other parts like the neck and feet shouldn’t be boiled, as the cooked bones can splinter.

If you have a dehydrator, you can also dehydrate the head as a really creepy looking dog treat.

Speaking of giblets, you’ll find a cool treasure in the gizzard: turkey stones! A cool & beautiful collectible, unique to each bird. Many people like to save them in a jar.

Once you’re left with the bones, skin, and scraps, you can turn that all into a super nutritious bone broth.

Before getting too far, make sure to grab a wingbone to make your very own unique turkey call from it.

Now for all things feathers. Most people I know like to save & dry the fan as a wall decoration. There’s also ways to go outside of the box and make decorative art from the fan.

Don’t forget the beard! Pluck that and save it to mount with your fan.

There’s an array of fly fishing ties you can use with all of the different feathers. The tail fan feathers, having a similar structure as a pheasant tail, can be used in place for that wide variety of patterns.

The primary feathers can be used as homemade arrow fletchings. The biots found on the primaries are great for fly tying to imitate insect bodies as well as wings & tails. As a more decorative use, they can also be used as a hat feather, or put in a flower bouquet to give it an outdoorsy touch.

The secondary feathers, or quills, can also be used for fly tying. Most commonly, “matched turkey quill slips” which use identical left wing and right wing feathers to make a symmetrical wing on the fly - so make sure to grab both!

Breast and marabou feathers are also very useful in fly tying, so if you’re into that make sure to hang on to all of these different types of feathers.

Product Review: Montana Knife Company Magnacut Speedgoat 2.0

Score: 10/10

This is THE perfect knife for any bird hunter. Light, well-balanced and easy to handle. It’s super sharp and precise, allowing me to get as much meat off of a bird as possible and minimizing waste. It’s built practically with the paracord handle and customizable sheath. The blade itself is very corrosion and chip resistant. I’ve never had a better knife!

I also have had great experiences with the customer service and love what this company stands for. I couldn’t recommend it more - totally worth every penny.

April Training Recap

April was BUSY with multiple trips and turkey hunting excursions. A few more rest days than normal, but still maintained quality in the work I was able to do. On the bright side, the time off wasn’t for illness or injury - just prioritizing hunting for a bit! In my experience, it’s a good thing to prioritize non-training things sometimes. You just have to pick and choose. For me, these few opportunities to do out-of-state hunting take the front seat over running. When I can train during them, I do, but when I can’t, I try not to stress about it.

This month, I ran some workouts on the snowy roads or track, where others I feared I was experiencing the first signs of heat exhaustion. It is wild how hot 50-60 degrees feels after running in cold temps the last few months. Almost every day seems windy this time of year, which is my least favorite condition to run through. This past season has really tested me in executing quality workouts in various conditions, but I know it’s an opportunity for mental strength.

At the end of the month, I was SO nervous to finally race a 10k, never having done one before. I had some slight doubts in my head with not having the “perfect” month of training behind me and that my goal was way out of reach. But I always lean back on the saying, “don’t give up before you even give yourself the chance to start”. 

The race was on April 26th - a road race in Minneapolis/St.Paul. My “reach goal” was 38:20 (6:10 avg), but really, I wanted to be under 40 minutes. Right from the start, I was cruising at 5:55-6:00 pace and just thought, “well, this is either going to be really awesome or hurt really bad”. Somehow I was able to maintain around a 6 minute pace and clock a finishing time at 37:28. The first 5k was 18:59 and the second was 18:29 - which is a 12 second 5k PR for me! It was all made possible with the help of Abby and some perfect race day conditions. I still can’t believe it! Such a great way to end my little “speed season”. I’m SO energised from this and excited for what’s ahead!!!