Anyone eaten a Bush Turkey?

[darcy]

Anyone? I hear they taste quite good. I thnk they are protected up in QLD but are really common around Brisbane. I would think to get a license to breed them in captivity and grow the chicks for eating would be a much better way of celebrating xmas over here, stuffed with wild herbs of course

[eataust]

I _believe_ - don't quote me on this - that someone in Victoria used to raise them for eating ... ?

The main hassle with raising them, that I can see, is those enormous mounds (is that the same crittur?) they need to incubate the eggs. You'd never be able to breed them just for the unfertilised eggs, I don't think, and you'd need a lot of space to breed them.

But given their apparent size, it makes a lot of sense to raise them.

I've been thinking about this sort of thing a lot lately, actually. For eg, if I have a flock of maned ducks on my property and I start raising and eating them, am I breaking the law? If so, why? And how do I go about making native, non-endangered animals such as wild versions of creatures domesticated overseas (ducks and geese in particular, but also turkeys, quail, etc) legal for raising and eating?

I've just bought myself a copy of Tukka, by Jean-Paul Bruneteau, who appears to have pioneered bush tucker restaurants in the late 70s and 80s in Sydney, and he speaks of the Cape Barren and Magpie Goose industry as on the way to well-established, as well as the wallaby and kangaroo. What happened? Is it eay for me to get Cape Barren Goose?

I shall make it my purpose to find out.

Can people in the various capital cities find out what native game birds they can get around the place and let us know where? For eg, I got emu in the Vic Markets with NO hassles; one week's notice, same as any other game bird. And it was whole and cost the same as any other bird.

I can do that in Sydney - and heaven knows, I tried.

But now I'll look for other birds.

[darcy]

I think it might be like what happens with crocs. I saw a show on them last week and one croc that died in a croc park was skinned but the skin could not be sold or used for profit, etc. Only crocs bred in captivity can be used for meat or skin. So if you could get a license for a breeding pair and then use the chicks for meat it should be allowed.

There's a big emu farm up here on the highway, there's gotta be about 500 birds in there. I think they sell meat as we can get it in a local butcher, plus croc too.

[sammyringer]

Hey guys - it's illegal to kill scrub (brush) turkeys! So I guess you must be talking about road kill....
Sammy

[eataust]

Well, really I think we're talking "what if" :)

[sammyringer]

Well, really I think we're talking "what if"

If that's the case I have the recipe - put turkey in boiling water with two stones for an hour. Throw out turkey. Eat stones.
Sammy

[eataust]

*grin* I thought that was parrot stew??! :)

[Bones6]

I just found this old thread so though I would add my two cents.

I've eaten bush turkey Araeotis kori or Australian bustard. It is a great favourite of the Kokatha, Wirangu & Mirning People of SA & WA. The people at Oak Valley community (North West of Maralinga) shared some with me.

I found it a bit tough and couldn't bring myself to try what was considered the choicest cut which was the very lightly cooked crop, much to the amusement of the guys I was working with.

The Anagu up that way call it Gibra and told me that you can sometimes find opals in its crop and that the best time to find or hunt it is when there is a locust plauge.

[seedplanter]

I'd give it another go...

[darcy]

welcome malcom

True, i think it would be better if you were allwoed to keep a breeding pair and raise them like chickens , turkeys, etc for meat. I was thinking of an alternative to the christmas turkey, in an oz style... stuff it with bunya nuts and lemon myrtle.

[eataust]

Baby emu would be excellent for that. I _have_ eaten "baby" emu (it iS the size of a turkey, but much more tender) and it was delicious :)

[Bray]

I've heard that you have to cook brush turkeys very well since they've got a LOT of worms and other parasites, and if you watch them scratching around in the leaf-litter and see some of the things they eat you can understand why! But hell yeah, I'd still eat them!!!

Another bird that's full of worms is the pheasant coucal (a very large, tropical cuckoo). I was talking to a farmer who'd eaten one that was roadkill - he didn't recommend it! Again, it's not hard to see why because they themselves eat roadkill and rotting carrion and stuff.

[eataust]

So how could one go about domesticating such animals for home consumption? I'd be game :) (haha, game birds. Er, sorry :) ).

[EliYah]

my dad ate a bush turkey once, he said it was very good. I would eat one as well if i had the opportunity. We had a pet one hanging around our house and i couldn't kill it because it was like a pet but if i was out in the bush hunting i might be inclined to take one. Another very good tasting native bird is wood duck, and all the native doves and pigeons are also very nice eating. I tried eating cookatoo and galah but they didn't taste so good.

[eataust]

I'd be happy to give wood duck a go if we ended up with a semi-regular flock at our place and we had half a chance of semi-domesticating it. I want to keep ducks anyway so might as well keep natives. 'sides, wood ducks are cute and chatty :)