Spicy Turkey Legs Recipes

ROASTED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Fit a rimmed roasting pan with a roasting rack and spray the rack with avocado oil spray.
• Pat the turkey legs dry with paper towels. Brush them all over with melted butter and rub with the seasoning mix. Place on the roasting rack and lightly spray with avocado oil.
• Roast, uncovered, for 20 minutes, until the skin is browned.
• Loosely cover with foil, to avoid scorching the top, and continue roasting until the juices run clear when pierced with a fork and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F (make sure it isn't touching the bone), about 30 more minutes.
• Remove the turkey legs from the oven and allow them to rest, still covered in foil, for 10 minutes before serving. Do not skip this step - it allows the internal temperature to climb a bit more, and the juices to redistribute and settle.

SPICY TURKEY THIGHS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, beat together butter, Old Bay, and lemon juice. Rinse turkey thighs and pat dry with paper towels. Gently slip your fingers between skin and meat to loosen skin. Evenly spread butter mixture under skin of each thigh. Season thighs with salt and pepper.
• Place turkey thighs in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and roast until skin is crispy and brown and juices run clear when meat is pierced with a knife (an instant-read thermometer should read 165 when inserted in thickest part of a thigh, avoiding bone), 35 to 40 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

MAPLE MUSTARD ROASTED TURKEY THIGHS

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350F.
• In a small saucepan add the butter and melt over medium high heat. Add the rosemary, thyme, smoked paprika, dijon mustard, maple syrup and stir. Bring to a boil then remove from heat.
• Score the skin of the turkey thighs. Season your turkey thighs with salt and pepper. Pour about 3/4 of the maple/mustard mixture over the thighs and toss.
• Add the water to a roasting pan, then add the onion, celery, carrots, rosemary, and thyme. Place a roasting rack in the pan.
• Place the turkey thighs, skin side up, on the rack and brush with remaining maple/mustard glaze.
• Roast for 2 hours or until the internal temperature reads 175-180F, basting every 30 minutes with the juices from the pan.
• Remove from the oven and cover the thighs with aluminum foil. Let them rest for 10 minutes before slicing them.

SLOW COOKER TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Wash the turkey legs, and shake off excess moisture. Sprinkle each turkey leg with about 1/2 teaspoon of poultry seasoning, salt, and black pepper to taste. Wrap the leg tightly in aluminum foil. Repeat with remaining legs.
• Place the wrapped turkey legs into a slow cooker with no liquids or other ingredients. Set the cooker to Low, and cook until the meat is very tender, 7 to 8 hours.

HOT & SPICY TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Divide drumsticks between 2 large bowls or shallow dishes. In a smaller bowl, whisk remaining ingredients until blended. Add 3/4 cup marinade to drumsticks, dividing evenly between the bowls. Turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade., Preheat oven to 375°. Remove drumsticks from marinade to a foil-lined 15x10x1-in. baking pan; discard marinade in bowls., Bake, covered, 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 45-60 minutes longer or until a thermometer reads 175°, basting occasionally with reserved marinade.

SPICY TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the first 11 ingredients; set aside 1/4 cup for basting. Draw remaining marinade into a flavor injector. In several areas of each drumstick, inject a total of 2 tablespoons (or 1 oz.) of marinade into the meat while slowly pulling out the needle., Place drumsticks on a foil-lined 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Cover and bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake until a thermometer reads 180°, 45-55 minutes longer, basting occasionally with reserved marinade.

CAVEMAN POPS (AKA ROASTED TURKEY LEGS)

Steps:

• In a pot, combine water with the salt, sugar, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons seasoning blend, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil then remove from heat. Allow to cool, then pour into a large container or bowl filled with ice. When mixture is cold, submerge turkey in the brine. Cover the container and brine in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours, more if you have time.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the dry rub ingredients. Remove the turkey legs from the brine and rinse them under cold water. Pat them dry. Rub the dry rub all over the turkey legs, getting under the skin when you can.
• Roast on a baking sheet in the oven for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 300 and roast for another 15 minutes, or until turkey is cooked through. (Update: larger legs will require longer cooking time.)
• Remove them from oven and wrap the bottom of the legs with aluminum foil for serving.
• Dig in!

