Turkey Legs


 
Mike Coffman

Mike Coffman

TVWBB Olympian
I wanted to try something different for today’s meal that I hadn’t cooked before. So saw
some turkey legs that were priced reasonable and since I have only smoked whole turkeys
decided to give them a shot. The 3 legs were brined overnight with a normal salt, sugar brine
with some poultry seasoning and other added ingredients. Legs were coated with smoked
olive oil and seasoned with Butcher BBQ Honey rub.
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Put onto the smoker with a chunk of apple wood. Water pan was filled with about 1 gallon of water.
I want to maintain a temp of between 225 and 235 for the first few hours.
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At the 3 ½ hour mark the legs were at 165 internal temp so I glazed them with Plowboys Sweet 180 BBQ sauce.
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I let the glaze set and the internal temp hit 175 when I pulled them from the smoker. They were
covered with foil to let the juices regenerate and while the rest of dinner was finish cooking.
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Plated with mash potatoes and gravy and sweet corn.
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Everything was great! The legs were juicy and tender. The skin was somewhat rubbery but I
expected that with the low temp of the smoker. My wife and I really don’t care that much about
the skin so it was all good. I was afraid that they would dry out but I believe brining them overnight
helped along with the low temps.

Thanks for looking!
 
Terrific looking legs, sides, and photos Mike!
I never see turkey legs around here, guess I'll have to ask for them.

I see someone pulled that old trick of loosening the cap to the pepper shaker:p
And admit that I'm a heavy pepper-er too.
 
I've only tried to cook turkey legs once and they came out dry but I didn't brine them. Gonna have to try them again.

Looks awesome!
 
Thanks everyone for your kind words. :) Bob, no loose cap here just happen to love pepper, especially this one since it's Mrs. Dash Table Blend. Since I started using this months ago I hardly use salt at all.
 
That looks good. Turkey legs are usually pretty cheap around here, so I've sometimes tossed a couple on when cooking something else.

Brine always helps with poultry.
 
Nice post. I've always wondered why you see turkey breasts and legs, but never thighs or wings. I'd love to do some thighs like this and make some enormous buffalo wings.
 
John, I have seen turkey wings, already smoked, for sale. I used them instead of ham hocks to flavor some Gumbo Z'herbs, and they were great. Mild smoke flavor with tender, flavorful meat.
 
Going to be doing these this weekend. The wife does a whole turkey in the oven cause that's what her Dad likes, and I'm gonna do the legs and wings on the WSM mini cause that's what her brother and I like. Early Thanksgiving this year because the family is all here at one time!
 
Turkey has such great flavor, I'm not sure why more folks don't cook it more often, including me. Great looking meal!
 
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