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Turkey Wing Bone Call - Build-a-long (added Soup Recipe)

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ber643:
I have been asked/invited to do this build-a-long here and it is my pleasure. I had done one about a year ago on another forum and I want to see if it will transfer well. So I am going to start this one off with the same preliminary info I preceeded that one with. I will try to catch any corrections (between the two sites - three sites now) that are needed as they come up but, if I miss some, please bear with me. This transfer process should save a lot of time.

Well, good then, guys, it'll be my pleasure. I'll try to kick it off in the next day or two here. In the meantime here's some preliminary info:

A lot of folks like ones made from the bones of wild birds better but it really makes little or no difference, IMO. So you can buy a pack of just plain turkey wings at WallyWorld. They come in two, four, or six packs, I believe - or you can go whole hog, and buy the "Big Bird". Oh, generally speaking, the difference (because of size) is that the holes in the wild wings are smaller, so it makes for a lower volume, higher pitched call. I think that's why folks like them better. However, you can controll the domestic calls to produce the same results, by practice. The same folks also say Hen Turkey wings are better than Gobblers/Jakes - for pretty much the same reason, IMO. They may be right, I certainly would never argue the point - too many folks with way more experience than I, and the NH pair that I made and kept one of, is made from a Bearded Hen  so go figure. The best thing about any Turkey Wing Bone call though, is that not everyone has one - so you will make a different "sound" with one, than the birds in your area have gotten used to, and that therefore they tend to ignore. You can accomplish that same thing with whatever bones your call is made with. The more you practice, the better you get (and the more your wife and dogs will probably hate you - unless you go outside 
How do you use one? The same way you puff on a pipe to light it - as simple (and as hard) as that. Cup the bell (or end) of the call in your two hands and put the other end between your lips (I use the side of my lips). SUCK IN, making the puffing (or kissing, or like calling a kitty - whichever explains it to you best) action. You controll the volume and distance by opening and closing your hands around the bell - like using a Trap or hat on a trumpet (or whistling with cupped hands in that manner). Here is a pic of me using one, hope it helps (they are with my old camera though - sorry - the actual build-a-long will be with my newer camera.):

 

Here are the NH ones I mentioned above (with "The Old man In The Mountain", a long standing State symbol, painted on them - I don't usually get that fancy but these were special for me, and a surprise for the "Home Boy" who sent me the Bearded Hen wings):

 

OK, it looks like it is going to work well (with corrections - LOL) so, I will move along, shortly. with the actual Build-a-long and pics.

Also meant to tell you of another way to practice (and some folks even use them as calls), if (or while) you don't have an actual bone call. Use either a "sip straw"/Coffee stir stick (the ones made like a small straw) or an empty ball point pen barrel (thin pen) - use it as in the instructions above for the Wing Bone Call. Of course, what you are after is hen yelp sounds, BTW and I think rythm is perhaps more important than perfect sound.  Different hens sound different too. Also very serviceable calls can be made this same basic way with two or three graduated sizes of old carbon rod (arrows) pieces, or River Cane pieces. I'll try to remember to show one later.

My next post will be (or include) the start of the actual work. Thanks for looking and reading.

ber643:
OK, I'm set to continue (or start). First let me say the beginning may seem a little slow, or overdone. The reason is, I had a little trouble with that (identifiing and getting the right bones), and apparently other folks do too. So, I am going to spend extra time and pics on this part. The first pic is of a pair of Domestic wings - they could be wild wings, with feathers on, and you would be looking at the underside, where the feathers are thin. You would open the wing meat the same way as we will here. You could also be starting out with bones that already have most of the meat removed (or have been cooked already). Just use the pictures where your parts fit in to start out.




Here you see the three sections that make up the wings. Remember you will discard the wing tip (except for soup making - it's great for that). The three bones you want come from the two sections at the top of the pic, or the two closest to the body of your bird (the top one is the part some folks tend to break or discard, or leave attached to the bird IN ERROR). That top section has one large bone and it will be the bell/trumpet of your call, if you use one. The second section contains two (parralell) bones and they are your other two bones (smallest is mouthpiece, larger is second/middle bone), or they will be your only two if you are not using a bell, or are using an alternative bell. You will see all of these things more clearly (hopefully) in later pictures.
 
