The portion of meat from the thigh, to the area right below the knee of the turkey is a leg cut of turkey meat that is highly popular around the world. Turkey legs cooked with different recipes are an important part of several cuisines.

Besides the health benefits attached with the turkey meat, the turkey leg is an economical pick for parties or regular meals. If you have ever visited an amusement park or went to some fair, you may have often seen people holding the turkey leg with a bone that is served as handheld food.

Best Air Fryer Turkey Leg Recipe (Healthy And Flavorsome)

At Disney Land, a turkey leg meal costs you around 12 bucks. That is fine when you are out for enjoyment occasionally. But what if you can make that flavorsome meat at home at a very low expense.

There can be countless recipes to cook the turkey legs. But cooking them with the air fryer is such a handy idea that is quick enough for meeting the sudden food needs. The recipe below is the one with simple ingredients and fast cooking so that you can serve delicious food to your family or guests within no time.

How to cook the best air fryer turkey leg

You are going to cook two turkey legs with the following recipe in your air fryer. The dish after cooking will be sufficient for two people’s dinner. The ingredients you need for cooking the delicious turkey leg are as followed; (Do not forget to catch two turkey legs beside the following list)

Ingredients

• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oil (Olive oil is best)
• 2 teaspoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons honey
• Salt (According to the taste)

Collect all the above-mentioned ingredients on your kitchen counter and mark the checklist to ensure that everything is there. Once done, you are ready to move towards the recipe.

Process

Take one turkey leg and rub the oil all over it finely. Let is rest aside and repeat the procedure with the other leg. Let it rest too.

Take a medium bowl and add paprika, salt, and garlic powder to it. Mix the contents well and start rubbing them on the turkey legs one by one. Use your guess to apply half of the mixture on one leg and the remaining half on the other one. Apply the seasoning evenly all around so that the turkey legs may taste perfect on every bite.

Open the air fryer and take the basket out of it. Use some cooking oil to spray on it so that the grills are lubricated slightly. That will prevent the food to be stuck with the basket. If you do not apply the lubrication, the food on cooking may stick with it and when you try to release it, the outer skin may be torn.

It’s time to put the turkey legs in the basket. Take it into the air fryer and set the temperature to 400°F. Let the air fryer cook your turkey legs for around 15 minutes. Once the cooking time is up, open the air fryer and flip the legs upside down. Start cooking again for another fifteen minutes.

On lapsing the prescribed time check the doneness of legs by opening the air fryer. If you feel that the food is not yet cooked up to your liking, you can cook it for a few more minutes.

When the turkey legs are perfectly cooked, take them out of the air fryer and start the glazing process. For this purpose, you need to add the ketchup, honey, and soy sauce to a small bowl. Mix them using a spoon for a while so that everything is evenly combined. When done glaze the turkey legs with this mixture.

The cooking process is not yet completed. You have put the glazed legs again in the air fryer. At this stage, the cooking time will depend on what level of glaze doneness you like. If you prefer a slightly burnt and blackened glaze, cook the legs for approximately 4 to 5 five minutes. For an un-burnt sticky glaze, just air fry for a couple of minutes or more.

Open the air fryer, and get introduced to your delicious turkey legs ready for serving.

Serving

Side serving is an equally important question as is the main course cooking. So far as the turkey legs are concerned, you can serve with several side options after cooking in the air fryer.

The two most popular side servings with the air fryer turkey legs are the roasted corn with caramelized onions, and roasted garlic bleu cheese potatoes(mashed potatoes). Try any of the options, and that will enhance the flavor of your yummy dinner remarkably.

Similarly, you can go with the creamy mac and cheese casserole, or pot-baked beans to serve with tasty turkey legs.

Health Benefits

Regardless of which cut you are eating, turkey is all around a lean protein container. You receive around 20 grams per serving, along with a comparatively less amount of fats. The protein, it provides to the human body can repair and reproduce the muscles, skin cells, bones, cartilage, blood cells, and tissues.

Turkey meat is enriched with several health nutrients such as amino acid tryptophan, vitamin B6, and niacin. It also provides you the vitamin B12 and a reasonable amount of zinc.

Depending on the nutritional facts, we can fairly compare the turkey meat with chicken. Its white meat has the lowest saturated fats, while dark meat also contains lower saturated fats.

Besides these facts, the other beneficial nutrients you can get from turkey meat are phosphorus and selenium. Turkey meat provides the human body the strength to fight against severe diseases like cancer and also boosts the immune.

Possible Health Risks

The products that are high in sodium are undoubtedly bad for human health, and the processed turkey meat is easily found all around. Either the processed meat is made of sodium nitrite, or is smoked, which is not good at all for you.

Final Thoughts

You can imagine the popularity of turkey legs that even Disney land considers to sell them for increasing their business. Try our recipe and enjoy the most favorite food of many people at your home.