Smoked Turkey Legs | Traeger Grills (2024)

FAQs

Are smoked turkey legs fully cooked? ›

The turkey legs are already safe to eat as they are pre cooked but taking them to 165°F ensures they are cooked through and hot. To keep the turkey leg moist, place a foil pan underneath with some chicken broth. As the chicken broth warms and starts to create steam, it will help the turkey from drying out.

Reheating – To reheat, place in a baking dish and cover with a loosely fitted piece of foil. Place in a 350°F oven and warm for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until heated through. Turkey legs are cooked when an instant read thermometer registers to 165°F.

The most important thing to keep in mind with Turkey Drumsticks is that, especially for our pastured birds, they're going to be tough if they aren't cooked long enough. Just like a brisket, Turkey Drumsticks do best when cooked low and slow, to allow the muscle fibers to relax and become tender.

Smoker Temperature and Cooking Time

Pellet Grill Turkey: The best way to smoke a turkey and ensure tender meat with crisp skin is to start at a lower temperature. Set your smoker temperature around 250 degrees Fahrenheit to slowly render the skin while maintaining the turkey's internal temperature for safe consumption.

Even with a wet brine to help keep your smoked turkey legs moist and tender, you can still overcook turkey legs.

A 275°F smoker will cook one pound of turkey in about 20 minutes – a four-hour cook time for a 12-pound turkey. Any of these temperatures will work great for smoking your turkey, as long as it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.

DO NOT THAW AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. Butterball Smoked Whole Turkeys are fully cooked and ready to eat. They can be used in recipes calling for cooked turkey without prior heating. The pink color of the meat comes from smoking and curing and is not a sign of undercooked meat.

Lay the turkey legs in a roasting pan. Pour in water. Roast uncovered until the legs are golden brown and the internal temperature is 180 degrees F (82 degrees C) when taken with a meat thermometer, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Add more water if needed while roasting, and baste occasionally with the juices or melted butter.

Place your smoked turkey on the broiler try rack and tent securely with tin foil. Place the trayed smoked turkey in the middle of a 350° F oven and cook for about 1.5 – 2 hours (or until a meat thermometer reaches about 140° F in the center of the breast). Remove the turkey and carve for serving.

But if you are roasting the turkey, be it whole turkey, breast, or leg on a regular roasting pan, foil is a good option. Basically the foil works in the same way a lid works—by trapping steam so the turkey stays moist throughout the roasting process. Simply tent the foil so that it loosely covers the whole turkey.

How long do you cook smoked turkey legs on the stove top? ›

How long do I need to cook pre-smoked turkey legs on the stove? Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the turkey legs and the heat intensity of your stove. Generally, it takes about 15-20 minutes per side on medium heat until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C).

However, there is a scientific reason behind the two meats' resemblance: Both smoked turkey and ham are cured in the same way, yielding their corresponding flavors. The meats are steeped in a solution of both salt and sodium nitrate, as well as a blend of various seasonings.

Turkey, fresh pork, ground beef or veal can remain pink even after cooking to temperatures of 160°F. and higher. The meat of smoked turkey is always pink. To understand some of the causes of “pinking” or “pinkening” in fresh turkey, it is important to know first what gives meat its natural color.

Why Is My Smoked Turkey Skin Rubbery? Turkey skin stays rubbery if not enough moisture is cooked out of it during the smoking process. The moisture may come from leftover brine.

Completely thaw meat or poultry before smoking. Because smoking uses low temperatures to cook food, the meat will take too long to thaw in the smoker, allowing it to linger in the "Danger Zone" (temperatures between 40 and 140 °F) where harmful bacteria can multiply.

Consuming the entire leg will provide you with six days' worth of the RDA for sodium, 1,360 milligrams of cholesterol and 48 grams of saturated fat. If this treat is a non-negotiable part of your yearly visit to the fair, consider sharing it with friends, and keep your good health in mind.

In fact, I use it literally every single time I cook skin-on chicken, turkey, duck, or goose. That trick is a sprinkling of baking powder, and it'll get you the crispiest, crackliest bites of fatty, salty skin imaginable, whether you're cooking just one thigh, a plate of wings, or an entire bird.

A long, slow braise converts turkey legs' abundant connective tissue to gelatin, leaving the meat ultra moist and tender. Braising is an easy, hands-off method that makes overcooking nearly impossible.

Start hot, then finish low. The secret to the crispy skin is all in the temperature. Pellet grills have made it so easy to get smokers up to higher temps, and this is to your advantage. Starting the smoker hot then turning it down to more traditional low n slow temps is how the achieve great textured skin.

Brining Is Best

Though it's not absolutely necessary, taking the time to brine your bird legs before you smoke them will add flavor and moisture. You can either make a wet brine (soaking the legs in a salt water solution overnight) or a dry brine (sprinkling the legs directly with salt).

Is it better to smoke a turkey at 225 or 275? ›

Some cook at 225 (generally recommended) which means that 35-40 minutes per pound will do the trick. Others use up to 300 degrees when cooking their turkey, which could shorten cooking time.

Hold the thermometer still until the numbers stop increasing. If it is not ready, return it to the oven. According to the Department of Agriculture, a turkey must reach 165 degrees F to be safe, but you can take it out of the oven as low as 160 degrees F because the temperature will rise at it rests.

Once all temperatures are above 165 degrees F, it is time to remove the smoked turkey to a large platter or cutting board.

Our smoked products are fully cooked so preparing them is quick and easy! Here are two great heating methods for heating up large items, like our whole smoked turkey: Using your crockpot: Place your crockpot on LOW and cover the bottom with water or broth.

Smoked food has been dried, cooked, or flavored in smoke. Smoked salmon tastes great with cream cheese on a bagel. Meats and fish are the most common smoked foods—you're probably familiar with smoked meat like bacon, ham, sausage, and beef jerky, for example.

Processed meats can include ham, sausage, bacon, deli meats (such as bologna, smoked turkey and salami), hot dogs, jerky, pepperoni and even sauces made with those products. When meat is processed, it is transformed through curing, fermenting, smoking or salting in order to boost flavor and shelf life.