If you have ever been to Disney’s Frontierland, or a renaissance fair and have had one of the monstrous turkey legs they sell there, this is a copycat of those recipes. The turkey legs that you can typically buy at places like Disney and ren fairs average about 1.75lbs a piece from big tom (male) turkeys. The ones I used in this video are the largest I could find locally and they are about half that size. These turkey legs are to die for. They don’t taste like turkey, more like ham.
They taste like ham because they are first brined in a salt mixture and then smoked. That salt mixture includes kosher salt, curing salt called Prague Powder #1, brown sugar, and distilled water. Just 12 hours to cure, this is a quick and easy to prep recipe once you have the ingredients. It is very important to follow this recipe exactly as written.
Disney Style Smoked Turkey Legs
Ingredients
- 2 Large Turkey Drumsticks between ¾ and 1 lbs each.
- 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
- ½ tsp Prague Powder #1
- 3 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Distilled Water (Must be distilled do not use bottled or tap)
Instructions
Curing
- Dissolve the salt, prague powder, and sugar in the distilled water.
- Place the drumsticks and curing liquid in a ziplock bag or container and place in the refrigerator.
- Allow to cure for between 12 and 24 hours. I prefer closer to 12 as I feel longer makes the drumsticks too salty.
- After the cure, remove from the curing liquid and rinse the drumsticks. They may be cooked immediately or kept in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Smoking
- Get smoker to 325°F.
- Add turkey legs and smoke until turkey has reached an internal temperature of 160°F. This should take approximately 1 hour.
- Serve immediately