 
Next - A sharp knife (I'm using one of my "yard sale specials", an Oldtimer sheath 1560T) to cut the meat along the top of the larger of the two parrallel bones in prepparation for de-boning:



Like so:

 

Sever the wing tip at the joint (to discard or toss in the soup pot) and open the meat more around the two bones in that second section:



Sever the joint between the Second and First (one that was closest to body - remember?):

 

and separate the two sections (Sorry it's fuzzy - Probably either Rose or I started to pass out - ):

 

Next you can slit the first sections meat on top of the single large bone, and debone (cut most all the meat away from) both sections - you'll end up with these two piles of meat and the two sections bones:

 
_________________

Now separate the two parrallel bones (cut and/or pull - but don't break either of these bones - you'll want the full length - more or less), and now you have your 3 bones for your call. The big one is the one that folks, or their "arrow", sometimes breaks - the good news is you don't need full length here so sometimes you can salvage a "bell" from a busted bone:

 

This next step you can do before you "cook" your bones or after - both ways have their pros and cons. You are going to cut the "bulbs" (ends) off both ends of all 3 of your bones (beyond you see the deboned sections of the second wing). If you do it before you cook, the bones are more slippery to handle with your hacksaw or Dremel Tool, etc., but it allows the boiling water to get to the marrow better, I think. The one end of the middle bone somehow snuck out of the picture frame - but it's there - honest!:

 

If you cut the knobs off after you cook, it's a little less messy (I do my cutting while reaching inside a tall kitchen trash can with bag inserted, either way - the wife appreciates it  ). Here I am going to tell you that I vary from a lot of folks with two things I do. Sometimes I cook twice (it's not so much cooking as cleaning and removing meat and marrow), and I don't even worry about getting too straight a cut with the Dremel the first time as you will probably have to modify the cuts later, for best fit, when you assemble the bones.

Now for the cooking: How and when you do this depends on if you are making (or have already made) soup or not, and if you like the bones whiter or not. Anyway, what I perfer is this way. once I get my bones ready for the final (sometimes second) cooking. You will only let them boil about 5-8 minutes this time in any case - that's a pretty good rule for any boiling except actually cooking soup. (So far, I don't see any problem with bones cooked longer in soup making, but with the hydrogen peroxide boilings - better safe than sorry). Put bones in sauce pan (that your wife says is OK to use ) cover with water and add a decent dollop (aprox 1/2 cup or less, depending on quantity of bones, of course) of plain old household hydrogen peroxide (the kind you clean the wounds you made on your hands, while you were deboning, with). It's cheap and safe. Bring to boil - watch it, so it won't boil over on the stove, cut back on heat a little and boil the 5 to 8 mins mentioned earlier. Drain and rinse well, then cover with water again and shake in a decent amount of Baking Soda (to stop any further bleaching) and let set overnight. Drain, rinse again (maybe two or three times), and dry. Now you will clean out the insides of the bones - the best way you can find to do it. I use a pocket knife (with lock-back blade), a bodkin (darning needle epoxied into a small dowel), my mouth (to BLOW - DO NOT SUCK - from force of habit because of practicing using these calls - ugh! You'll probably only make that mistake once - maybe twice if your real hardheaded - or forgetful), and pipe cleaners (large and small). There is some amount of fine bone "webbing" in some bones and ends of some bones. If this is stubborn, as it sometimes is, you may have to get inventive and use a Dremel tool with different bits, a chainsaw file, a stick of dynamite, you know - whatever .

Your bones should now look like this - no matter at which stage you boiled them, or in what state of dress, or undress, they were to start out; this is pretty much what you want at this stage. This is two sets (two wings, two potential calls) The messy part is pretty much done with now:

 

Sorry about the glare - it was late at night and I couldn't seem to controll the flash .

 (I'll be back and continue transfering the next stage later today)

Pat B:
Cool Bernie. Not only are you showing us the build-along but maybe you have a recipe for turkey wing soup.  ;D  Looking forward to following this build-along. I made a switch cane call a few years ago just fooling around. Sounded pretty good too.     Pat

Otoe Bow:
Rats.  I was going to look at this while at lunch here at work.  For some reason, the pictures are showing up as boxes with little "Xs" in them.  Guess I'll have to wait until I get home.  Thanks for adding the build along. 

Otoe

John K:
Lookin good Bernie !  I'll be following this one...... John

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