How To Cook Turkey Legs The Easiest And Most Elegant Thanksgiving Main Dish Food

HOW TO COOK TURKEY LEGS, THE EASIEST (AND MOST ELEGANT) THANKSGIVING MAIN DISH

Steps:

• Up to two days before making turkey legs, remove from packaging and arrange on a baking rack or cooling rack. Sprinkle liberally with salt and rest in the fridge until skin is dry. When ready to cook, remove from fridge half an hour before cooking and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Mix the salt, pepper, paprika, and oregano in a bowl. Rub on turkey legs, pressing under skin if possible. Use a pastry brush to then coat the legs in the softened butter. Return to rack and place in a roasting pan. Cover with foil. Meanwhile, mix melted butter and wine together to baste turkey with.
• After 20 minutes, uncover the legs, and brush them with butter and wine mixture. Return to oven for 20 more minutes and baste again. After an hour, check to see if the meat has reached 165°F. If not, return to oven for 5-10 more minutes. For crispier skin, slide under the broiler, on low, for about two minutes. Remove rack from roasting pan and let drumsticks rest for 10 minutes.
• Put the roasting pan on the stove or transfer drippings to a saucepan. Stir in wine, cornstarch and rosemary, constantly swirling to thicken. Once the gravy starts to bubble, remove from the heat, strain into a heatproof dish and serve immediately with the drumsticks.

EASY ROASTED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pat dry the turkey legs with paper towels.
• Prep Turkey: Whisk the melted butter with the salt, garlic powder and pepper. Generously brush the butter mixture all around the turkey legs.
• Transfer To Oven: Transfer the turkey legs to a greased baking pan, skin side down and transfer to the preheated oven.
• Roast: Roast the turkey for 30 minutes, flip the legs so that the skin side is up and roast for another 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the internal temperature of the thighs reaches 170°F.

ROASTED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Rinse the turkey legs and pat dry.
• Stand the turkey legs upright (as if the turkey were standing). Press a knife downward into the deep tissue, creating 2 or 3 long pockets. Press a piece of celery into each opening. Pull back the skin on the legs, rub with butter, and season with a little salt. Put the skin back into place, rub with more butter, and season lightly with salt. Lay the legs in a roasting pan.
• Roast uncovered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the legs are golden brown and the internal temperature is 180 degrees F (82 degrees C) when taken with a meat thermometer. Add more water if needed while roasting, and baste occasionally with the juices or butter.

WORLD'S SIMPLEST THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Pull the neck and giblets out of the cavity; ditch the liver and save the rest of the giblets for gravy. Dry the turkey with paper towels, then season inside and out with salt and pepper. Fill the turkey with aromatics like chopped onions, carrots, apples and herbs, then place breast-side up in a roasting pan and brush with melted butter. Tent with foil and roast for 2 hours (for a 10- to 12-pound turkey; add an extra 15 minutes per pound for larger birds). Remove the foil, baste with more melted butter and crank the oven to 425 degrees F. Roast for another hour or until the meat at the thigh registers 165 degrees F. Let rest while you make the gravy.

HOW TO COOK A TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Place onion, celery, and carrot in a large, shallow roasting pan.
• Place turkey, breast side up, on top of the vegetables in the roasting pan. Pat the outside and inside of the turkey dry with paper towels.
• Combine salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Season the inside of the turkey with about 1/3 of the salt mixture. Fold wing tips under the bird.
• Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat until the edges begin to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Cook and stir rosemary and sage for 1 minute.
• Place rosemary and sage inside the cavity of the turkey; reserve melted butter. Tie the legs together with twine.
• Brush outside of the turkey completely with the melted butter. Season with remaining 2/3 of the salt mixture.
• Bake turkey, uncovered, in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 3 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove the turkey from the oven and allow to rest in a warm area 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.