How to Stuff and Cook Newfoundland Turr aka Murre

Newfoundland Turr also known as Murre is a salt water bird that can dive up to 600 feet for food. People hunt Turr or Murre in the cold Atlantic Ocean. They resemble a Penguin and the meat is dark and tasty. Here’s a great article from the New York Times, if you want to know more.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/04/world/americas/hunting-turr-in-newfoundland-frigid-waters.html

I also managed to find a cool YouTube video on the hunt from Newfoundland Sportsman! Check it out:

This Tried and True recipe comes from a number of sources. Being my first time baking Turr I decided to ask around the community to see how people prefer to cook it. I heard all kinds of stories like cooking it in Coca Cola, adding turnip, salt pork, beach rocks etc.

What I did was combine everyone’s thoughts and came up with a recipe on my own you can watch me make it here recipe to follow:

The recipe was very good, this is what it looked like after it was finished cooking. My Father in law cleaned the bones he thought it was amazing! So glad to be able to prepare it for him.

As you can see, the bird is quite dark in color it has a very unique flavor and texture ; not like chicken at all that’s for sure. It was more dense and had a deep rich flavor, absolutely unique.

In order to make this delicious tried and true recipe you will need the following ingredients:

Ingredients:

• For the stuffing:
• 5 cups or more of stale bread crumbs
• a small onion
• 1 & 1/2 Tablespoons of Mt. Scio Savoury
• 3 Tablespoons of butter
• salt and pepper

Sauté onions in butter. While your onions are cooking, combine the other ingredients and when the onions are translucent, add to the bread crumb mixture just to combine.

For The Turr:

• 2 Turr
• Salt and pepper
• a couple slices of bacon optional
• a can of Carnation Evaporated milk
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• turnip
• onion
• carrot and potato if desired

Method:

The day before cooking Place marinate Turr overnight or for a few hours in milk and lemon juice it helps tenderize the meat. This step is totally optional but would make for a more tender bird.

The Next day. Make stuffing as directed above. Place Turr on a rack in a large roasting pan. Stuff the cavities of the Turr and wrap each one with 2 slices of bacon if desired.

Add Salt and pepper to taste, and then arrange your turnip around the Turr. This helps to absorb some of the “gamey” taste as some say. It absolutely does, as the flavor of the Turr permeated all the vegetables including the carrot and potato.

After placing turnip add another onion. I just quartered mine as you saw in the video. I also added rosemary to mine, that is totally optional not a necessity. My plant was in dire need of a pruning.

Add a small amount of water to your roasting pan and place uncovered in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 cover with aluminum foil and bake for another 3 hours or so.

As I say in the video, Uncle Shawn tells me that someone once told him to place a really smooth beach rock in the pan and when that was cooked so was the Turr. Too funny! He meant that it takes a very long time to cook despite their size of about 2 pounds each.

I really do hope you can get your hands on a Turr or two it has a very unique flavor and texture for that matter as you can see in the above image.

Perhaps one day, you’ll get to visit this beautiful place I call home and can manage to, at the very least get a feed of Turr for yourself.

We are blessed to be living in such a beautiful place with an abundance of wild resources right at our fingertips. I could have possibly added a few juniper berries as well they grow everywhere around my place.

Heres a link if you want to visit:

https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/

I am also adding a link for Mt. Scio Savoury its grown right here in Newfoundland and there really is no substitute. Summer savory is close but its not Mt. Scio.

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=129d0fff1ff04a22b9c1dc3fca4ce6ac

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