How to Cook Morel Mushroom and Wild Turkey Focaccia

Editor’s Note: Field & Stream contributor, Chef Jean-Paul Bourgeouis, who developed this recipe for us, will be demonstrating his awesome wild-game cooking skills at the Outdoor Life–Field & Stream Expos later this year. Here is the schedule:

• Lakeland, Florida: July 24-26
• Madison, Wisconsin: Aug. 7-9, 2020
• Lansing, Michigan: Aug. 14-16, 2020
• Columbus, Ohio: Aug. 28-30, 2020

You can purchase tickets to the events here. Now, onto this awesome recipe…

Two of my favorite wild flavors of spring—fresh morel mushrooms and wild turkey meat—come together in this killer recipe for morel-turkey sausage flatbread. Now, if you don’t have much experience baking, don’t let this flatbread recipe intimidate you. Making focaccia is super easy, and only calls for a few ingredients that you likely already have in your kitchen. This is a perfect dish to cook for happy hour at hunting or fishing camp this spring.

Ingredients

For the Focaccia

• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1 tsp. dried rosemary)
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• Leaves from one sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 1/4 tsp. white sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 ½ cups fresh morel mushrooms (or 1 cup rehydrated morels), cleaned and halved
• 1/4 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the Wild Turkey Sausage

• 2 lbs. of wild turkey meat (use a mixture of white and dark), cubed
• 1 Tbsp. fennel seed, toasted
• 1 Tbsp. Chili flakes
• 1 ½ Tbsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. white sugar
• ½ tsp. pepper

Directions

1. Make the infused olive oil: In a medium skillet, combine the olive oil, garlic, chopped rosemary, and black pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes or until aromatic—but before the garlic browns. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Stir a few times, then let sit for about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of flour and ¼ cup of the infused olive oil to the bowl. Stir until the flour has moistened, then let sit for another 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 ½ cups of flour and season with salt. Fold the dough until it is smooth.

3. Coat the inside of a large bowl with olive oil, then place the dough inside the bowl. Cover the bowl with a warm, damp towel, and let the dough rise for 1 to 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

4. Meanwhile, make the turkey sausage: In a large bowl, mix the meat and all of the spices thoroughly. Place the mixture in the freezer for about 1 hour.

5. Set up your meat grinder, and pass the farce through a medium dye twice. Set aside 8 ounces of the sausage in a bowl, and place it in the refrigerator. (You can stuff the remaining sausage into a casing, or leave it uncased, and freeze it for a future recipe.)

6. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

7. Cook the morels: Heat 2 Tbsp. of olive oil in a skillet over medium. Sauté the morels until softened. Remove from heat and set aside.

8. Bake the focaccia: Oil a 9×13-inch rimmed baking dish with about ½ cup of the infused olive oil. Transfer the dough to the baking dish, pressing it down into the pan. Use your fingers to make dimples in the top of the dough to create pockets for the olive oil.

9. Top the focaccia dough with the onion slices, morels, and turkey sausage. Scatter the whole rosemary leaves on top, then finish with a drizzle of the rest of the infused olive oil.

10. Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

11. Let the focaccia cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before serving.