I don’t really have “four seasons” in my life; instead, I have duck, turkey, mushroom, fishing, berries and big game seasons. This abundance in the Pacific Northwest is rare; It is one of the only places in the world rich enough in wild food to support a sedentary society without agriculture. Think about that: tribes in the Northwest did not need agriculture to be self-supporting. Nor did they need to move. They could forage, hunt and fish for everything they needed. 

The forager and the hunter are two sides of the same coin. Combining the foraged and the hunted is the oldest culinary combination in history. For this recipe, I used a wild turkey my son shot in North Idaho, combined with blackberries foraged from a local creek and elderberries from my busted huckleberry location. This recipe combines three events in my life – making it all the more delicious. You can use ordinary waffles as the base of the dish, but I recommend taking the time to make these whole wheat, banana and coconut versions. This is not a light and fluffy waffle recipe. These waffles are dense with some awesome flavor and I know you’ll enjoy them.

Fried Turkey With Waffles & Wild Berry Syrup 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 lb. wild turkey breast, sliced ¼-inch thick

Cooking Instructions:

1. Heat deep fryer to 350°,or a skillet with one inch of oil until hot (pro tip, you are ready to fry in a skillet if a wooden spoon causes bubbles when you stick it into the oil).
2. Mix the flour, sesame seeds, red chili flakes, salt and pepper in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Place sliced turkey in milk. Then roll the wet turkey in the flour mix until well covered. Place slices on a flat surface that is lightly dusted with flour.
3. When you are done breading all the slices, fry about half the slices at a time until GB&D – aka Golden Brown and Delicious. (They should be 165°Fon the inside.)

Banana Coconut Waffle 

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup whole wheat waffle mix
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 cup water
• Pan spray

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat the waffle iron you prefer using.
2. Place banana, coconut, waffle mix, canola oil and water in a blender. Puree until smooth.
3. Spray the waffle iron with oil. Add the waffle mix and cook for 4-5 minutes. (Note: this is not a light and fluffy waffle recipe – this is a dense waffle with some awesome flavor.)

Elderberry and Blackberry Syrup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ cup water
• 3 cups elderberries
• 1 cup blackberries

Cooking Instruction:

1. Bring sugar, lemon juice and water to a boil. Add the elderberries and blackberries to the mix. Simmer for 10 minutes, until the mix has broken down the blackberries and the syrup is a dark purple. This is a great recipe for canning. Follow canning instructions per manufacturing directions.

Bring it all together

Time the waffles and the chicken to finish at about the same time. Instead of butter, I use peanut butter on the waffles. Stack two waffles and garnish them with ¼ cup elderberry/blackberry syrup. Stack the fried turkey on top. Enjoy! 

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