Turkey Legs

[PyroBoris]

Eeep not posted for ages but have very much continued the smoking adventure!

Did some Turkey legs on the UDS last sunday, been meaning to try them after eating some slow roasted ones (but not smoked) at a food event in Birmingham.

Picked up two whole (thigh and drumbranch, ...drumstick doesn't seem to cut it) frozen turkey legs from a local farm shop at £3 each!!

Brined them (my new favourite thing to do with poultry) in a 10% ish brine with bay leaves and black peppercorns for probably only about 2 hours and chucked them on the smoker for 4.5 to 5 hours at approx 240f. After some quick googling the target temp to aim for was around 73c, when we checked them they had hit 80-83c! So we shot way past but the meat was still lovely! Didn't taste any bay or peppercorns and the skin wasn't that great. However, the skinless parts developed a rather tasty bark!

So tips for next time - check the meat temp a bit earlier than 4.5 to 5 hours into the cook, remove the skin, add sugar to the brine and brine for 6-8 hours. Might put a rub on as well. To be honest, at £3 a go, I'll definitely be doing some experimentation!

Here is some turkey smoker porn

[JEC]

Nice legs

[aris]

I recently saw this recipe on AmazingRibs:

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/chicken_ ... _legs.html

Smoked turkey legs like you get at Disney.

[JEC]

I recently saw this recipe on AmazingRibs:

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/chicken_ ... _legs.html

Smoked turkey legs like you get at Disney.

That looks like it's worth a try.

[Simple-BBQ]

A nice pair of tanned legs, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and a camera. What a great night in!

I'm hearing lots of good things about brining. Is a 10% mix 1:10 weight for weight? And are you using regular table salt?

[PyroBoris]

I'm no brine master, but I used a basic brine table in the river cottage curing & smoking book to give me the approx values. So for poultry that's about 10% salinity, which is about 100g salt into 1 litre of water. I just use normal table salt at the moment...

We've taken to brining chickens for "normal" oven based sunday roasts, in my opinion they taste much better and are less prone to drying out!

And thanks for the Disney legs link aris! Will definitely be trying those!

[aris]

I Brine my Xmas turkey every year. Hasn't failed me. I just google a new recipe every year I then add aromatics like whole spices, orange juice (and the peel/zest), and sugar. All goes in a cooler with a load of ice for a few days.

The Disney legs basically are brined - but they add a bit of nitrite too which gives the pink colour inside. I will give them a go too sometime. Looks like a nice little extra to put on the smoker when you're cooking other stuff (and have space). Kids love those Flinstones size drumsticks!

[JamsCowbell]

I did a cranberry juice brine for my xmas turkey last year and it did turn out lovely, the legs were a waste of space though, I've never liked turkey legs - they seem so sinewy and horrible. They just ended up in stock so this year I'll probably just go with a crown.

[TakingtheBrisket]

I did a cranberry juice brine for my xmas turkey last year and it did turn out lovely, the legs were a waste of space though, I've never liked turkey legs - they seem so sinewy and horrible. They just ended up in stock so this year I'll probably just go with a crown.

I didnt brine mine turkey but i boned the double breast then used the leg and thigh meat as a breast stuffing. Rolled it up like a ballotine and smoked it for a couple of hours.


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[keith157]

I did a cranberry juice brine for my xmas turkey last year and it did turn out lovely, the legs were a waste of space though, I've never liked turkey legs - they seem so sinewy and horrible. They just ended up in stock so this year I'll probably just go with a crown.

The problem with the legs is that very few places pull the leg sinews anymore. A good old fashioned butcher will have a turkey hook, a V shaped wall mounted hook, to do this. We have had Kelly Bronze the last 2 years and the legs have been properly pulled and succulent.