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Turkey Tails Are The Most Delicious Thing You Didn’t Even Know You Could Eat
At Sheldon Simeon’s Maui restaurant Lineage, the least familiar dish is the tastiest one.
It’s not every day you see turkey tails on a restaurant menu. But there they were at Lineage, the newest restaurant from chef Sheldon Simeon in Wailea, Maui, tossed in adobo and served with chunks of juicy tomato and sweet Maui onion. I didn’t even know you could cook and eat turkey tails! So naturally I had to try them, and it was mind-blowing. How did Simeon turn oily turkey organs into the most delicious, orange-chicken-esque dish? Here he breaks it down.
The Tail
Technically the oily gland that holds the turkey’s feathers together (don’t google it), the tail has long been a reliable cheap cut for Hawaii residents like chef Sheldon Simeon and his crew of Filipino cooks. They grew up eating the tails steamed in taro leaves for laulau or slicked in adobo sauce.
The Adobo
“We love adobo so much it’s scary,” Simeon says of his obsession with the staple Filipino sauce. He’s been tweaking his recipe for years, adding berbere to bring out the pepperiness and heat and holding back on the vinegar after sampling more soy sauce–forward versions. The result is a deeply rich adobo that you’ll want to steal a quart container of (not guilty).
At Sheldon Simeon’s Maui restaurant Lineage, the least familiar dish is the tastiest one.
It’s not every day you see turkey tails on a restaurant menu. But there they were at Lineage, the newest restaurant from chef Sheldon Simeon in Wailea, Maui, tossed in adobo and served with chunks of juicy tomato and sweet Maui onion. I didn’t even know you could cook and eat turkey tails! So naturally I had to try them, and it was mind-blowing. How did Simeon turn oily turkey organs into the most delicious, orange-chicken-esque dish? Here he breaks it down.
The Tail
Technically the oily gland that holds the turkey’s feathers together (don’t google it), the tail has long been a reliable cheap cut for Hawaii residents like chef Sheldon Simeon and his crew of Filipino cooks. They grew up eating the tails steamed in taro leaves for laulau or slicked in adobo sauce.
The Adobo
“We love adobo so much it’s scary,” Simeon says of his obsession with the staple Filipino sauce. He’s been tweaking his recipe for years, adding berbere to bring out the pepperiness and heat and holding back on the vinegar after sampling more soy sauce–forward versions. The result is a deeply rich adobo that you’ll want to steal a quart container of (not guilty).