SWEET AND SPICY SMOKED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Ingredients: ½ gallon water, 1 quart buttermilk, ¾ cup coarse kosher salt, and ½ cup dark brown sugar (light will work).
• Place the water into a gallon sized pitcher.
• Add the salt and stir until the salt dissolves
• Add the buttermilk and brown sugar and stir again for about 30 seconds to combine.
• Set the brine aside while you get the turkey legs out of the package.
• Remove the turkey legs from the package and place them into a ziptop bag or a lidded plastic/glass container.
• Pour enough brine over the turkey legs to cover them completely.
• Place a lid on the container then refrigerate the brining container for about 10 hours.
• When the turkey legs are finished brining, remove them from the brine and rinse them really well under cold water.
• Drizzle olive oil over the drumsticks then spread it all over with your hands or a brush.
• Sprinkle Jeff's rub on all sides of the turkey drumsticks
• Set up your smoker for cooking at about 225-240°F.
• If your smoker has a water pan, use it.
• Once the smoker is going and maintaining the proper temperature, place the turkey legs on the grate.
• It is best to monitor the temperature using a digital probe meat thermometer.
• Once the turkey legs reach 165 °F in the thickest part, they are done and should be removed from the heat right away.
• Immediately wrap the smoked turkey legs in foil individually and let them sit and rest for about 10 minutes before serving them.
• Where can I find the giant turkey legs? Unfortunately, I have not been successful at finding the really big ones like you see at state fairs and amusement parks. The folks who do have them, do not give up their suppliers so, for the purpose of use lowly backyarders, I think we are going to have to stick with the smaller ones found at our local supermarkets.
• Should I dry the skin on the turkey legs? Some folks dry the skin (in the fridge) after brining them and before smoking them. This is to make the skin end up more crispy. I don't normally administer this step but it does not hurt anything if you want to try it out. Simply brine the legs as usual, then pat them dry and place them on a rack. Let them air dry in the fridge for several hours before putting my rub on them and smoking them.
• Can these turkey legs be injected instead of brined? Of course you can, but, in my opinion, the flavor is not the same. When I eat a turkey leg, I am looking for a slightly salty and highly flavorful taste. In my opinion, injecting just does not do the job like brining does. The next time you do a batch, inject one of them and brine the rest. You will be able to see the difference and make a decision as to whether injected smoked turkey legs are for you.
• Can the turkey legs be smoked at a hotter temperature? Turkey, like most other poultry, does not benefit greatly from low and slow cooking other than the fact that it gets more time in the smoke. If you need to smoke them faster, you can certainly do that just be aware that if you take it past about 260°F, the sugar in the rub will burn and char. I tend to do them lower to give them more smoke flavor and to make sure my rub maintains it's great flavor without burning.

TURKEY LEGS WITH A SPICY SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a deep pan on the stove. Sear the turkey legs from all sides until they turn golden brown. Season with salt and black pepper. Chop the onion and garlic finely.
• Add the onion and garlic to the turkey legs and saute them as well. Pour the chicken stock, add half a glass of beer, reduce the heat and let it simmer.
• Once the stock is reduced, add the tomato puree, the cardamon seeds and a pinch of cinnamon . Add a teaspoon of paprika and some cayenne pepper if you wish.
• Sprinkle the raisins, but leave a few for decoration. Slice the green apple and add it to the pan. Season with salt and pour the remaining beer.
• Place the turkey legs in a preheated oven to 340°F (170 degrees) for an hour.
• Garnish with some raisins and serve
• Enjoy

GRILLED TURKEY LEGS WITH SPICED MARINADE

Steps:

• In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, vinegar, sugar, and spices (paprika, basil, salt, garlic, mustard powder, cinnamon, cayenne, onion powder, and turmeric).
• Place turkey legs in a plastic bag. Pour marinade into bag, and seal it tightly. Shake bag until turkey legs are coated in marinade. Refrigerate 1-2 hours.
• Preheat grill to medium-high heat (about 350°F)
• Remove turkey legs from bag and place on grill. Close grill and cook about 10-15 minutes (or until they have nice grill marks on them). Turn legs over, close grill and allow to cook an additional 10-15 minutes.
• Move turkey legs to indirect heat (a place on the grill where they are not directly over the fire). Close grill and allow them to cook an additional 10-15 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperate of 165°F.

SPICY ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Mix the spices into the mayonnaise until thoroughly blended.
• Tuck back the wings and slather the spicy paste all over the turkey, massaging it into the bird.
• (Rub inside the bird, outside the bird and make sure to spread it under the breast skin).
• Roast on lowest rack of the oven at 500°F for 30 minutes.
• Remove the turkey from the oven and cover the breast with a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil folded into a triangle (leaving the legs and dark meat uncovered), insert a thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return it to oven.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
• Roast until the turkey temperature reaches 161°F (14 to 16 pound bird only needs a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting).
• Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest, loosely covered for at least 15 minutes before carving.