Maple Braised Turkey Legs And Thighs Food

MAPLE-BRAISED TURKEY LEGS AND THIGHS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 275 degrees. Pat turkey legs and thighs dry with a paper towel and generously sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour.
• Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add turkey skin-side down and cook until browned, about five minutes. Flip and cook until the other side browns, about another five minutes. You don't want to overcrowd the pan, so don't add more than two or three pieces at a time. Otherwise, the skin won't brown properly. If the Dutch oven starts to get too hot, you can turn the heat down to medium.
• After you brown all the turkey, turn the heat down to medium if you haven't already and place the browned turkey on a separate plate. If necessary, add a little more oil to the pan. Cook the onion slices for about four minutes. Pour in the apple cider vinegar and scrap up the brown bits.
• Stir in the maple syrup, chicken stock, bay leaves, sage and thyme. Add turkey and bring the mixture to a boil. Move the Dutch oven to the 275-degree oven and cook uncovered until the leg meat is fall-off-the-bone tender, about 2 hours. Loosely cover the meat with foil and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving. Enjoy!

BRAISED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Rinse turkey legs and pat dry; season all over with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Heat a large Dutch oven over high heat and add olive oil. Add turkey legs, skin side down, working in batches, if necessary. Cook, turning, until turkey legs are browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer legs to a plate and discard all but 1 tablespoon of rendered fat from Dutch oven.
• Deglaze with white wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pot and slightly reduced, 2 minutes. Lower heat to medium-high and add carrots, celery, and leeks to Dutch oven and cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add thyme, sage, bay leaves, and stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and add turkey legs, skin side down; cover and transfer to oven. Cook for 40 minutes. Uncover, turn turkey legs, and continue cooking uncovered until legs are tender, 45 to 50 minutes more.
• Transfer turkey legs to a serving platter. Skim fat from top of braising liquid and discard; season braising liquid with salt and pepper, and spoon over turkey legs. Serve garnished with chopped parsley and thyme.

STOCK-BRAISED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Place salt and brown sugar in a small bowl and work together with your fingers to incorporate. Place turkey legs on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle dry brine all over both sides of legs. Chill, uncovered, at least 12 hours and up to 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 250°F. Rinse turkey legs and pat dry. Sprinkle on all sides with flour. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook 2 turkey legs, skin side down, until skin is browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer legs to a large roasting pan. Repeat with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil and 2 turkey legs.
• Reduce heat to medium and add garlic and orange, cut side down, and rosemary and chile to skillet and cook, undisturbed, until garlic is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add wine, scraping to release any browned bits stuck to the bottom of pan. Cook until wine is almost completely evaporated, about 2 minutes. Scrape into roasting pan with turkey legs. Pour in stock and cover tightly with 2 layers of foil.
• Transfer pan to oven and braise turkey until leg joints wiggle freely and meat is fork-tender, 2 1/2-3 hours.
• Place turkey legs, skin side up, on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Transfer garlic, orange, rosemary, and chile to a platter. Start with 2 cups braising liquid to make sauce. If you have more than that, set roasting pan over medium-high heat and bring liquid to a boil. Cook until reduced to 2 cups. Reduce heat so liquid is simmering and whisk in butter a piece at a time, incorporating each piece completely before adding more.
• Heat broiler. Broil turkey legs until skin is browned and crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to platter and serve with pan sauce poured over or alongside.
• Do Ahead
• Turkey legs can be braised 3 days ahead. Let cool in braising liquid; cover and chill. Reheat, covered, until heated through before broiling.

TURKEY THIGHS WITH MAPLE MUSTARD SAUCE FOR THE CROCK POT!

Steps:

• In slow cooker, place potatoes. Place turkey thighs on top.
• In a small bowl stir together mustard, syrup and tapioca. Pour over turkey. Cover, cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-3 1/2 hours.

MAPLE-GLAZED TURKEY DRUMSTICKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F Combine maple syrup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cayenne in a small bowl and set aside.
• Season the turkey legs with the remaining salt and the fresh-ground pepper.
• Place the onions on the bottom of a roasting pan and put the turkey legs on top.
• Dot the turkey with butter and roast for 30 minutes.
• Brush turkey legs with the prepared sauce and reduce oven temperature to 325°F Continue to roast, basting with the sauce every 20 minutes, until meat is very tender -- about 90 more minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

BASIC BRAISED TURKEY

Steps:

• Put the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the turkey and brown the leg (and, if you're using them, wing) portions on the skin side well, 10 minutes or more; turn and cook for another 2 minutes on the skinless side. Remove to a plate and brown the breasts in the same skillet, again mostly on the skin side; remove and keep them separate.
• Heat the oven to 300, and cook the bacon or pancetta (if using) in the remaining fat in the skillet until nearly crisp; remove with a slotted spoon. Cook the onions, mushrooms, carrots, celery and herbs, in batches if necessary, until beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer with the bacon or pancetta to a large roasting pan, then nestle the dark meat in there, leaving room for the breasts. Add stock or water to come about one-third to halfway up the sides of the thighs.
• Roast uncovered for about 90 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure liquid levels remain sufficiently high and stirring vegetables if they threaten to brown too much. When thigh meat is tender, place the breasts in the pan, and cook until tender, 30 to 45 minutes more, or until done. (They should register 155 on an instant-read thermometer.)
• Slice breast and thigh meat and serve on a platter with the vegetables garnished, if you like, with parsley.