Smoked Turkey Legs
Today we are taking two ginormous turkey legs and smoking them on the Pit Barrel Cooker. These are county fair or festival size legs!
Before I cook any turkey legs I always brine first. This makes sure they stay good and juicy.
Brine Ingredients
- 1 gallon water
- 1 cup Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp Prague powder
- 2 tbsp Sriracha sauce
Turkey Legs Ingredients
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp Ancho chili powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- Spray vegetable oil as needed
- Mary's Cherry Rub to taste
- BBQ sauce
Recipe Instructions
- Mix all of brine ingredients in a large pot until the salt, sugar and Prague powder are dissolved.
- Add the turkey legs to the brine, cover and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day remove the turkey legs from the brine and wipe dry with paper towels. This also removes any excess salt.
- Spray the turkey legs with some vegetable oil to use as a binder.
- Mix the dry seasoning ingredients together (excluding the vegetable oil, BBQ Sauce and Mary's Cherry Rub) and sprinkle on the turkey legs.
- Sprinkle the Mary's Cherry Rub (optional) on the turkey legs. If you've never added cherry seasoning to turkey, you've got to try it!
- Heat Pit Barrel to about 275 degrees F and add some oak wood.
- Cook the turkey legs until 155 degrees F and then glaze with your favorite BBQ sauce. I used a Pear ghost pepper sauce glaze (see Pear Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce recipe).
- Glaze the turkey legs and continue smoking until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
Watch our Smoked Turkey Legs video to see the step-by-step-detailed instructions.
