Best 6 Grilled Turkey Legs Recipes

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Grilled turkey legs are a delicious and versatile dish that can be enjoyed for lunch or dinner. They are also a great way to use up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas. Grilled turkey legs are easy to make and can be cooked on a charcoal or gas grill. The key to cooking the perfect grilled turkey leg is to marinate it in a flavorful mixture of herbs and spices before cooking. This will help to keep the turkey moist and juicy. Once the turkey legs are marinated, they can be grilled over medium heat until cooked through. Serve the turkey legs with your favorite sides, such as mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, or a fresh salad.

Check out the recipes below so you can choose the best recipe for yourself!

GRILLED TURKEY LEGS



Grilled Turkey Legs image

These spicy turkey legs are sweet and hot--just like the smoked turkey legs you get at the fair or theme park!

Provided by Tony B

Categories     Meat and Poultry Recipes     Turkey     Legs

Time 1h15m

Yield 6

Number Of Ingredients 9

1 (2 liter) bottle lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 large sweet onion, sliced
4 turkey legs
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon steak seasoning

Steps:

  • Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil grate.
  • In a large pot, mix the lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage, sugar, hot sauce, red pepper, pepper, and onion. Place the turkey legs in the mixture, and bring to a boil. Cook 30 to 45 minutes, until the turkey has reached an internal temperature of 180 degrees F (80 degrees C).
  • Remove onion slices from the mixture, and arrange on the prepared grill. Place turkey legs over the onions. Drizzle with honey, and season with steak seasoning. Cook, tuning once, 20 minutes, or until a crisp browned crust has formed on the turkey legs.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 496.2 calories, Carbohydrate 53 g, Cholesterol 118.9 mg, Fat 9.6 g, Fiber 1.7 g, Protein 49.4 g, SaturatedFat 2.9 g, Sodium 759.2 mg, Sugar 12.4 g

GRILLED TURKEY LEGS SIGNATURE RECIPE



Grilled Turkey Legs Signature Recipe image

Grilled turkey legs are not exactly a complicated thing to serve friends and family. Just think of them as amped up chicken legs that offer more than enough mass to benefit from the wealth of flavor bestowed by either a brine or marinade.

Provided by cavetools

Categories     Main Course

Number Of Ingredients 11

Turkey legs, one per person.
Water, 4 quarts
Salt, kosher or sea, 1 cup
Sugar, brown, 1/4 cup
Honey
Worcestershire sauce
Your favorite BBQ sauce
Vinegar, red, wine
Salt, to taste
Pepper, black
Olive oil

Steps:

  • Prepare a brine by pouring the water, kosher salt and brown sugar into a vessel large enough for the number of legs you plan to cook.
  • Make sure that the salt and sugar have completely dissolved before adding the legs.
  • Adjust the ingredients based on how many legs you are fixing-shoot for just enough to fully cover the drumsticks.
  • Feel free to use something like a bowl or a plate in order to keep the legs below the water level of the brine.
  • Refrigerate the legs for anywhere between 4 and 24 hours.
  • Remove them from the fridge 1 hour before you want to cook them, in order to bring them up to room temperature.
  • Remove the legs from the brine and pat them dry.
  • Right before you cook them, drizzle olive oil over each leg and rub in a mixture of salt and black pepper.
  • Prepare your grill for indirect heating.
  • Feel free to add some smoking wood for extra aroma.
  • Prepare a basting mix of honey, vinegar, BBQ sauce and Worcestershire sauce and combine them all until it forms an even consistency.
  • You can do this up to a day ahead of when you plan to cook the legs, storing it in the fridge until it is time to use it.
  • Begin grilling the legs with the grill's lid as closed as you can have it.
  • Begin basting with the mix from the previous step on a frequent, regular basis so that the legs become covered in a rich, dark glaze of caramelization.
  • Turn the legs every so often, continuing to baste.
  • Make sure that you keep the lid closed between basting sessions in order to keep as much heat and smoke trapped within as possible.
  • While individual cooking times can vary, most legs only need 20-30 minutes of indirect heat, at a moderate temperature, to be done.
  • Cooking on high temperatures may finish the legs quicker, but also increases the risk of burning the legs.
  • Check for doneness by either using a meat thermometer or making a cut into one leg.
  • The good news is that brining mitigates most of the risk of overcooking while also keeping the legs nice and moist.
  • Once the legs are done, take them off the grill and onto a serving dish.
  • Cover with foil and allow them to rest for 10-15 minutes.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 192 kcal, ServingSize 113 g

GRILLED BBQ TURKEY LEGS RECIPE



Grilled BBQ Turkey Legs Recipe image

Grilled BBQ Turkey Legs for a non-traditional Thanksgiving feast!

Provided by Dine & Dish

Categories     Main

Time 1h

Number Of Ingredients 8

1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup flour
4 turkey legs (3-4 pounds)
1 cup KC Masterpiece Hickory Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce

Steps:

  • Whisk together salt, black pepper, chili powder, garlic salt, cumin and flour in a shallow bowl.
  • Lightly dredge each turkey leg through the seasoning mixture. Shake off excess.
  • Brush grill grate lightly with oil to prevent turkey from sticking.
  • Preheat grill to 300°F.
  • Place turkey legs on the grill and sear on each side for approximately 3 minutes.
  • Brush each turkey leg with KC Masterpiece Hickory Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce. Close the grill lid and grill for approximately 50 minutes, rotating/turning and re-basting each leg with barbecue sauce every 20 minutes.
  • Turkey legs are done cooking when an internal temperature of 180°F is reached.
  • Remove turkey legs from the grill, baste one last time with remaining barbecue sauce and serve, hot.

