Braised Turkey Legs Food

BRAISED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Rinse turkey legs and pat dry; season all over with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Heat a large Dutch oven over high heat and add olive oil. Add turkey legs, skin side down, working in batches, if necessary. Cook, turning, until turkey legs are browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer legs to a plate and discard all but 1 tablespoon of rendered fat from Dutch oven.
• Deglaze with white wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pot and slightly reduced, 2 minutes. Lower heat to medium-high and add carrots, celery, and leeks to Dutch oven and cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add thyme, sage, bay leaves, and stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and add turkey legs, skin side down; cover and transfer to oven. Cook for 40 minutes. Uncover, turn turkey legs, and continue cooking uncovered until legs are tender, 45 to 50 minutes more.
• Transfer turkey legs to a serving platter. Skim fat from top of braising liquid and discard; season braising liquid with salt and pepper, and spoon over turkey legs. Serve garnished with chopped parsley and thyme.

BRAISED DARK MEAT TURKEY OVER EGG NOODLES

Steps:

• Generously salt and pepper the turkey.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Add the turkey wings and drumsticks and brown as evenly as possible all over. Do this in batches if necessary.
• Once browned, remove the turkey from the pot. Reduce the heat to medium-high and then add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook until tender. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it is mixed in. Then add all the remaining ingredients, except the olives and rosemary, and stir until everything is incorporated. Bring this liquid to a simmer, then add the turkey back to the pot, along with the olives and rosemary, and bring to a simmer. Cook about 3 to 3 1/2 hours over a low flame at a low simmer until the turkey meat falls off the bone easily with just a little nudge from a fork. Remove rosemary sprigs and serve over hot egg noodles.
• Note: During cooking, occasionally check to see if the turkey is getting too browned or dried where not submerged under the braising liquid. If so, stir into the liquid and continue cooking.

HERB ROASTED AND BRAISED TURKEY

Steps:

• For the turkey: Remove the turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting.
• Combine the butter, parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme and in a food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Sprinkle the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper and fill the cavity with half the carrots, celery and onions. Rub the entire turkey with the herb butter and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
• Put 4 cups of the chicken stock in a medium saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
• Place the remaining vegetables on the bottom of a large roasting pan. Put the turkey on top of the vegetables, put in the oven and roast until lightly golden brown, about 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue roasting, basting with the warm chicken stock every 15 minutes, 2 to 2 hours 15 minutes hours longer. (An instant-read thermometer inserted in the thigh should register 160 degrees F.)
• Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer to baking sheet, tent loosely with foil and let rest 30 minutes before slicing. Remove the legs for braising. Strain the drippings into a bowl and discard the solids. Add enough stock to make 4 cups liquid.
• Bring the liquid to a simmer, transfer to a roasting pan, add the legs, cover with foil and braise until tender in a 350 F degree oven about 1 hour.
• For the gravy: Melt the butter in a medium pan over high heat. Add the roasted garlic and cook for a minute. Whisk in the flour and cook until lightly golden brown. Slowly whisk the drippings into the flour mixture, bring to a boil and whisk until the mixture begins to thicken and the flour taste has been cooked out, about 5 minutes. Add a splash of the white wine if desired and cook for 1 minute longer. Fold in fresh herbs if desired and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

OVEN ROASTED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Place the salt and sugar into a large resealable bag. Pour in enough water to cover the turkey legs, and squeeze the bag to dissolve salt and sugar. Immerse the turkey legs in the brine, and seal the bag. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to brine.
• In a saucepan, stir together the white wine, pomegranate molasses, brown sugar, regular molasses, vinegar, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by half. Season with 1 tablespoon of sage and 1 tablespoon of thyme. Taste and adjust sugar, salt and pepper if desired.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Remove the turkey legs from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Discard the brine. Heat a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Cast iron will work well. Fry the turkey, turning frequently, until browned on all sides. Place the pan with the turkey into the oven.
• Roast uncovered for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove and turn legs over. Season with some of the remaining thyme and sage, and spoon some of the sauce onto the legs to coat. Return to the oven for an additional 30 minutes.
• Repeat the seasoning and baste with the sauce again, and return to the oven. Roast for 15 more minutes, then test for doneness. The internal temperature should be 180 degrees F (82 degrees C) when taken with a meat thermometer. Serve turkey with remaining sauce on the side.

