Roasted Turkey Legs

4 standard portions

Source field check · Original source retained

View original recipe

Ingredients

• 2 turkey legs
• ¼ cup butter (softened)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2-3 cups Turkey stock (chicken stock, water, milk, or a combination.)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C, and line a baking pan with parchment paper. If you’re making gravy, then skip the parchment paper since you'll want the little brown bits that stick to the pan to flavor the gravy.
2. Make the herb butter. In a small bowl, combine butter with garlic powder, paprika, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Mash together with a fork or flexible spatula until well combined.
3. Pat the turkey legs dry with paper towels, then gently separate the turkey skin from the meat. There is a membrane that’s holding the skin to the meat, so use a small sharp knife to release the skin when needed. Apply the herb butter between the skin and the meat and all over the skin too.
4. Place in the roasting pan, and roast the turkey legs unconvered in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Then cover with foil and continue roasting for 50-60 more minutes. The turkey legs are done when the internal temp reaches 170°F/77°C. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before removing the meat from the bones and slicing.
5. Remove the drippings from the pan the turkey legs were cooked in, and measure out 4 tablespoons. Scrape the pan with a spatula to remove the brown bits (all the flavor is there!)
6. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add the brown bits and the 4 tablespoons of drippings. Add ¼ cup of flour, and saute for 30 seconds. Then add 2-3 cups of stock, water, milk, or a combination of those liquids, and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and serve.