Cooking a whole turkey for Thanksgiving can be a little daunting and in some cases rather wasteful, so why not try turkey legs instead. These Sage Buttered Roasted Turkey Legs are a treat to the tastebuds. No need to calculate weight per serving, one leg person.
You may have some members of your family that prefer the dark meat of the turkey. If that is the case, buy a smaller turkey and add some Sage Buttered Roasted Turkey Legs to avoid a scrap at the dinner table.
This recipe is so easy to create. You simply add some chopped sage, garlic granules, lemon zest, and salt and pepper to some butter then slather it under and over the skin of each turkey leg.
The aroma that emanates from the oven while this dish is cooking is wonderful. Oh my the scent will make you salivate. Do not start cooking this dish when there are folks present that are not invited to share it. Trust me, you will not be able to get rid of them if you do.
While the turkey legs are roasting, the juices and butter will drop to the bottom of the pan. Don’t worry this mixture of flavors will not be lost. The pan is deglazed with chicken stock, then finished off with white miso and fresh sage. The result is a delicious gravy and the perfect partner for these wonderful Sage Buttered Roast Turkey Legs.
Each turkey leg has a very large bone and some pretty sturdy tendons running through the meat. This is usually a bit of a chore for most to navigate around when eating, so I would suggest that you slice off the meat before serving and douse it in gravy. However, the true carnivores in your family might enjoy the presentation of hunk of meat on their plate.
Sage Buttered Roasted Turkey Legs
Ingredients
Turkey Legs
- 4 Turkey Legs approx. 2 lb each
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 tbsp fresh sage chopped
- 4 tsp garlic granules
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Gravy
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 tbsp white miso
- 4 stems fresh sage
Equipment & Utensils
- Large Roasting tin or two medium roasting tins
Instructions
Turkey Legs
- Rinse turkey legs in cool water then pat dry with paper towels.
- Add sage, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper to butter and mash together with a fork until ingredients are combined.
- Divide butter mixture into four portions, then split those portions in half.
- Push your fingers under the skin of each turkey leg so that it is separated from the flesh. Be careful not to pierce the skin.
- Push half of each portion of butter mixture under the skin of each turkey leg, pushing down on the skin as you do to spread it over as much of the flesh as you can.
- Smear the other half portion of the butter all over the skin. I find it easiest to use my fingers to do this.
- Transfer buttered turkey legs to a roasting tin and place in a preheated oven at 350.
- Cook for approx. 1 1/2 - 2 hours, turning the legs regularly to brown all sides.
- Remove from oven once the juices of the meat run clear and all sides are golden brown.
Gravy
- Once the turkey legs are cooked, remove from roasting tin and place the roasting tin on high heat.
- Deglaze the pan by adding chicken stock and scrap bottom of tin to release cooked turkey residue and stir while gravy bubbles.
- Add miso and sage and continue to stir.
- Reduce gravy until it thickens then remove from the heat.
To Serve
- Slice meat away from turkey bones and tendons and top with a generous pour of gravy.
