Spring turkey season is open for the month of May in New York State.  What better way to celebrate the season than with Wild Turkey Spring Rolls!

Wild Turkey Vietnamese-style Spring Rolls

Ingredients:

For the marinade:

• ¾ pound wild turkey breast meat, boneless & skinless
• 1 Tbsp. rice wine (or other) vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• ½ cup chicken or turkey stock
• 1 clove garlic
• Dash of cayenne pepper or sriracha sauce to taste
• Juice from half of a fresh lime

To assemble the spring rolls:

• 1 long carrot, cut like matchsticks
• 1 cucumber, cut like matchsticks
• Avocado, cut into long strips
• 8 whole leaves of romaine lettuce, washed and dried, torn in half on the long edge
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ½ cup chopped fresh mint or basil
• 8 rice pancake spring roll wrappers (found in Asian section of grocery store)
• Prepared Thai peanut dipping sauce or garlic chili sauce

Instructions:

Combine the vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, stock, garlic clove, cayenne or sriracha, and juice from half a lemon in a glass or ceramic bowl.  Add the meat and let marinate for some time (put meat in the refrigerator).  If using a pressure cooker the marinating time can be skipped.  Simply put the mixture in the pressure cooker pot and pressure cook for 20 minutes.  Remove meat from pressure cooker after it is done processing. Smash the garlic clove into the cooking juices and save this mixture. Shred meat with a fork.  Mix cooking juice mixture back into the meat to moisten the meat.  Alternatively, the meat can be marinated and then cut into long, thin strips and sautéed in a bit of olive oil over medium high heat until cooked through (about 8-10 minutes).

Assemble all of your vegetable ingredients.

Prepare rice pancake spring roll wrappers according to package instructions which usually requires a 20 second dip in very warm water to become pliable.  If soaked too long the rice wrapper will tear when rolling the ingredients. Place the prepared spring roll wrapper on a plate. Place two halves of lettuce on top of each other and place on the close edge of the spring roll wrapper. Place some cooked turkey on the lettuce leaf along with some carrot sticks, cucumber, avocado, and a sprinkle of herbs.  Roll the wrapper away from you around the romaine lettuce leaf with all the goodies and fold the left and right edges in when you reach the middle.  Continue to roll the wrap.  Repeat to use up the ingredients. Serve with either a Thai peanut sauce or an Asian Sesame garlic sauce or a swirl of both.  Makes about 8 spring rolls which are great as an appetizer or for a light dinner or lunch.