Baked turkey legs in the oven is a great way to cook up some dark meat for the holidays. In Sip Bite Go’s baked turkey leg recipe, you’ll have a super moist turkey leg with a crispy skin to devour! Grab your dark meat lovers and let’s get baking!
Make them for game day, or as an extra entree for a holiday meal…
These are a great copycat version of Disney World turkey legs made in the oven.
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See the video
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make Baked Turkey Legs.
- turkey legs, about 1 LB each
- butter, salted, melted
- bbq rub (any BBQ seasoning or poultry rub – see this review for Traeger pork and poultry rub)
To get extra crispy skin on baked turkey legs
- butter, salted, melted
What temp to bake turkey legs?
I used two temperatures, 375 degrees F and 425 degrees F.
Initially baked at 375 degrees F covered with foil to keep a steam like environment for the turkey legs. This method helps keep the turkey moist. Then raise the oven temp to 425 degrees F uncovered to crisp up the turkey skin without drying it out.
If you have other food that cooks at 350 degrees F, you could preheat the oven to 350 degrees F for the initial cook. The cooking process will be a little slower though. You should still increase the oven temp to 425 degrees F to crisp up the skin though. There’s no way around that!
How long does it take to bake turkey legs?
It should take ~40 minutes, depending on the size of your turkey legs. Ultimately cook the turkey legs to an internal temp of 165 degrees F measured in the thickest part of the leg.
When are turkey legs done?
Turkey legs are done when they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F measured with an internal read thermometer.
How do you keep turkey legs from drying out?
There’s a couple of things you can do to keep turkey legs from drying out.
First is to coat them with butter prior to cooking. Second is to use my foil cover method. After many tests, I found this method to be the best.
Start by baking turkey legs covered with foil at a lower temperature of 375 or even 350 degrees F. Once the turkey legs get to 120 degrees F internally, crank the oven temp up to 425 degrees F to crisp up the skin fast, so it doesn’t dry out.
How to make Baked Turkey Legs
Now I’ll walk you through it…
See how to bake oven roasted turkey thighs…
See how to make a turkey gravy packet taste even better…
Detailed recipe steps
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Set aside a parchment paper lined, rimmed baking sheet.
- Prep turkey legs for baking. Pat turkey legs dry with paper towels.
- Season the turkey leg meat by brushing them all over with butter or olive oil. Cover with BBQ rub or your favorite poultry seasoning blend. Massage seasonings into the skin.
- Transfer turkey legs to the baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet with foil.
- Bake turkey legs in oven at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.
- Remove turkey legs from oven (leave oven on and increase temperature to 425 degrees F). For reference, the turkey legs won’t be done at this time, but in the Sip Bite Go recipe video demonstration, the internal temp measured about 120 degrees F.
- Brush turkey legs with additional melted butter, leaving seasoning intact.
- Return meat to oven and continue baking turkey legs until done, which is when they measure 165 degrees F with an internal read meat thermometer. In the Sip Bite Go demonstration, they were done in 20 minutes. (~40 minutes total)
- Rest 5-10 minutes, let cool and enjoy.
Get the best recipe for smoking a turkey on a pellet grill…
Checkout these sides for turkey legs…
- Smoked Mac & Cheese
- Smoked Acorn Squash
- Air Fryer Beets
- Smoked Butternut Squash
- Smoked Asparagus
- Carrots with Garlic Butter
- Smoked Mashed Potatoes
More Steak Dinner Ideas from Sip Bite Go
Pro tip: One of my go-to tricks for perfectly cooked food every time is using the right BBQ meat thermometers.
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Hey home chefs, hope that answers all your questions about baking turkey legs in the oven.
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Baked Turkey Legs In Oven Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 turkey legs about 1 LB each
- 2 tbsp butter salted, melted
- 1 tbsp bbq rub any BBQ seasoning or poultry rub
To crisp skin on turkey legs towards the end of baking
- 2 tbsp butter salted, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Set aside a parchment paper lined, rimmed baking sheet.
- Prep turkey legs for baking. Pat turkey legs dry with paper towels.
- Season the turkey leg meat by brushing them all over with butter or olive oil. Cover with BBQ rub or your favorite poultry seasoning blend. Massage seasonings into the skin.
- Transfer turkey legs to the baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet with foil.
- Bake turkey legs in oven at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.
- Remove turkey legs from oven (leave oven on and increase temperature to 425 degrees F). For reference, the turkey legs won’t be done at this time, but in the Sip Bite Go recipe video demonstration, the internal temp measured about 120 degrees F.
- Brush turkey legs with additional melted butter, leaving seasoning intact.
- Return meat to oven and continue baking turkey legs until done, which is when they measure 165 degrees F with an internal read meat thermometer. In the Sip Bite Go demonstration, they were done in 20 minutes. (~40 minutes total)
- Rest 5-10 minutes, let cool and enjoy.
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