American · Main · Medium
Smoked Turkey Legs
Giant fairground-style turkey legs, brined overnight and smoked low until the meat pulls clean off the bone. Smoky, salty, and gloriously messy.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Smoked Turkey Legs, in 5 ideas
- Brining overnight is the secret, it keeps the lean leg meat from drying out in the smoke.
- Hickory gives a bold fairground flavor, applewood gives a milder sweetness.
- Rinse after brining or the skin will taste too salty.
- A water pan in the smoker keeps the air humid and the meat tender.
- Legs are done when the meat starts pulling back from the bone end.
What you need
Ingredients
- 4 large turkey legs (about 500g each)
- 3 litres cold water
- 150g kosher salt
- 100g brown sugar
- 2 tbsp black peppercorns
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Wood chips (hickory or apple), soaked 30 minutes
How to make it
Directions
- The night before, stir the water, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, and bay leaves in a large pot until dissolved. Submerge the turkey legs, cover, and refrigerate 12 to 16 hours.
- Remove the legs from the brine and rinse under cold water. Pat completely dry with paper towels.
- Rub the legs all over with the vegetable oil, then coat evenly with the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne.
- Set your smoker or grill for indirect heat at 120C. Add the soaked wood chips to the coals or smoker box.
- Smoke the legs for about 4 hours, turning once halfway, until the skin is deep mahogany and the meat reads 75C at the thickest point.
- Rest the legs 15 minutes under loose foil before serving. Hand them over with plenty of napkins.
Turkey legs are one of the cheapest cuts at the butcher counter, often sold as a value pack, and they feed like a feast.