Sean Sherman’s Turkey and Mushroom Stew

Turkey and Mushroom Stew

Serves 4 to 6

This recipe is from Sherman’s cookbook, “Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America”

• 2 fresh sassafras roots from saplings, cleaned, or 1 teaspoon dried sassafras bark
• 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped Virginia pine needles or white pine needles
• 1 ounce dried mixed wild mushrooms
• 3 cups boiling water
• 3 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 large whole turkey leg (leg and thigh) or 2 turkey thighs or 3 turkey drumsticks 
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 large carrot, scrubbed well and chopped
• 1 cup fresh wild mushrooms, such as oyster or hen of the woods, very thinly sliced
• 1 heaping teaspoon filé powder
• 1/4 cup tender wild greens (such as chickweed, lamb’s quarters, plantain, dandelion, or wood sorrel), coarsely chopped, for garnish
• Sea salt
• Corn mush (optional), for serving

PREPARATION: Combine sassafras and pine needles in a tea bag or tied cheesecloth. Place tea bag in large bowl with dried mushrooms and boiling water, and let steep. Set aside. In large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Season turkey with salt and sear for 8 to 12 minutes on one side, until browned. Flip and repeat on second side. Transfer turkey to a plate. Reduce heat to medium and spoon off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Add onion, garlic and carrot to pot. Cook for 5 minutes or until onion is translucent. Remove tea bag from steeping liquid and squeeze out liquid. Pour rehydrated mushrooms and infused liquid into the pot, avoiding any grit settled at bottom of bowl. Return turkey leg to pot and add water as needed so turkey is three-quarters submerged. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 1.5 to 2 hours, until meat pulls away from bone. Then, in a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add fresh mushrooms and cook about 8 minutes, stirring until brown. After turkey simmers, transfer leg to a bowl to cool. Increase heat under pot to high and cook until liquid thickens and reduces to 1.5 cups. Meanwhile, pull turkey meat from bones and add to pot (discarding bones). Add the cooked mushrooms and filé powder and cook, stirring, until liquid thickens. Plate with corn mush and wild greens, if desired, and serve.

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To read about the Native cooks that are keeping their culinary traditions alive in Florida, click here.

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