BRAISED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Season turkey with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Working in batches, cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 15-20 minutes per batch; transfer to a large plate.
• Add onion, leeks, celery, and garlic to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5-8 minutes. Add wine, parsley, and thyme and sage sprigs; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until reduced by half, 8-10 minutes.
• Return turkey to pot and add broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover pot, and simmer until meat is tender and cooked through and liquid is reduced by half, 2 1/2-3 hours. Add carrots and cook, uncovered, until carrots are soft and meat is falling off the bone, 35-45 minutes; season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer turkey and carrots to a platter. Strain sauce; serve alongside. Top with chives and 1/2 cup chopped parsley.

STOCK-BRAISED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Place salt and brown sugar in a small bowl and work together with your fingers to incorporate. Place turkey legs on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle dry brine all over both sides of legs. Chill, uncovered, at least 12 hours and up to 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 250°F. Rinse turkey legs and pat dry. Sprinkle on all sides with flour. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook 2 turkey legs, skin side down, until skin is browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer legs to a large roasting pan. Repeat with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil and 2 turkey legs.
• Reduce heat to medium and add garlic and orange, cut side down, and rosemary and chile to skillet and cook, undisturbed, until garlic is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add wine, scraping to release any browned bits stuck to the bottom of pan. Cook until wine is almost completely evaporated, about 2 minutes. Scrape into roasting pan with turkey legs. Pour in stock and cover tightly with 2 layers of foil.
• Transfer pan to oven and braise turkey until leg joints wiggle freely and meat is fork-tender, 2 1/2-3 hours.
• Place turkey legs, skin side up, on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Transfer garlic, orange, rosemary, and chile to a platter. Start with 2 cups braising liquid to make sauce. If you have more than that, set roasting pan over medium-high heat and bring liquid to a boil. Cook until reduced to 2 cups. Reduce heat so liquid is simmering and whisk in butter a piece at a time, incorporating each piece completely before adding more.
• Heat broiler. Broil turkey legs until skin is browned and crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to platter and serve with pan sauce poured over or alongside.
• Do Ahead
• Turkey legs can be braised 3 days ahead. Let cool in braising liquid; cover and chill. Reheat, covered, until heated through before broiling.

ROASTED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Rinse the turkey legs and pat dry.
• Stand the turkey legs upright (as if the turkey were standing). Press a knife downward into the deep tissue, creating 2 or 3 long pockets. Press a piece of celery into each opening. Pull back the skin on the legs, rub with butter, and season with a little salt. Put the skin back into place, rub with more butter, and season lightly with salt. Lay the legs in a roasting pan.
• Roast uncovered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the legs are golden brown and the internal temperature is 180 degrees F (82 degrees C) when taken with a meat thermometer. Add more water if needed while roasting, and baste occasionally with the juices or butter.

TURKEY-BREAST ROULADE & BRAISED LEGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Place turkey breast, skin-side down, on a cutting board. Slice through the thickest part horizontally, creating a flap, and open it like a book. Cover with plastic wrap. With a mallet, pound to an even thickness (about 3/4 inch). Remove plastic and season with salt and pepper. Spread stuffing evenly over top, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Working from the short side without skin, roll the breast up tightly into a log, enclosing stuffing. Turn seam-side down and pull the skin down to envelop roulade as much as possible. Tie with kitchen twine at 2-inch intervals to secure. Rub 2 tablespoons butter over skin; season with salt and pepper.
• Arrange onion rounds in a single layer on one side of a roasting pan. Place roulade, skin-side up, atop onions. Rub 1 tablespoon butter over each leg, season, and place on other side of pan. Scatter thyme over turkey and pour 1 cup stock into pan.
• Roast turkey (adding more stock to pan if bottom becomes dry, 1/2 cup at a time) until a thermometer inserted in center of roulade registers 160°F, about 1 hour. Transfer roulade and legs to a carving board, loosely covering with foil to keep warm; remove and discard onion.
• Place pan on stove top over medium-high heat; add 2 1/2 cups stock. Bring to a boil, scraping any browned bits from bottom of pan. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and remaining 1/2 cup stock, then gradually whisk into pan. Continue boiling until thickened slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Add more lemon juice, if desired, 1 teaspoon at a time, and season to taste. Remove twine from roulade and slice into rounds. Arrange on a platter with legs and garnishes and serve with gravy.