GRILLED TURKEY DRUMSTICKS



Grilled Turkey Drumsticks image

Try something different this Thanksgiving and learn how to grill turkey drumsticks! These smoky, tender turkey drumsticks are easy to make, free up space in the oven and cook in a fraction of the time needed for a whole turkey. -Taste of Home Test Kitchen

Provided by Taste of Home

Categories     Dinner

Time 55m

Yield 12 servings.

Number Of Ingredients 11

1/4 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1-1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 turkey drumsticks (1-1/2 pounds each)
3 cups soaked apple wood chips

Steps:

  • In a small bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Brush drumsticks with butter mixture., Add wood chips to grill according to manufacturer's directions. Place turkey on greased grill rack. Grill, covered, over indirect medium heat, 40-45 minutes or until a thermometer reads 175°,. Turn drumsticks occasionally throughout cooking.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 455 calories, Fat 24g fat (9g saturated fat), Cholesterol 181mg cholesterol, Sodium 832mg sodium, Carbohydrate 1g carbohydrate (0 sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 56g protein.

BARBECUED TURKEY LEGS



Barbecued Turkey Legs image

Wishing you were at the game? Raise a giant drumstick -- in spirit -- with all the other Hawkeye football fans at the University of Iowa. These massive barbecued bird legs are a tailgating tradition at the black-and-gold school. Now you can make them at home with an easy dry brine that eliminates the need for submerging them in a big pot of salted water.

Provided by Food Network Kitchen

Categories     main-dish

Time 11h40m

Yield 8 turkey legs

Number Of Ingredients 9

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons mustard powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
Kosher salt
8 turkey drumsticks (about 16 pounds total)
Vegetable oil, for oiling the grill grates
1 1/2 cups store-bought barbecue sauce

Steps:

  • The day before, make a dry brine: Put 2 wire racks on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Mix together the sugar, chili powder, mustard powder, garlic powder, cayenne and 1/2 cup salt. Pat the turkey drumsticks dry. Put 2 drumsticks in a large shallow bowl and sprinkle generously with the dry brine, rubbing it into every nook and cranny. Transfer to one of the wire racks. Working in batches, sprinkle and rub the remaining drumsticks with the dry brine and transfer to the wire racks. Sprinkle the drumsticks on the racks with any remaining dry brine. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 8 hours and preferably up to 24 hours.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the drumsticks, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through cooking, until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer measures at least 200 degrees F, about 2 hours. Let cool to room temperature. Transfer the drumsticks to large re-sealable plastic bags. (The turkey can be made ahead up to this point and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)
  • Preheat a gas grill to medium-low or prepare a charcoal for medium-low indirect heat: bank one chimney starter-full of lit and ashed-over charcoal briquettes to one side of the grill. Set up a drip pan on the other side to avoid flare-ups. (Be sure to consult the grill manufacturer's guide for best results).
  • Brush the grill grates with oil. Put the drumsticks on the grill (or indirect side if using charcoal) and cook, turning and basting with the barbecue sauce every 5 minutes, until the drumsticks are deep amber on the outside and heated through, about 15 minutes.
  • Let cool for 5 minutes, then wrap the exposed bone-end of each drumstick with foil and serve while warm.

GRILLED TURKEY DRUMSTICKS



Grilled Turkey Drumsticks image

Make and share this Grilled Turkey Drumsticks recipe from Food.com.

Provided by ratherbeswimmin

Categories     Poultry

Time 9h40m

Yield 4-8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 10

4 turkey drumsticks
1/4 cup butter or 1/4 cup margarine, melted
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Steps:

  • Place turkey drumsticks in a large shallow dish.
  • Combine remaining ingredients, stirring well.
  • Pour over drumsticks, cover and marinate in refrigerator 8 hours, turning drumsticks occasionally.
  • Drain drumsticks, reserving marinade.
  • Wrap each drumstick and 1/4 cup marinade in heavy-duty aluminum foil.
  • Grill over medium coals 1 hour, turning after 30 minutes.
  • Remove foil, reserving marinade.
  • Return drumsticks to grill, and continue cooking 30-40 minutes, basting frequently with reserved marinade.

Tips:

  • Use fresh or thawed turkey legs: Frozen turkey legs may take longer to cook and may not be as flavorful.
  • Brine the turkey legs before grilling: This will help to keep them moist and juicy. You can use a simple brine made with water, salt, and sugar.
  • Season the turkey legs generously: You can use a variety of seasonings, such as salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. You can also add a marinade or rub to the turkey legs for extra flavor.
  • Grill the turkey legs over medium-high heat: This will help to sear the outside of the turkey legs and cook them through. You can also use a grill pan or a baking dish if you don't have a grill.
  • Baste the turkey legs with your favorite sauce or marinade while they are grilling: This will help to keep them moist and flavorful.
  • Cook the turkey legs until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit: You can use a meat thermometer to check the temperature.
  • Let the turkey legs rest before serving: This will help to redistribute the juices and make them more tender.

Conclusion:

Grilled turkey legs are a delicious and easy-to-make meal that is perfect for any occasion. By following these tips, you can cook turkey legs that are moist, juicy, and flavorful. Serve them with your favorite sides, such as mashed potatoes, stuffing, or roasted vegetables.

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