This Thanksgiving, Skip the Bird and Go All-Out With Turkey Legs

Seasoning these turkey legs with a dry brine packs them with flavor before they head to the smoker, resulting in juicy, smoky, and tender meat with a light kick from the chipotle chiles.

Active Time:
30 mins
Refrigerate Time:
8 hrs
Total Time:
11 hrs 15 mins
Yield:
8 servings

If turkey tends to be the star of your Thanksgiving, chances are, you have a favorite cut of meat. Maybe it's the golden brown, crispy skin, glistening with rendered fat to the point where it almost resembles bacon; maybe it's a simple slice of breast meat, waiting to be doused (and then doused some more) with a flood of gravy. Or maybe it's the meaty, juicy turkey legs, which you're prepared to battle your tablemates for every year. If that's the case, this recipe for Chipotle-Spiced Smoked Turkey Legs is going to deliver for you big-time — it's 100% drumsticks, and you can have them all to yourself.

Created by Dotdash Meredith Food Studios recipe developer and tester John Somerall, these next-level turkey legs are first dry-brined and then smoked, resulting in tender, mahogany-colored drumsticks that have a light kick of heat thanks to chipotle chiles. They only take three steps to make, and as a bonus, the leftovers can be shredded and turned into all kinds of other dishes, such as sandwiches or a mix-in for pasta salads. Or just leave them whole and go to town. The world is your turkey-leg oyster.

Here's our step-by-step guide and recipe so you can make them at home.

Dry brine 'em

Before you can smoke these turkey legs, you need to dry brine them uncovered in the refrigerator for at least eight hours, or up to 24. It may sound like a long time, but don't skip this step — it not only ensures more flavorful and juicy meat but helps to dry out the skin as well, meaning it will crisp up more as it cooks. This brine packs in all kinds of spices and seasonings, including dried chipotle chiles, fresh bay leaves, kosher salt, dark brown sugar, garlic powder, dried sage, ground cloves, and more. Once the bay leaves and chiles are ground up and mixed together with the rest of the dry brine ingredients, pat the turkey legs dry with paper towels and then sprinkle the mixture evenly over them. Get the legs on a wire

Rinse and dry

After the turkey legs have sat in the fridge, rinse them under cold water to remove the dry brine and thoroughly pat them dry with paper towels. Then, place them back on the wire rack in the baking sheet and let them rest at room temperature while you get the smoker ready.

Smoke turkey

At this point, all that's left to do is the main event — smoking the turkey legs. Somerall says you shouldn't move the turkey around too much while it cooks, and you should resist the urge to keep opening the lid of the smoker to peek. The more you open the smoker, the longer the smoking process will take. Minimizing opening the lid helps ensure the temperature of the grill remains consistent (you want the smoker to maintain an internal temperature between 275°F and 300°F). Make sure that the thicker part of the drumsticks are facing the hot coals, too.

Ultimately, the turkey legs should register 165°F when you insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, which should take about two to two and a half hours. — Bridget Hallinan

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Ingredients

  • 2 (about 1/4 ounce total) dried chipotle chiles, stems and seeds removed

  • 2 fresh bay leaves

  • 1/4 cup kosher salt

  • 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder

  • 1 tablespoon onion powder

  • 1 tablespoon dried sage

  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

  • 1 teaspoon chili powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

  • 5 pounds fresh or thawed frozen turkey drumsticks (about 4 [20-ounce] drumsticks)

Directions

  1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with paper towels, and top with a wire rack; set aside. Process chipotle chiles and bay leaves in a spice grinder or a mini food processor until coarsely ground, 30 to 45 seconds. Stir together ground chipotle chile mixture, salt, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, sage, thyme, black pepper, chili powder, allspice, and cloves in a medium bowl. Pat turkey legs dry with paper towels, and sprinkle evenly with salt mixture. Transfer turkey legs to prepared baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.

  2. Remove turkey legs from refrigerator; rinse under cold water to remove dry brine. Thoroughly pat turkey legs dry with paper towels; return legs to wire rack on baking sheet. Let rest at room temperature while preparing the smoker.

  3. Open bottom vent of grill completely. Light charcoal chimney starter filled with briquettes. When the briquettes are covered with gray ash, pour them onto the bottom grate of the grill, and then push over to 1 side. Top hot coals with three to five pieces of hickory wood chunks, and place top grate on grill (do not grease top grate). Cover grill. Maintain a consistent internal temperature of 275°F to 300°F for 15 to 20 minutes. Place turkey legs on side of grill grate without coals underneath, with thicker side of drumsticks facing coals. Grill, covered, and adding more hickory as needed to maintain smoker internal temperature of 275°F to 300°F, until a thermometer inserted into thickest portion of turkey legs registers 165°F, 2 hours to 2 1/2 hours. Transfer turkey legs to a plate or platter, and let rest 10 minutes.

    Chipotle-Spiced Smoked Turkey Legs
    Photo by Noah Fecks / Food Styling by Drew Aichele / Prop Styling by Ethan Lunkenheimer

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