I have always just thrown away my turkey legs and the back. Anyone ever cook them? Results?



Spudrow from Mo

They make great Black Jacks if that tells ya anything.

I hear that. We were just wondering if we were missing something since our neighbors just love em. Apparently not!!!


Spudrow from Mo

Why not grind them up for chilie or tacos?

They need to be cooked long and slow or Ground up , They make a great chili, meatloaf, burgers, sausage!

They sure are a LOT different than store-bought legs.....but they can be used. Just takes a little more time. I, for one, love the dark meat when done right.

I posted a recipe titled "Stop throughing the dark meat" Give it a try and let me know what you think. I think it tastse a lot like beef stew.

Legs...there's two parts, thigh and drumstick. Debone the thighs, rinse and season to taste with whatever (salt & pepper, cajun, greek, Montreal steak, etc) and grill like a flank steak. Remove from fire and slice across the grain. For the drumsticks...brown them in the oven and strip the meat from the bone & tendons with a fork. Then use in soups, stews, gumbos, chili, etc. Brown the back and do the same. It's good meat and you worked hard to get it. Why waste it?

I smoke my turkey legs using a cajun seasoning and black pepper. Also spinkle the outside with tender quick and make a solution of tender quick and inject it into the legs. I Then put them in a big plastic bowl and let set in refrigerator over night. Then prior to smoking, bast them with a mixture of honey,butter and lemon juice. Then about half way through the smoking process bast them again with the same mixture. I usually buy about 15 to 20 legs at a time. Eat a few after smoking and put the rest in seal a meal bags, one each to a bag, and put in the freezer. Then when I use them just put a small hole in the bag and put into the microwave. Zeak

The thighs are fairly good, my wife loves them, as for the drumsticks...well...they work well on a limb line for catfishing or catching snapping turtles.