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How Long to Grill Turkey Legs

How Long to Grill Turkey Legs

Curious about the duration it takes to grill turkey legs? Continue with this post to discover the answer.

Turkish legs are one of the most common and delicious foods. As the turkey leg is smoky, sweet, and tangy, everyone loves to eat it. They are very easy and simple to cook or grill within no time.

In this blog, we are going to share an easy recipe for grilling turkey legs along with some most commonly asked queries.

Grilled Turkey Legs 

Here is the recipe with ingredients and procedure for you to grill turkey legs.

Ingredients 

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

Preparations 

  1. Preheat your outdoor grill on high flame and lightly oil its grates.
  2. Take a large bowl and add lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage, hot sauce, pepper, sugar, red pepper, and onion. Mix all of them very well and put the turkey legs in that mixture.
  3. Bring the mixture to a boil, cook it for 30 to 40 minutes. Or cook until the turkey has reached an internal temperature of 180 degrees F or 80 degrees c.
  4. Now remove the onion slices from the mixture and arrange them on the prepared (preheated) grill.
  5. Place your turkey legs over these onions. Sprinkle them with honey and season with steak seasoning. Cook, turning once for 20 minutes or unless a crisp browned crust has been formed on your turkey legs.
  6. Remove them from the grates and allow them to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Now you can serve them with desired sauces.

How Long to Grill Turkey Legs?

Are you cooking a pre-smoked turkey leg? Well! For this, first, you have to preheat your grill or oven to 250 degrees F. Put a dash of water or some broth into a dish or baking pan. The amount of water or broth depends on how many legs you are going to cook. Put the legs in the pan and cover them with foil. Then bake them for 2 hours by rotating the pan continuously in the oven unless you get an internal temperature of 155 degrees.

How long may it take you to cook pre-cooked smoked turkey legs?

The smoked turkey legs can be served hot or cold. If you want to reheat the legs, remove the wrapper and place them in a shallow pan along with 2 cups of water. And cover them with the help of an aluminum foil “tent”. Put it in an oven for 1.75 to two hours with a temperature of 350 degrees or unless the internal temperature reaches 140 to 145 degrees F.

How can you add more flavor to a pre-cooked turkey?

It is perfect to steam the turkey before roasting it. Simply brushing a turkey with olive or vegetable oil seems so boring. Instead, you can also add some flavor to your turkey before roasting it by sprinkling together a quick rub. That is, try a blend such as cumin sweet paprika, brown sugar, cajun spices, fennel-coriander, and many more.

How do you get to know when your turkey legs are done?

You know that the deepest part of the thigh muscle might be the very last part of the turkey to be cooked or done. The internal temperature must reach 180 degrees F. If you have to check the doneness of your legs without even a thermometer, prick the thigh and pay attention to the juices. When your juices run clear your legs are done, but if the juices are reddish pink, they need more time for cooking.

How long may it take you to reheat a turkey leg?

For reheating a turkey leg, you have to wrap it in tin foil and place it in the oven for almost 15 minutes at 300 degrees F. When you are wrapping them in a foil, add a few tablespoons of water and steam, and then roast it slowly at 300 degrees unless heated completely.

How can you keep your smoked turkey moist? 

Put the turkey in a zip-closed bag, close it and place it in the fridge for about 12 to 24 hours. Dispose of the brine, wash it with fresh water and pat dry it with paper towels. Start up your smoker with the humidity at about 60% and temperature at 140 degrees F to keep the moisture from escaping.

How to Cook Turkey on the Grill

Following are the ingredients and instructions for you to cook a turkey on the grill.

Ingredients 

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil.
  • Salt
  • Fresh grounded black pepper
  • 1 oven-ready turkey (defrosted)

Instructions 

  1. Remove the giblets and neck (save for other uses). Remove and dispose of excess fat too. Wash the bird thoroughly inside and out and then pat dry it. Now season it generously with salt and black pepper. Then tie the legs together and twist the wing tips under its back.
  2. After that, brush the turkey with oil and lightly sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Arrange the turkey breast side up in the middle of the cooking grate. And put the lid on the grill.
  3. Cook it for 11 to 13 minutes a pound or unless your instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh not touching bone gives 180 degrees reading. And the juices run clear.
  4. As it is being cooked, transfer the turkey onto a platter. Let it sit for 15 minutes before serving.
  5. Serve with your favorite sauces.

Final thoughts

We hope that you understand now how long does it take to cook pre-cooked smoked turkey legs. Also, you know how to make it juicy and delicious. Make sure you follow the steps mentioned above whenever you want to cook a turkey on the grill or oven.

But always remember, safety comes first. So make sure that your turkey legs are thoroughly cooked before serving them to anyone else. I hope you’ll like the article about how long to grill turkey legs and that it helped you.


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