Smoked turkey legs on the Weber

[thenegativeone]

So, ever since we went to Florida my better half has been going on about the smoked turkey legs you get in the parks. What better reason to fire up the Q?

I started by brining them in a simple brine of salt, sugar, onion and garlic.

I detached the skin from the main meat of the drumstick and peeled it back to get some butter and rub on there. The rub I used was Wades which he was kind enough to give me a few packs of at the smokers meet, so cheers Wade, much appreciated!!

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• thenegativeone
• Aug 11, 2015

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• thenegativeone
• Aug 11, 2015

Once I'd rubbed the meat, I pulled the skin back into place and buttered and rubbed that too...

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• thenegativeone
• Aug 11, 2015

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• thenegativeone
• Aug 11, 2015

The smokers coming up to temp now so I'll update once they're on!

 

[wade]

They are looking good so far Paul 

 

[thenegativeone]

Cheers Wade, that rub tastes spot on. I've got a lot of work to get mine to that level haha ;)

 

[thenegativeone]

A couple of hours in and they're looking good. Only problem is, as I detached the skin to rub under it it has pulled right back so I'm concerned it might be a little dry. I've applied some southwest style sauce to one and left one plain for the Mrs (yes she's unadventurous haha)

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• thenegativeone
• Aug 11, 2015

 

[smokin monkey]

Waiting to see the results of this one [emoji]128064[/emoji] [emoji]128064[/emoji]

 

[thenegativeone]

All done, and good god they were tasty!

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• thenegativeone
• Aug 11, 2015

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• thenegativeone
• Aug 11, 2015

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• thenegativeone
• Aug 11, 2015

 

[smokin monkey]

Hi Paul, they look really tasty, I did some about 6 months back.

 

[thenegativeone]

Cheers Steve, there were a lot better than I expected. Real moist, very tender.

 

[resurrected]

Oh, something else to try. I tend to steer away from Turkey [emoji]127831[/emoji] as I always find the meat dry.

They look goo,old bean.

 

[mdboatbum]

Looks good! One detail that might get you closer to the ones they serve at a lot of theme parks and festivals is that they're usually cured. Look up Pops' brine on this forum and that'll get you started. It doesn't take very long for poultry, I'd say 24-36 hours would do the trick. Also, leave the skins in place, and after they come out of the curing brine, give them 24 hours uncovered on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. This will dry the skin and help prevent it from being tough and rubbery. Should also significantly reduce the shrinkage you experienced.

 

[smokin monkey]

Hi Paul, here are my legs!

Brined as Mdboatbum suggests.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/171132/monkey-legz

 

[thenegativeone]

Cheers Mdboatbum I shall have to give that a go next time. Thanks for the advice about the skin too.

They look great Steve. It's definitely something I'd do again!

 

[wade]

They looked great - really tasty. I am glad the rub worked for you too.

 

[wade]

Oh, something else to try. I tend to steer away from Turkey [emoji]127831[/emoji] as I always find the meat dry.

They look goo,old bean.

Hi Paul. If turkey is cooked to temperature and is then allowed to rest it should never be dry. Usually the dryness id caused either by overcooking or not allowing it to rest and carving it too soon. Also remember that the legs and breast will cook at different rates. To keep them both as moist as possible I usually take the legs off and cook them separately.

 

[resurrected]

Hi Paul. If turkey is cooked to temperature and is then allowed to rest it should never be dry. Usually the dryness id caused either by overcooking or not allowing it to rest and carving it too soon. Also remember that the legs and breast will cook at different rates. To keep them both as moist as possible I usually take the legs off and cook them separately.

Sorry Wade, I wasn't clear. I've never cooked them on a Q. Just chucked in the oven.

 

[wade]

The Oven and the BBQ are simply different ways of applying heat to the bird. If you cook by temperature in the oven and then let it rest it should not be dry that way either.