Teradactyl Turkey Legs...

Why did you skin? I have not thought of turkey legs (cheap meat) in the smoker, and I know not why. They are a natural! Man! I've got some in the freezer and I am making that tomorrow! Fresh Halibut Cheeks tonight. Why skin the legs?

I skinned it because someone recommended doing so. If I were thinking, I would have tried a few w/o skinning them and see the difference, but of course there was beer involved! They were a tad on the dry side, but I did foil them after I pulled them and also threw some BBQ sauce on them while under the foil. Then tossed them on the grill about a half hour later to see how that did. Must've worked cuz' everybody licked them up!

Someone said in an earlier response how they didn't like "chicken skin" because of the bitterness, but the group consensus from the forum was "too much wood". But I think if the right amount of wood and the proper cooking time, everything would be great w/the skin on. I know it hit the spot out here in the desert!

Go DBACKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Andi...lemme know how yours turn out. Skin on or off? Thanks..QDogg

Is there a way to easily get the tendons out of the drumsticks before cooking? We always find them delicious but a bit frustrating to eat - can't really get a good chomp.

Mornin',tjr.

I don't know about those tendons before cooking,but I have heard people pull them out of the cooker,foil and let set a few minutes,and then pull the tendons out with needle nosed pliers.

Supposed to slide out real easily.

If it works,let us know.

Qdogg,
Did you brine the legs or just rub and smoke? I did some earlier in the year in a little chief(pre smokette) that were brined overnight and all 3 kids ate them down to the bone. They said they tasted like ham.

IMHO there is enough moisture in a drumstick,that brine would be overkill.

A generous rub of choice and they should be the juiciest fowl around.

I have used a jerk seasoning and also a jerk injection,since they handle flavorings so well.

No Brine...Overkill is a good word for it when you brine...I did a chicken and brined it w/the same hammy results. IMHO, I think when chicken/turkey are smoked, the true flavors come out w/o brining.

If you got a hammy result with your brine, you overbrined. Probably the most common complaint about brining is the "hammy" effect. It because it's too long and probably had some cure in it. You can enhance chicken/etc without effecting the basic taste.

Most of the legs you see at the State Fairs have actually been brined because of all the benefits.

Obviously this is a shameless plug for brining 101. This is a VERY rough draft -- typos are included free of charge.

Draft Brining 101

Smokin'

I smoked a turkey breast over the weekend. I used Smokin's honey brine, only I couldn't find Morton's Tender Quick and used a substitute. This was a good size turkey breast, and I left it in the brine about 18 hours. I rinsed it really well. Then I carefully lifted the skin away from the breast on both sides but left it attached in the center at the breast bone. I then applied Pendery's Charmoula rub, under the skin and then sprinkled some over the whole bird. I used 2.5 oz of hickory and smoked at 250 until the breast reached an internal temp of 160. Since the rest of dinner wasn't ready yet, I wrapped it in foil and then in kitchen towels (pork butt style) while I finished everything else (about 45 minutes). Then I carved the turkey and took the juices that had flowed out onto the foil and poured them over the top of the sliced breast meat. It was very moist, flavorful, and just the right amount of smoke. Made an excellent sandwich for today's lunch too!

Oops, I forgot to mention that the turkey breast took about 4 hours to reach the internal temp of 160. So the estimates of 3-5 hours were right on.