Guide to Cook Smoked Turkey Legs on a Grill?

Smoked turkey legs are a delicious, convenient alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving meal. They’re easy to cook and can be eaten as is or served with your favorite side dish. Wondering about how to cook smoked Turkey legs on a Grill? Or tired of the same old stuff every year, try cooking smoked turkey legs on a grill this season.

This blog post will discuss how to prepare and enjoy smoked turkey legs on a grill.

How to Cook Smoked Turkey Legs on a Grill?

Below are the 2 methods you can use to cook smoked turkey legs on a grill:

1- Smoked Turkey Legs on a Grill 

First off, let’s dive into the recipe for smoked grill turkey legs, detailing both the ingredients required and the cooking method.

Ingredients 

• Six turkey legs
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire oil
• Desired BBQ sauce
• Dry rub (recipe given)
• Mop 

For Dry Rub, you may need:

• 1/ 4 cup of chipotle seasoning
• 1 tbsp of packed brown sugar
• 1-2 tbsp of milled dried ground paprika or red chili.

Mop: 

• A cup of white vinegar
• 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp of BBQ sauce

Preparation

• Before even planning or barbecuing, you have to loosen the skin from the turkey legs for several hours. You may do this by running your fingers under the legs as far as possible without tearing or damaging the skin.
• Put the oil and the Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. Now coat your fingers with this mixture and rub them well gently into the turkey legs, getting as much as you can under the skin of these legs.
• Now take the ingredients of dry rub and mix them in a small bowl.
• Season the Dry Rub over the skin thoroughly, and rub it into the turkey legs and under the skin. After that, seal the legs into plastic bags and put them in the fridge.
• Combine the mop ingredients in a saucepan and warm it over low flame.
• For barbecuing the legs, now prepare the smoker by bringing the temperature from 200 to 220 degrees F. Take out the turkey legs from the fridge and let them sit at normal temperature for at least half an hour.
• Re-warm or heat the mixture of mop over low heat.
• Now put the legs inside the smoker and cook until the legs become very tender. As your turkey is cooking, the juices run very clear. You have to cook it for about 3.5 to 4 hours. And mop the legs in 45 minutes intervals in a wood-burning pit, or according to your style of the smoker.
• Now serve the Turkey legs hot that you can eat with fingers along with some barbecue sauces. 

2- Manual Grilled Turkey Legs 

These are spicy and hot turkey legs that you may get at a fair or theme park. Below is the recipe for this delicious dish.

Ingredients 

• 4 turkey legs
• 2 tbsp hot sauce
• Honey 2 tbsp
• Sugar 2 tbsp
• lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage: 1 bottle
• Black pepper 1 tbsp
• Sweet sliced sweet onion
• 1 tbsp steak seasoning
• Crushed red pepper flakes 1 tbsp
• Black pepper 1 tbsp

Preparation

• Pre-warm an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly apply the oil on it.
• Take a large bowl, and mix the lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage, red pepper, onion, black pepper, sugar, and hot sauce. Put the turkey legs in the mixture, and bring them to a boil. Cook them for 30 to 45 minutes, unless the legs have reached the temperature of 180 degrees F or 80 degrees C.
• Now remove the onion slices from that mixture and arrange them properly on the prepared grill. After that, place turkey legs over these onions. Sprinkle with honey and season with the steak seasoning. Cook by tuning it once for 20 minutes or unless a crip browned layer has formed on the legs.
• You can serve it with different sauces of your choice.

FAQs

Q: How can you grill pre-smoked turkey legs?

First of all, bake them for 2 hours by rotating the pan in the oven, unless the turkey legs reach a temperature of 155 degrees. On the grill, heat the barbecue, and let it get hot. Because you are looking for a well base of white-hot charcoal. Now place the legs on the grill, cover up with a lid and let them cook for at least two hours.

Q: How do you get to know that your turkey leg is cooked?

The deepest part of the thigh muscle can be the very last part of the turkey leg to be cooked. The internal temperature must reach 180 degrees F. If you want to check the leg’s doneness without even a thermometer, perforate the thigh and pay attention to the juices. When the juices run clear, it’s completely done, but if these juices are reddish pink, it will take more time.

Q: How can you reheat a pre-cooked turkey leg without even drying it out?

There are generally two methods you may use to reheat a pre-cooked turkey. The first one is the oven, as you can reheat it at 300 degrees F. That is low enough to prevent your meat from drying and restrain the heat from drawing the moisture. Along with it, it is high enough that it would not take several hours to reheat. You may also place your leftover portions in aluminum foil and use it whenever you want.

How can you keep a smoked turkey leg moist for a long time?

Put it in a plastic bag that is sealable and place it in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. Dispose of the brine and rinse the leg with fresh water. After rinsing, pat dries along with paper towels. Moreover, you have to start the smoker with about 60% humidity and 140 degrees F temperature to prevent the loss of moisture. 

How can you cook a frozen smoked turkey leg?

You can use a conventional oven for cooking a frozen smoked turkey leg. Firstly preheat it up to 350 degrees F. And then put the thawed leg, breast side up, on a flat rack in a shallow roasting pan 2 to 2 and a half inches deep. Brush the leg with vegetable oil for the best appearance. 

We hope that you got your way with how to cook smoked turkey legs on a grill by now. Just make sure to keep the grill and smoker clean and you will be good. And remember, practice makes perfect!