How To Make Baked Turkey Legs
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Baked turkey legs is a great alternative to roasting the whole turkey! Turkey legs are meaty, juicy and succulent – everyone loves turkey leg meat!
Have you seen those giant turkey legs sold in the meat section of the grocery store? Do you always pass on them because you don’t know how to cook turkey legs? Next time you see turkey legs, get them – cooking turkey legs is really easy. In fact, baked turkey legs is an effortless meal – you just put the turkey legs in the oven, and the oven does all the work for you!
Turkey legs are so huge – they make chicken legs look super tiny. Look at the above picture – 4 turkey legs take up the whole baking sheet! One turkey leg is more than enough for dinner even for the hungriest and biggest eater :)
Turkey legs are usually very cheap. Baked turkey legs is a great budget dinner, and is a nice change from the chicken legs. Turkey legs are so yummy with the cranberry sauce!
Baked Turkey Legs Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 turkey legs
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Sprinkle the turkey legs with salt and pepper. Put in the oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until done. You know when the turkey legs are done when the meat thermometer put in the thickest part of the leg registers 165F, and also when the juices run clear (not pink) when the thickest part of the leg is cut.
Enjoy the turkey legs with the cranberry sauce! A great side dishes to go with the baked turkey legs are mashed potatoes or baked sweet potatoes.
If you are looking for an awesome way to cook the whole turkey, check out my foolproof turkey recipe that I use every Thanksgiving: turkey in a brown paper bag. Once you try it, you’ll never make the turkey any other way!
Refreshing to see a person post a nice simple receipe. Most other people’s recipes are listing wrong baking/frying times. Silly concoctions that I think they post as a joke.
Thanks for using the K.I.S.S. principle. Love your receipes!
Weird question, but are these best done on a baking sheet, roasting pan, or baking dish?
I don’t think it matters what kind of dish you use. I made these turkey legs on a baking sheet and in a baking dish, they were exactly the same. I haven’t tried to make them in a roasting pan, but I don’t see why not.
Melanie, great name! I made my own BBQ sauce and kept basting it even while I had it covered. Took the cover off the last 20 min and kept putting sauce on. (Don’t forget to turn them over!) It came out SO GOOD and so juicy! I hate paying $9 for the legs at a fair and they’re dry!! Thanks for the oven temp and cooking time. So glad it didn’t end up having to cook for 3 hours b.c the temp given was to low… I’ll visit here again for my next culinary question and for recipe ideas!
Thanks Melanie, I’m not much of a cook but they sound so easy to do.
Thanks Melanie. Really happy I came across your recipe. I’ll be trying this tonight. Hope I get it right! :)
I’ve long been taking advantage of the turkey parts and baking them in foil as you describe. Seasoning possibilities are endless. My “fall back” is our favorite brand of seasoning salt with a little poultry seasoning added. We like it best if seasoned a few hours ahead of cooking to allow for better flavor penetration. I’ve always done mine at 350 degrees for about 2 hrs., so I’ll be trying the slightly higher temp you suggest and cooking for 1 1/2 hrs instead. Juices trapped in the foil can be used to make a quick gravey (thickened) to spoon over rice or potatoes, or just as “dipping sauce” on the side. (or frozen and saved for the next pot of soup!)
I just found your site and know I’ll be back. Thank you!
Super excited to try this!! Thank you!
Thanks Melaine,
My co-worker and I were talking about Turkey Legs for Thanksgiving. I will definitely use your style of cooking them, can’t wait! excited, just hope I get it right.
Hello,
Do you cover the turkey legs with foil while cooking? If so should I poke holes in foil so steam will get out? I am making 6 turkey legs and may use 2 cookie sheets so should I cook them longer?
Thanks for your help. This is my first time baking turkey legs.
Mary R. Schorr
I bake them uncovered. Check the turkey legs after 1 1/2 hours, they’ll probably be done even if it’s 6 of them. The juices should run clear when the thickest part is cut. If in doubt, just put them back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
loving how these taste on the farm! cookie them as a family together made us forget about the twister that just happened last night. PS the rhubarb went EVERYWHERE!
Thank you so much for this recipe!! I just bought two huge turkey legs at the supermarket and assumed baking instructions would be on the package (nope) but all the websites only show little legs that fit two on a plate…
These are 800 grams each (nearly 1.8 lb) so I didn’t want to cook them dry, or worse, not cook them through.
So from the Land Down Under (where turkeys grow big), thank you : )
Never thought of baking turkey legs before. Love the simplicity of this recipe. Perfect for a budget-friendly meal!
Turkey legs with cranberry sauce yum. This recipe is exactly what I needed for those giant turkey legs I bought…