RAPID CITY - It will be a Thanksgiving to remember when carving a turkey brought in from the wild.

A $15 dollar license and a good day of walking will capture the best wild turkey served as a smoked delicacy, hearty jerky or even as a centerpiece at the holiday feast.

A little wilderness, a little stealth and a good shot are all that is needed from now until Jan. 31, 2008, when hunters stalk their favorite turkey hang-outs for a chance to nab these organic, range-fed birds, which are considered big game in hunting circles.

Verma Stehly, senior secretary at Rapid City Regional Game, Fish & Parks office, noted that the bird quota for the license is one turkey.

"You can get up to five licenses," she said.

Both Stehly and Luke Meduna, a GFP resource biologist, agreed that these birds are significantly leaner than their tubby domesticated cousins. Cooks need to pay special attention to this when preparing wild turkey for any meal. To seal in moisture, Meduna roasts his turkey sealed inside an oven bag.

"The biggest thing is not to cook it as long because wild turkey doesn't have near the fat (as a commercial one)," Meduna said.

The Nebraska native usually takes his shotgun or bow out to hunt his favorite wild turkey roost each year.

"I've skinned a couple, but I've plucked the last few," he said of cleaning and dressing the turkeys.

It's a fairly simple process, according to Meduna.

With shears, twine and blow torch, he begins the process by tying the turkey's feet together and securely hanging it upside down. He then picks the feathers, which come out fairly easy; for those hard-to-pull hairs and pin feathers, he uses a blow torch to singe them away.

After plucking the feathers, he guts it then shears off the wings, head and legs leaving the drumsticks. The dressed carcass is thoroughly washed and then refrigerated.

"Cooling it in the refrigerator is part of properly handling and processing the turkey," he said.

Mike Stocklin of Faith prefers to skin out his wild turkeys.

"Once I have them, I dress them on the field. By the time I get home, it's just better to skin them rather than pluck them," Stocklin said.

Stocklin, 52, belongs to the Faith chapter - Fox Ridge Gobblers - of the National Wild Turkey Federation. The Fox Ridge Gobblers recently decided to close its annual banquet and silent auction.

"We did it for six years. We have a small community here … A number of things happened and we decided it was time to get out. We won't be doing it anymore," he said of the annual event. Yet, turkey hunting is a big tradition in the area.

Stocklin hunted wild turkey regularly since the mid-1970s, using his favorite turkey call and homemade bows and arrows. It's been awhile since he's gone out to his turkey haunts for some good bow hunting. Yet, he remembers all the essentials for a good turkey dinner.

Because the bird is so lean, Stocklin adds apples and onions to the roaster and inside the turkey along with a cup of water for moisture.

"If you cooked it in a Dutch oven, add one cup of water, add two or three apples cut in halves or quarters thrown in and several onions cut in half or quartered to add to the flavor," he said. He also lays strips of bacon across the turkey, too.

"It will add flavor and moisture to the turkey," he said.

A competent cook in the kitchen, Stocklin's rule of thumb for roasting is to cook every pound of wild turkey for 30 minutes in a 350-degree oven. A 15-pound wild turkey could roast for more than four hours in the oven, but check a reliable instant-read thermometer for doneness.

He has a wild turkey lunchtime favorite that he pops into the oven before leaving for work.

Using a 4-pound turkey fillet wrapped in mesquite-smoked bacon strips, seasoned to taste with garlic salt or season-all salt, Stocklin adds a can of mushroom soup to the roaster. He then roasts the fillet at 200- to 250-degrees in the oven for four hours. Add some rice to it and you've got a pretty good dinner, he said.

"The slow-roasting keeps it from drying out and the bacon adds a smoky taste to the meat," Stocklin said.

"It's still turkey, but with a smoky flavor," he added.

Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com.